A company is ramping up to extract lithium near the Colorado River in Utah — and use a whole lot of water. Australia-based Anson Resources says the water beneath southeastern Utah holds an abundant source of the mineral, which the nation needs as it becomes more dependent on lithium-powered batteries and moves toward a less fossil fuel-dependent future. But opponents worry the already over-tapped Colorado River Basin has little water to spare. The extraction technology Anson plans to use has never been used at the scale proposed, and questions remain about how much water it will consume and deplete from the system.

Related articles: 

• Deseret News: Saving the Colorado River: An acre-foot at a time in the Upper Basin
• Mother Jones: Why is the Colorado River running dry?
• San Diego Union-Tribune: Commentary - Lots of water and federal money