Unique ‘white gold’ mine worth 540 billion dollars discovered

A massive deposit of "white gold" worth $540 billion has been discovered at the bottom of a lake in Southern California.

The Salton Lake, the largest lake in the United States, was studied by scientists as part of a Department of Energy research project. The aim of the study was to determine how much lithium, often referred to as "white gold" due to its sand-like appearance, lies beneath the lake's surface.

Scientists estimate that approximately 18 million tons of lithium are present at the bottom of the lake, with 4 million tons already confirmed through drilling.

With such an immense lithium supply, the U.S. could produce enough batteries to power 382 million electric vehicles, making it the world's largest lithium holder ahead of China.

Michael McKibben, a geochemistry professor at the University of California, Riverside and one of the 22 authors of the study, said: "This is one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the world. This could make the United States completely self-sufficient in lithium and stop importing it through China."

With this discovery, Salton Lake has now become the largest lithium reservoir in the world.

(QG - Source: Indy 100 - Picture : © Unsplash)