The U.S. Geological Survey says the Appalachian region contains an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium—an amount it calculates could replace about 328 years of U.S. lithium imports at 2024 levels.
The U.S. Geological Survey said in an April 28 news release that new research estimates the Appalachian region holds roughly 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium, enough to replace about 328 years of U.S. imports at 2024 import levels.
USGS said the estimate is based on assessments of lithium-bearing pegmatites and was published in the peer-reviewed journal Natural Resources Research. In the USGS breakdown, the southern Appalachians contain an estimated 1.43 million metric tons of lithium oxide, concentrated in the Carolinas, while the northern Appalachians contain an estimated 900,000 metric tons, concentrated in Maine and New Hampshire.
The agency’s release also noted that the United States currently has one sole domestic producer of lithium and relied on imports for more than half of the lithium used in the most recent reporting year cited. USGS added that while Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer, China is second and accounts for the majority of global lithium refining and consumption.
The Daily Wire opinion column that highlighted the USGS release argued the estimate underscores the scale of potential domestic resources, pointing to the U.S. role as a leading lithium producer decades ago and framing expanded mining as part of a broader push to reduce supply-chain dependence. The USGS release, however, emphasized that its resource estimates carry uncertainty and are presented at a 50% confidence level.
