The 'white gold rush': Inside a lithium mine, where stores of recyclable energy lie | Nightline

The 'white gold rush': Inside a lithium mine, where stores of recyclable energy lie | Nightline

Lithium powers many of our devices as well as electric vehicles. Western states are believed to hold an immense amount of the metal and some say it could help the U.S. reach its climate goals.

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50 Comments

  1. Kormondre on June 28, 2022 at 9:42 pm

    The production process looks disgusting

  2. Daniel Hanawalt on June 28, 2022 at 9:44 pm

    It would seem losing one rare flower few have ever heard of would be a small price to pay. But where do we draw the line on small prices? Lithium ION batteries need cobalt, much of which comes from a country in Africa, where children 10 or 11 years old have worked mining for cobalt. It’s extremely unhealthy for them, and the pay is very low. Around a dollar or two a day. That would seem to be more than a small price. While the US and some other countries would not use child labor, some other countries will have no problem with it.

  3. moonshinefuel on June 28, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    I don’t think this is the answer, the reason why is batteries don’t last, they go bad, so that’s a problem, you’ll never stop digging up the earth and destroying it. There are revolutionary breakthroughs by using simply, water, (hydrogen) emissions free and regenerative solar extraction processes. Why not utilize water, which is free from the sky, oceans, etc. And simply falls back down to earth again.

  4. Vanta Black on June 28, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    Come on keep flower and don’t use lithium that would otherwise promote gasoline fueled cars putting the earth more at risk. Bigger picture is to dig out lithium to save the world in a speedy way n replace combustion engine

  5. Common Gunowner21 on June 28, 2022 at 9:48 pm

    This wont end well for us

  6. KzDM on June 28, 2022 at 9:49 pm

    Why do we care about a desert flower?

  7. Dale Val on June 28, 2022 at 9:50 pm

    Biden is an idiot

  8. awsomenesscaleb on June 28, 2022 at 9:51 pm

    We need to destroy the earth’s crust to save the environment

  9. mike moore on June 28, 2022 at 9:51 pm

    Its just a flower.
    Drive an electric car.

  10. Laura Anderson on June 28, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about Stanley Myer’s water powered car… oh wait… water is free… oil, gas, and lithium costs money and can be ripped out of the earth by mega-corporations to distract us from better alternatives… fuckers…

  11. RG P on June 28, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    What happens when there isn’t enough water?

  12. Amun Ra on June 28, 2022 at 9:54 pm

    Lithium carbonate is now going for $65,000 per ton. Kinda want to drive up to those pools with a couple of 5 gallon buckets and walk away with a quick $3,000 dollars.

  13. Quigley 1,000 yard smack on June 28, 2022 at 9:57 pm

    The electric car is probably equal damaging to this planet if not more. It really makes me sad how people are not understanding the science of this.

  14. Martin Rios on June 28, 2022 at 9:57 pm

    Omg, americans are so decadent

  15. B ee on June 28, 2022 at 9:57 pm

    It’s a good thing the American government is involved, that we we know everything we are told is true and good for us. when I hear democrats say something I immediately start looking the opposite direction for truth.. this will end up like the oil wars we have invited ourselves into in the name of “help” for other countries. Oh, and thanks for wearing your masks alone in the desert idiots. Your saving the world !!!

  16. Ed Stallion on June 28, 2022 at 9:59 pm

    I’ll be packing my bags soon on my way to sunny Nevada.

  17. Mary Thompson on June 28, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    You are not welcomed in Thacker Pass Nevada

  18. Derwyn Yleen on June 28, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    You talk like lithium isnt toxic. Go ahead and use it for your facial than.

  19. Louise Hoff on June 28, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    does the southwest need 4.6 million gallons of fresh clean water every day or a tesla they cannot afford? Thacker Pass has been thrown open to digging a deep pit mixing our water with acid so the rich can drive a fancy car. When the Quinn River gives out they will keep drawing from the aquifer.

  20. S R on June 28, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    touching underground aquifers is "not using otherwise unused water resources"? 😳

  21. meanuncledavid on June 28, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    I stoped watching once I saw they were wearing masks in the Nevada desert with just two people out there. Then the climate crisis lie started. Lame hippie propaganda. Thought it would be more educational.

  22. MrKaili808 on June 28, 2022 at 10:09 pm

    Nurses the plant and propagate as many as you while mining to have plant stock to replant as the mine is recovered back to a natural landscape.

  23. Jonathan c on June 28, 2022 at 10:09 pm

    its probably done in other countries because its cheaper there, and no one wants to destroy your own backyard.

  24. Oliseo Vazquez on June 28, 2022 at 10:11 pm

    Guess who ain’t getting lithium for free??🤣

  25. Joeziah Babb on June 28, 2022 at 10:13 pm

    its a goddamn flower…99% of every species that has existed on this planet has gone extinct and these people want to see the country fall behind economically to safe every damn plant, insect or whatever the hell their privileged life has led to believe is worth saving.

    Soft men create hard times….

  26. mdb123 on June 28, 2022 at 10:14 pm

    Why not build a facility/warehouse and copy the habitat (actually take the soil from Silver Peak) and grow the plant there? Also at the facility harvest the seeds of that plant and store them there. Once the reclamation is done reseed the area with seeds. If that fails then at least the species will survive in the facility.

  27. Pete on June 28, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    "We just have to get the technology" says an American. How did we get to this point?

  28. Victor Segovia Palacios on June 28, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    "Critical to fight climate change"
    What a retard

  29. Hawkern on June 28, 2022 at 10:18 pm

    And Noone talk about the Litium farming in Kongo where about 15000 children is working the mines….. the big companies chose to look the other way….

  30. TOOLIN' on June 28, 2022 at 10:19 pm

    He laughted when she said "facial" lol

  31. frank sigwart on June 28, 2022 at 10:20 pm

    If I could I would. But I won’t

  32. Dawn Baldwin on June 28, 2022 at 10:20 pm

    Lithium is a nessersery layer that the earth needs it works the same for our earth as it does on humanity. It really needs to go organic biofuels machines that fart that feed the plants. We should never destroy any of the earths nessersery elemental layers when our evolution depended on them. There us so much science that still needs to catch up with our biological spaceship. You could grow so many types of organic biofuel without damaging the earths evolution. This is a quick attempt to fix a long term issue. We can grow all these elemental layers if we take the time to feed the earth and grow matter. 💚

  33. rmarbertin8 on June 28, 2022 at 10:21 pm

    So "technically", that water _could_ be used for agriculture instead, if for some reason food and water becomes more important than e-vehicles, or perhaps de-desertification, for the carbon capturing benefits of good old fashioned plant plants.

  34. frank sigwart on June 28, 2022 at 10:22 pm

    Hahahaahjaj move the plant . 300 homes in Brevard country have destroyed the indigenous saw grass palmetto in just one month

  35. Moses Manaka on June 28, 2022 at 10:24 pm

    What’s up with the woke masks.

  36. Stephen Gill on June 28, 2022 at 10:24 pm

    The only way mining will happen on a grand scale is when the US workers receives a wage lower than China. It will never happen. The USA is China’s belt loop boy.

  37. Hantus77 on June 28, 2022 at 10:26 pm

    Hydrogen

  38. VeinBe K on June 28, 2022 at 10:27 pm

    dont walk on the flower, just slowly drain its life out by lithium farming them LOL

  39. The Trump News Network on June 28, 2022 at 10:28 pm

    This is propaganda … wake up folks you’re being conditioned to accept a different kind of planet destruction.

  40. Michael Felder on June 28, 2022 at 10:30 pm

    The Boring Company has not Killed one endangered species and certainly not this precious plant @5:13
    To all you "professional" mining executives… Time to man up and hire a ProofRock from Elon and get this done by building a tunnel highway in the layers so rich in Lithium.
    Open pits and ponds are Old school and silly. They use, outdated machines and stick humans in them to drive in a slot car track.
    C’mon it’s 2022, ProofRock is real. It exists TODAY. Get it done.

  41. David Clark on June 28, 2022 at 10:30 pm

    Joe Biden literally cannot string a sentence together.

  42. azrios on June 28, 2022 at 10:32 pm

    Does that weed have a human health benefit?

  43. Clear Mind on June 28, 2022 at 10:32 pm

    Bunch of BS over 85% of the lithium and cobalt comes from mining operations in Third World countries where they use child slaves in the mine chefs. I guess if that’s the kind of trade-off you’re looking for you can sell your soul for a walk conscience.

  44. Tad on June 28, 2022 at 10:34 pm

    So just HOW is Biden going to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in just eight years???? Crash the economy of course. Close up shop.

  45. Jason Lee on June 28, 2022 at 10:34 pm

    Yeah and all your drinking water gets contaminated

  46. Sam Hendrix on June 28, 2022 at 10:35 pm

    Soon as terrorist figure out how to make the batteries in electric cars explode and cause major fatalities they will be bombs everywhere so the government can ban Lithium https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lithium+battery+explosion

  47. Rosario Livatino *Mártir da Justiça* on June 28, 2022 at 10:36 pm

    Grande mina de Lito no Nordeste de PORTUGAL 🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹 A maior jazida da EUROPA🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺 De facil prospecçao de superficie. Boas Estradas para transporte. ha tambem muito tungstênio e volfrâmio 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

  48. Ethan Mertins on June 28, 2022 at 10:39 pm

    A buckwheat flower 😐😐😐

  49. Tyler Bell on June 28, 2022 at 10:39 pm

    joe biden is destory our country more and more, also you left the big bad parts of lithium mining

  50. Double Slit Photon on June 28, 2022 at 10:41 pm

    Wassup with the catwalk? a model turned into reporter or a reporter turned into a model?

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