Alberta Geological Survey/Alberta Energy Regulator Photo courtesy CP Images
A s the world moves to secure lithium for electric vehicles and other power- hungry products, Alberta is advancing an approach that could offer both environmental and strategic advantages. A new assessment of Alberta’s lithium resources confirms the enormous scale of the province’s potential. A new approach to lithium production Rather than relying on sprawling solar evaporation ponds or energy-intensive hard-rock mining operations, Alberta is pursuing lithium production centred on direct lithium extraction (DLE) from deep underground deposits. Using technology adapted from decades of oil and gas experience, DLE uses solvents to selectively remove lithium from salty
formation water before reinjecting the spent brine back underground, significantly reducing land disturbance and water loss. Work underway in the province is showing the feasibility of lithium production from DLE. “We have a great resource base, and our oil and gas industry has set us up to pursue a more environmentally friendly way of producing lithium,” said Kim Mohler, vice- president of project development for energy consulting firm GLJ Ltd. Much of Mohler’s time is spent supporting clients’ lithium and geothermal projects across Canada and the U.S., including key DLE developments underway in Alberta. “Alberta has an advantage because a lot of the knowledge and infrastructure for drilling wells and producing deep subsurface brines is already in place,” she said.
Report finds Alberta holds one of the world’s largest known lithium accumulations
The province is also a step ahead because the exploration work that has to be done in other parts of the world has already been done here, Mohler added. One of the world’s largest lithium resources According to a new report by the Alberta Geological Survey and Alberta Energy Regulator, the province’s subsurface contains an estimated 82.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, one of the largest known accumulations in the world. Most of the resource is concentrated in the Devonian-age Leduc formation, the same geologic formation that launched the province’s modern oil industry in 1947. Significant additional resources are also found in the Swan Hills and Nisku formations. The new report outlines the enormous scale of the lithium industry’s opportunity.
Alberta’s lithium resources could supply material for more than 10 billion electric vehicle battery packs and could theoretically generate more than US$1 trillion in revenue over time, the analysis found.
Rising demand, limited North American supply
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North American lithium demand is projected to grow sharply over the next several years. According to S&P Global, U.S. consumption is forecast to increase by roughly 74 percent annually while Canadian demand grows by about 40 percent by the end of the decade. Right now the vast majority of the world’s lithium supply comes from outside of North America, which produced just 40,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate out of a global supply of 1.28 million tonnes in 2024. Canada accounted for approximately 2.5 percent of that, at 5,983 tonnes, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.
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