Nevada's lithium resources are world class ...
So why - in spite of hundreds of millions spent and billions allocated - is Nevada producing almost none of the world's lithium?
Projects already stuck due to limited water, now face even greater constraints. Sulfuric acid used to be just a permitting problem... Now it's also a new impossible to control cost constraint. Investors who might invest - have options to place their money - after watching failed trajectories they need safer harbors.
If Capital can go anywhere... Why choose Nevada??
Great resources, stalled projects.
Nevada's clays and brines hold some of the largest lithium resources in the United States. Getting that lithium out is where projects keep running into the same walls.
Water
Water was a problem before, and it is a bigger one now. Water rights, senior users and a high desert have already put lithium projects in court.
Sulfuric acid
Clay lithium leans on sulfuric acid. Supply has tightened and prices have risen, which pushes costs up and puts a harder look on every permit.
Permitting
Water and acid questions slow approvals. Delays, litigation and moving timelines make projects harder to finance, which makes them harder to build.
Can Nevada's clays and brines be processed profitably?
A lot of serious people have looked at the economics and said no. Acid costs, water constraints and permitting risk stack up faster than the margins do.
It's a fair question, and it's the right one to start with.
The technology problems are ours to answer.
NexGen DLE's extraction approach was built around the three constraints that keep Nevada projects stuck, so the profitability question has a different answer.
That is a claim to be tested with data. We are ready to put the process in front of anyone who wants to test it.
Investor confidence is a Nevada question.
Technology can make a project viable on paper. It cannot, on its own, make capital feel safe committing to a place.
Money that can go anywhere needs a reason to go to Nevada. Right now, too many investors don't feel that reason. That is a gap only the state can close.
Will Nevada step up to give that capital extra incentive to come?
What would make an investor feel safe putting serious money into a Nevada lithium project?
If not here, where does the capital go?
Nevada's lithium era needs an answer on both sides of the table.
NexGen DLE is bringing the technology. If you work on policy, permitting or capital in Nevada, we would like to hear what it would take.