Lithium Extraction Project , Worries Those Who Rely on , Water From Colorado River.<br />Lithium is used to manufacture <br />electric vehicle batteries.<br />A new plan to extract lithium in Utah has <br />raised concerns about how the project could <br />impact the Colorado River, Fox News reports.<br />The Paradox Basin, a geologic formation shared by Utah, <br />Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, has been analyzed <br />by an Australian company and its U.S. subsidiaries.<br />The Paradox Basin, a geologic formation shared by Utah, <br />Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, has been analyzed <br />by an Australian company and its U.S. subsidiaries.<br />The basin's groundwater has been found <br />to be rich in lithium salts and other minerals <br />left over from millions of years ago when <br />the area was repeatedly flooded and drained.<br />Australia-based Anson Resources has also <br />reportedly acquired rights to freshwater <br />sourced from the nearby Green River. .<br />The company's plans have given rise <br />to questions about how the groundwater <br />and river water are interconnected, in addition <br />to the impact of lithium on the environment.<br />'The Guardian' points out that the Green River is <br />a tributary of the crucial Colorado River, which <br />supplies water for 40 million people in the West.<br />We need to have a renewable+ energy <br />transition, but maybe we shouldn’t be <br />looking for these kinds of quick-fix energy <br />solutions on a drought-stricken river, Lauren Wood, a third-generation resident <br />of Green River, Utah, via Fox News.<br />Geologists and Earth scientists have cautioned <br />that it remains unclear how water-intensive the <br />process of direct lithium extraction actually is.<br />The technology is too new <br />for much of a commercial track <br />record to have been established, Michael McKibben, professor at the University <br />of California, Riverside, via Fox News.<br />Ultimately, Utah's water rights division will <br />make the final decision regarding water <br />permits for Anson and its U.S. subsidiaries, <br />a process which could take months or years
