lithium

11 Stories

It's a Dangerous Chemical, Yet It Might Treat Alzheimer's
A Dangerous Chemical
Might Treat Alzheimer's
NEW STUDY
Aug 7, 2025 7:56 AM CDT

A Dangerous Chemical Might Treat Alzheimer's

Lithium orotate found to reverse markers of the disease in mice

(Newser) - Long used to stabilize moods in bipolar disorder, lithium may hold a surprising new promise: reversing memory loss and brain changes linked to Alzheimer's disease. In a Wednesday study in Nature , researchers found lithium, which the brain naturally produces, is captured by beta-amyloid plaques—the same plaques associated...

For These Kids, Toiling in Illegal Mines Is 'Only Option'

Lithium demand creates 'new frontier for mining' in Nigeria, with children doing much of the work

(Newser) - Dressed in a faded pink dress, 6-year-old Juliet Samaniya squats under scorching skies to chip at a jagged white rock with a stone tool. Dust coats her tiny hands and her hair as she works hour after hour, for less than a dollar a day in Nasarawa, Nigeria. The landscape...

Administration Approves Its First New Lithium Mine

Nevada project faces threat of lawsuit over possibility of wildflower's extinction

(Newser) - For the first time under President Biden, a federal permit for a new lithium mine has been approved. The Nevada project is essential to the president's clean energy agenda, though conservationists promise to sue over the plan they say will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction. Ioneer Ltd.'...

Answer to Our Lithium Demand May Lie in Arkansas
Answer to Our
Lithium Demand
May Lie in Arkansas
NEW STUDY
Oct 22, 2024 10:10 AM CDT

Answer to Our Lithium Demand May Lie in Arkansas

New research shows the state could have up to 19M tons buried in Smackover Formation area

(Newser) - The International Energy Agency has predicted that demand for lithium could grow by 40 times by 2040, and one US state in particular may be the solution to that demand. Researchers say that Arkansas could have between 5 million and 19 million tons of the chemical element, used in batteries...

Massive Lithium Find Made in Pennsylvania

Researchers say fracking wastewater could provide 40% of US supply of critical mineral

(Newser) - Researchers in Pennsylvania say they didn't have to dig to find a huge source of a critical mineral. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports , the University of Pittsburgh researchers say wastewater from fracking in the state could provide up to 40% of the national demand for...

Iran Says It Has Found Millions of Tons of Lithium

But even if that's the case, extracting and exporting it could be tricky

(Newser) - Over the weekend Iran announced that lithium—prized for its importance in electric vehicle and cell phone batteries—has been found within its borders. A lot of it. Per the country's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, the deposit is estimated at 8.5 million tons. If that number...

Court Won't Block Construction on Largest Lithium Mine in US

Tribes, environmental groups say government has hurried project to support electric vehicles

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has cleared the way for construction in Nevada of the largest lithium mine in the US while it considers claims by conservationists and tribes that the government illegally approved it in a rush to produce raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. The 9th US Circuit Court...

South America's Lithium Reserves Are a Boon—Maybe

'Wall Street Journal' looks at the obstacles in extracting one of world's biggest reserves

(Newser) - As the appetite for electric vehicles grows, the Wall Street Journal sees an obstacle in the way of production expanding at a similar clip: South America. The continent is one of three places on Earth—the others being Australia and China—that have substantial reserves of lithium, the metal needed...

Rare Flower May Scuttle First US Mine of Its Kind

In Nevada, Tiehm's buckwheat stands in the way of lithium production

(Newser) - A mining company is pushing hard to build a lithium mine in the Nevada desert, but a rare wildflower might make that impossible. The issue has one unusual twist from the usual environmentalists-vs-miners debate, notes New Scientist . In this case, the output from the mine would largely be used for...

US Finds $1T Worth of Minerals in Afghanistan

Iron, copper, gold, and lithium identified

(Newser) - Vast deposits of iron, copper, gold, and lithium have been discovered throughout Afghanistan by US geologists, a find estimated to be worth $1 trillion. The discovery of such huge natural resources could turn Afghanistan into one of the world's most important mining centers—and could have a profound impact on...

Lithium in Water Cuts Suicide Rate

Japanese study links trace amounts in water supply to less suicides

(Newser) - People in areas where the tap water contains lithium are less likely to kill themselves, according to a new Japanese study. The researchers found that the element—used in high doses to treat mood disorders—appeared to "significantly" reduce the suicide rate even when only tiny amounts of it...

11 Stories
Most Read on Newser