CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR, dailymail.co.uk

The US may be on the verge of unlocking a $2.3 trillion hidden treasure trove of 'white gold' that could supercharge the nation's economy for years to come.  

A new chemical extraction process will soon allow miners to take advantage of approximately 19 million tons of lithium sitting underground in southwest Arkansas.

Called Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), officials for Standard Lithium said the technology will allow them to begin harvesting this vital resource and selling it by 2028.

Lithium is often called white gold because it's a key mineral used in the creation of batteries in electric cars, phones, and other digital devices. It even helps in the creation of pharmaceuticals, glass, ceramics, and military equipment.

A recent study estimated that there could be enough lithium inside a giant slab of limestone rock, known as the Smackover Formation, to meet the entire global demand for electric cars in 2030 nine times over.

Using DLE, miners will soon be able to pull out lithium-rich saltwater from underground reservoirs in Arkansas, filter out the minerals, and return the processed groundwater to the Earth within 24 hours.

The 2024 estimate of 19 million tons of lithium in the Smackover Formation would be enough to erase the nation's current dependence on China, which controls roughly 70 percent of the world's lithium supply.

Katherine Knierim from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said: 'We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace US imports of lithium and more."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15513147/Americas-white-gold-rush-Arkansas-trillion-lithium.html

dropsitenews.com

Senior U.S. military officials have informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize a U.S. attack on Iran this weekend, multiple sources have confirmed to Drop Site News. Strikes could commence as early as Sunday, the ally was informed, if the U.S. decides to move forward.

“This isn’t about the nukes or the missile program. This is about regime change,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official who consults for Arab governments and is an informal advisor to the Trump administration on Middle East policy. He told Drop Site that U.S. war planners envision attacks that target nuclear, ballistic, and other military sites around Iran, but will also aim to decapitate the Iranian government, and in particular the leadership and capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces created after the country’s 1979 revolution whose leadership now plays a major role in the country’s politics and economy.

The thinking in the Trump administration, according to the source, is that a successful strike on Iranian leadership would be followed by Iranians returning to the streets to protest, leading to the overthrow of the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is hoping for an attack,” the former senior intelligence official said, “and assuring Trump that Israel can help put in place a new government that is friendly with the West.”

Two senior Arab intelligence officials told Drop Site that they received word a U.S. attack could come “imminently.”

“If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way [U.S. President Donald] Trump imagines—carrying out a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweeting that the operation is over,” said Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, Iran’s military spokesperson, in an interview on Iranian TV on Thursday. “The scope of war will certainly extend across the entire region,” he added. “From the Zionist regime to countries that host American military bases, all will be within range of our missiles and drones.”

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/united-states-iran-imminent-attack-strikes-trump-israel