David Park, CEO of Standard Lithium, mentioned that extracting lithium in key U.S. states like Arkansas could reduce the nation’s reliance on China, which currently dominates the supply chain for essential minerals, during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.
He pointed out that the Trump administration is paying attention to critical minerals while his company focuses on lithium mining in Arkansas, which contains the Smackover Formation known for its rich lithium brine resources.
“There’s no reason to go to the moon…” he said, elaborating on Arkansas being home to some of the best lithium brine resources in North America. They are working on the Southwest Arkansas project with Equinor, utilizing a new technique called direct lithium extraction (DLE). This method doesn’t involve traditional open pit mining.
“It’s more similar to drilling for oil or gas, but what we’re producing is brine. We’re selectively taking out lithium ions and returning that brine to the same source,” he explained. He emphasized that this technology has a low environmental impact since it preserves the resource itself.
Park stressed that the Trump administration realizes lithium’s significance, as it’s crucial for not just batteries but also AI data centers, maintaining power grid stability, and even for things like unmanned military vehicles.
China currently has a supply chain edge in lithium production. If the U.S. boosts its own production, it could diminish China’s global standing. Park noted that China has invested heavily over the years to control critical mineral supply chains, which presents a national security concern for the U.S.
He noted that the country only produces about 5,000 tons of lithium annually, while the global demand is around 1.5 million tons. “That’s a very small share,” he stated. “China controls 70% of this supply chain, largely due to its significant investments aimed at building production capacity and deliberately keeping prices at certain levels to dissuade U.S. investments.”
Park, however, is optimistic that the situation could improve. His company’s first project is valued at $500 million, with construction set to commence this year and aims to reach a production level of 22,500 tonnes of lithium by 2029, with plans to double that capacity soon after.
“We also have several projects planned on the Texas side of the Smackover formation, and in a decade, we could be producing around 150,000 tons a year by ourselves,” he mentioned.
Park believes there’s potential for the U.S. to produce 250,000 tons from the Smackover layers alone over the next 10 to 20 years. “With big firms like Exxon and Chevron, and their smart engineers, I think we could reach that number,” he asserted.
He also highlighted that the Trump administration has provided a loan to support the Lithium America project, adding, “Tucker Pass in Nevada could yield about 40,000 tons. We’re growing there, and they’re backing us with subsidies to make sure these top lithium projects in North America are developed quickly and reduce our dependency on China.”
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET.
