The lithium mine, calculated using a machine-learning model and geological information that predicted maps of lithium concentration, represents 35% to 136% of the current amount of lithium estimated to be in the U.S. Lithium could be extracted from the waste stream of the brines—deposits of groundwater rich in minerals—in the Smackover Formation.

Suspended in the relic of an ancient sea beneath southern Arkansas, there may be enough lithium for nine times the expected global demand for the element in car batteries in 2030. A collaborative national and state government research team trained a machine learning model to predict and map the lithium concentrations of salty water deep within the porous limestone aquifer beneath southern Arkansas,