![where to find burda magazine in usa where to find burda magazine in usa](https://images.uniquemagazines.co.uk/Large/355377_10.jpg)
The former mine is now a Superfund site, and a 2013 study by researchers at Dartmouth College found widespread evidence of toxic metals in nearby sediment, water and fish. The company extracted roughly 800,000 tons of copper and zinc before flooding the area, turning it into Goose Pond. In the late 1960s, the Callahan Mining Corporation was given permission to drain a 75-acre coastal estuary in the town of Brooksville and turn the area into an open-pit mine. Indeed, Maine’s most famous mines are perhaps better known for their aftermath than what they produced. And once the production of sulfuric acid has begun, it can be difficult to stop, polluting waterways for decades, a phenomenon known as acid mine drainage. When exposed to air or water, iron sulfides create sulfuric acid. Some of the gravest environmental concerns revolve around mining for base metals - such as copper, lead and zinc - which often occur in bands of rock rich in iron sulfides. “Because those metals have a relatively low cost, in terms of their concentration per ton or per ounce, you need to excavate large volumes of rock cheaply in order to economically and profitably produce the metal you’re interested in.”Ĭommercial mining has resulted in a long list of disasters, from collapses and explosions to rivers dyed a sickly shade of orange. John Slack, a geologist who co-authored a separate upcoming paper on critical minerals in Maine. “I don’t know of any underground and manganese or lithium mines in the world,” said Dr. Yet lithium is a metal, and state regulations passed in 2017 prohibit mining for metals in open pits of more than three acres, which would be the only way to cost-effectively extract lithium at Plumbago North. But the state, and its residents, will also need lithium-ion batteries to store energy from wind and solar panels, and run electric vehicles. Maine’s metallic mining law was designed to protect the state’s natural resources and keep its water clean. “They don’t have an area of the rule that explains this kind of work.” “We’d have to get clarification from the state,” said Freeman, when asked whether the couple planned to apply for a mining permit. “We know that the Maine mining laws are such that there’s not one single active mine in Maine,” said Mary Freeman, who owns the land with her husband, Gary, a co-author on the paper describing the find. But under Maine’s recently enacted mining laws, it’s unclear whether it will ever be extracted. Demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow between five- and 10-fold by the end of the decade, and the world must ramp up production quickly to move away from fossil fuels. Lithium is prized because it is lightweight and can store lots of energy, making it an important component in batteries for electric vehicles and as reservoirs for excess energy generated by wind turbines and solar panels. A more detailed sampling and analysis needs to be done, said Simmons, but the crystals are undeniably “world-class.” William “Skip” Simmons, a mineralogist at the University of New Orleans and co-author on a recent paper describing the findings. “This is going to be a very important source of lithium in the future,” said Dr. Now partially exposed, the deposit is estimated to have a higher percentage lithium content by weight than any other in the world.
![where to find burda magazine in usa where to find burda magazine in usa](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HvL55b7BS._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Measuring up to 36 feet in length, some of the lithium-bearing crystals are among the largest ever found.įormed three miles underground during the cooling of granite magma, the crystals rose to the surface over hundreds of millions of years as the mountains above them crumbled and eroded.
![where to find burda magazine in usa where to find burda magazine in usa](https://www.travelmanagers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Woman-travelling-solo_ThinkStock.jpg)
Smaller deposits have been known in Maine for decades, but this recent discovery, just north of Plumbago Mountain in Newry, is the first to have a major resource potential.Īnd that potential is staggering: At current market prices, the deposit, thought to contain 11 million tons of ore, is valued at roughly $1.5 billion. NEWRY - The richest known hard rock lithium deposit in the world lies a few miles northeast of the ski slopes of Sunday River and not far from Step Falls, where swimmers can wade in shallow pools formed by hundreds of feet of cascading granite ledge.