There’s something beneath the feet of East Texans that keeps drawing people to the region. Some say it’s the healthy soil, others say it’s the charming people. Recently, energy companies across the United States have set their eyes on East Texas for a different reason: lithium.
East Texas sits in the prime seat of a geological area called the ‘Smackover Formation’.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Smackover Formation is “a relic of an ancient sea that left an extensive, porous, and permeable limestone geologic unit that extends under parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. It dates to the Jurassic geological time period and is known for its rich deposits of oil and bromine. In recent years, the Smackover Formation has also gained attention for potential lithium in brines– high-salinity waters associated with deep salt deposits.”
