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Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

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Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#81

Post by stouset »

nordsieck wrote: post #61
Night_Thastus wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that true global reserves are much higher than what we know now. Before, Lithium was important, but not nearly in the quantities needed for EV's. Now that EV's have picked up, more people will be looking for Lithium, and that will make all the difference.

> I think that true global reserves are much higher than what we know now. That was certainly true of oil. As reserves got depleted, progressively more advanced techniques allowed people to extract from more difficult locations.

At ever-increasing costs.

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#82

Post by rsanek »

AdamH12113 wrote: post #69
oblio wrote: post #59

Oil is the standard example. I forgot what the exact peak oil production years were supposed to be, but they went something like this: In 1880 peak oil was expected to be 1910. In 1910 it was 1940. In 1940 it became 1970. Etc. Basically we kept finding more and more as technology and practical prospecting experience advanced.

US oil production did, in fact, peak in 1970 and declined for decades afterward. Production only started to increase again about 15 years ago with the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M... EDIT: To be clear, I am responding to a specific, narrow idea implied by the parent comment: that there was a prediction of peak oil in 1970, and that that predictio…

check out worldwide production. except for the 80s, it's been consistently increasing for at least 120 years. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-production-by-country...

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#83

Post by huytersd »

drak0n1c wrote: post #14
latchkey wrote: post #3

If Thailand has it, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia probably do too. Edit: After checking on a map, probably Myanmar/Malaysia.

Myanmar has the most bountiful gem mines in the world. I visited in 2019 and there were many shops with piles of ruby, jade, sapphire, even amber. They're already pretty specialized in mining and have little qualms about razing mining areas so would be able to take quick advantage - if their civil conflict allows.

Anecdotal evidence can be misleading. I went to India and saw a literal pile, 7 ft high and maybe 10 ft in diameter of emeralds casually “stored” in a corner of a room but I don’t think India produces all that many emeralds (it’s primarily a cutting hub).

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#85

Post by baq »

stouset wrote: post #81
nordsieck wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think that true global reserves are much higher than what we know now. That was certainly true of oil. As reserves got depleted, progressively more advanced techniques allowed people to extract from more difficult locations.

At ever-increasing costs.

And decreasing EROI.

Maybe you meant that, but it’s worth stating outright, as no amount of money can fix that.

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#86

Post by whimsicalism »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #75
AdamH12113 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US oil production did, in fact, peak in 1970 and declined for decades afterward. Production only started to increase again about 15 years ago with the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M... EDIT: To be clear, I am responding to a specific, narrow idea implied by the parent comment: that there was a prediction of peak oil in 1970, and that that predictio…

Yes. Think people have impression we are energy independent and Scot-free because of fracking. Really, fracking was a second chance. A reprieve. We'll just be behind 8-ball again if we don't take this reprieve and grow some other energy source.

I do not really understand why we are obsessed with energy independence. It only matters if we were to ban exports which is an absurd thing to do.

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#87

Post by whimsicalism »

marcosdumay wrote: post #55
SeanAnderson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second sentence of the article states, "The find means Thailand has the third largest lithium resources, behind Bolivia and Argentina, but it is not yet clear how much can be exploited commercially." If Thailand has 14M and there are two others with >14M then total known resources must be at least 42M tons, no?

Reserves are only defined when you also state a price. It's not a free number. Those people are probably using different prices, and not communicating them.

What? These are denominated in tons, not dollars.

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#88

Post by kwhitefoot »

Gravityloss wrote: post #74

Hmm so 300 million cars with 50 kg lithium in each. That's about four years worth of global car production. Would make a dent in oil usage certainly!

An EV doesn't have 50 kg of lithium. The 70 kWh battery in my Tesla S has about 12 kg of lithium.

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#89

Post by whimsicalism »

drak0n1c wrote: post #14
latchkey wrote: post #3

If Thailand has it, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia probably do too. Edit: After checking on a map, probably Myanmar/Malaysia.

Myanmar has the most bountiful gem mines in the world. I visited in 2019 and there were many shops with piles of ruby, jade, sapphire, even amber. They're already pretty specialized in mining and have little qualms about razing mining areas so would be able to take quick advantage - if their civil conflict allows.

No, I think Botswana or DRC does

Re: Thailand discovers nearly 15M tonnes of lithium

#90

Post by linhns »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #46
maliker wrote: post #17

Looks like existing worldwide reserves are 26M tons [0], so this is a big find. [0] https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2023/mcs2023-lithium.pd...

I think that true global reserves are much higher than what we know now. Before, Lithium was important, but not nearly in the quantities needed for EV's. Now that EV's have picked up, more people will be looking for Lithium, and that will make all the difference.

It’s very likely to go the way of oil. EV demand has slowed down recently (honestly I don’t believe the world is ready for mass adoption and EVs themselves are not ready also), so we’ll keep finding more and more and always beyond the consumption.
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