USGS and NASA Map Critical Minerals from 65,000 Feet

The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA have expanded the world's largest airborne hyperspectral survey, covering some 400,000 square miles of the American West to identify critical mineral deposits from 12 miles altitude. T…

Anselm Brightmoor

October 2, 2026

Critical Minerals

U.S. Appalachians Hold 328 Years of Lithium Imports

The Appalachian region of the eastern United States contains an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium — enough to replace 328 years of U.S. imports at last year's level, according to new USGS research. The deposits, concentrated in the Carolinas, Maine, and New Hampshire, are held in large-grained pegmatite rocks and could substantially reduce American dependence on foreign mineral supplies.

Critical Minerals

Carolinas' Lithium Could Cover US Needs for 201 Years

New USGS research estimates the southern Appalachian region holds 1.43 million metric tons of economically recoverable lithium oxide — enough to replace 201 years of US imports at last year's level. The findings place the Carolinas at the center of US efforts to secure domestic mineral supply chains.