Tesla’s Nevada plan to produce lithium from clay faces stark obstacles on path to production
- Elon Musk told shareholders on Tuesday that Tesla has secured rights to 10,000 acres in Nevada where it aims to produce lithium from clay deposits
- The plan drew backlash almost immediately, with critics describing Musk’s plan as too simplistic and light on details
Chief executive officer Elon Musk told shareholders on Tuesday that Tesla has secured rights to 10,000 acres in Nevada where it aims to produce lithium from clay deposits using a process developed internally.
The move would make Tesla the first company in the world to commercially produce the white metal from clay. Lithium is produced either from brine, commonly found in South America, or spodumene hard rock, usually in Australia.
In Nevada, Tesla plans to mix clay with table salt and then add water, which it says causes a reaction where the salt would leach out with lithium, which can then be extracted. The leftover clay would be put back in the earth to mitigate environmental damage.
“It’s a very sustainable way of obtaining lithium,” said Musk, who did not say where in Nevada the company had obtained the lithium rights or whether development has started.
The plan drew backlash almost immediately, with critics describing Musk’s plan as too simplistic and light on details. Returning rock to the earth after minerals are extracted, for instance, is already common industry practice through the use of tailings dams.