This story was updated Sunday, March 17.
After a test site in southeastern Utah erupted with brackish waters this month, critics of a new technique to mine lithium are once again raising questions about whether the process could contaminate water supplies across the West or stress already limited resources.
An exploratory well at the Green River Lithium Project, near the small town of Green River, overflowed with “mildly brackish” water on March 8, according to A1 Lithium, a subsidiary of Australian company Anson Resources.
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The unanticipated surge of water from an aquifer 1,500 feet underground totaled nearly 10,000 barrels, or about 420,000 gallons, the company said in statement.
