TIME Magazineさんのインスタグラム写真 - (TIME MagazineInstagram)「Mary Freeman and her husband Gary found the world’s richest known lithium deposit lies deep in the woods of western Maine five years ago while hunting for tourmaline, a striking, multi-colored gemstone found in the region. The timing of their discovery, in what has been named Plumbago North, is remarkable; the Freemans have stumbled across one of the only hard-rock sources of lithium in the U.S. at a time when the material is desperately needed for the clean energy transition. By 2040, the world will need at least 1.1 million metric tons of lithium annually, more than ten times what it currently produces. Should the Maine deposit be mined, it could be worth as much as $1.5 billion, a huge windfall for the Freemans and a boon to the Biden Administration’s efforts to jumpstart more domestic mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements to reduce the U.S.’ dependence on China. This is one of the few lithium deposits in the U.S. currently found in hard rock, which means it is higher-quality and faster to process than lithium mined from brine. But like just about everywhere in the U.S. where new mines have been proposed, there is strong opposition here. Maine has some of the strictest mining and water quality standards in the country, and prohibits digging for metals in open pits larger than three acres. Link in bio. Photographs by 1 and 3: Garrick Hoffman (@garrickhoffmanphotography)—The Maine Monitor (@mainemonitor); 2: Jessica Rinaldi—The Boston Globe/Getty Images」7月18日 2時35分