OGDC finds geothermal lithium in Sindh formation water, a first for Pakistan

[hydrabadi_arab]

Concentrations comparable to leading global geothermal brines; company plans expanded evaluation to assess commercial viability

The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) has confirmed the presence of lithium in "formation water" in Sindh, at concentrations comparable to some of the world's leading lithium-bearing geothermal brines, marking a first for Pakistan, according to a report by The News.

The discovery was made during advanced geochemical analysis of "produced" formation water from a successfully tested high-temperature geothermal well under OGDC's pilot geothermal programme in Sindh.

Formation water is salty underground water trapped in rocks for millions of years alongside oil, gas, or trace minerals, including lithium; when brought to the surface during production, it is called produced water, which companies increasingly use as a brine source for lithium extraction.


The News cited OGDC officials as saying that the recorded lithium concentrations are comparable to higher-tier geothermal brines found internationally, including projects under commercial development in Europe and North America.

Geothermal brines are increasingly viewed globally as a sustainable lithium source, since they allow extraction of the mineral alongside geothermal energy generation, reducing the environmental footprint of conventional mining.

Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and grid-scale energy storage systems, with around 80% of global lithium consumption linked to EV batteries. It is also used in consumer electronics, aerospace, defence, healthcare, glass and ceramics, industrial lubricants, and medicines for bipolar disorder.

While calling the discovery a promising breakthrough, officials said further technical work is needed to determine the resource's scale and commercial viability. OGDC has planned an expanded evaluation programme, including detailed brine chemistry profiling and resource confirmation studies aligned with international standards, to establish the lithium-bearing formation's regional extent and economic potential. The company's technical teams are already working with international consultants to guide the next phase of exploration.

If subsequent studies confirm commercially recoverable resources, the discovery could strengthen Pakistan's position in global critical mineral supply chains, attract foreign investment, and create new industrial opportunities.

 

[hydrabadi_arab]

This is great development and it will be easy to attract investment. The reason why lithium found in rock is shunned..

• Clay/Rock Deposits: Extracting lithium from clay requires traditional, heavy-impact mining. The earth must be dug up, crushed, and roasted or treated with large amounts of intense chemicals to separate the lithium. The technology to extract lithium specifically from clay at a commercial scale is still relatively new and expensive.
• Pakistan's Geothermal Brines: Because the lithium is already dissolved in underground water, it does not require open-pit mining. Instead, operators use Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) to pump the hot water up, filter out the lithium chemically, and pump the water back underground. This is generally much faster to process, requires less land, and is environmentally cleaner.

 

[313Ghazi]

Not good news for the water table in Sindh.

I asked Gemini what impact lithium mining has on the water table in the region.

The impact of lithium mining on regional water supplies depends heavily on **how** the lithium is extracted, but in most cases, it severely strains water quantity and threatens water quality. Because the largest reserves are located in naturally arid regions (like the High Andes or desert basins in Nevada), the high water consumption creates significant ecological and social friction.
The impacts fall into four main categories:
### 1. High Water Consumption & Depletion
* **Brine Evaporation Mining:** In places like the "Lithium Triangle" (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia) and Nevada, lithium is extracted by pumping mineral-rich brine from deep underground into massive open-air evaporation ponds. This process evaporates roughly **500,000 to 2 million liters of water per ton of lithium** produced.
* **Hard-Rock Mining:** In places like Australia or North Carolina, lithium is mined from hard rock (spodumene). While this process uses less water than brine evaporation, processing and washing the rock still requires substantial amounts of fresh water, which can strain local municipal and agricultural supplies.
### 2. Disruption of Freshwater Aquifers
Even when miners pump salty brine rather than drinking water, removing billions of gallons of underground brine creates a massive pressure drop in the deep aquifers. This causes fresh surface water and shallow drinking-water aquifers to sink deeper or flow inward to fill the void.
This dynamics leads to:
* **Drying Wells and Streams:** Surrounding drinking wells, wetlands, and rivers often dry up as freshwater is drawn down.
* **Salinization:** Fresh groundwater can mix with salty brine pockets, rendering domestic and agricultural water sources unusable without costly treatment.
### 3. Chemical Contamination Risks
The chemical processing stage involves treating extracted materials with substances like sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or sodium carbonate to refine lithium into battery-grade material.
* **Leaching & Tailings:** Waste rock, tailings ponds, and chemical runoff can leach heavy metals (like arsenic) or toxic processing chemicals into local surface streams and groundwater if not strictly managed.
* **Airborne Dust:** In dry regions, lithium-laden dust from processing sites and evaporation beds can blow into nearby freshwater bodies and soil.
### 4. Direct Impact on Local Communities & Ecosystems
* **Agriculture & Livestock:** In arid regions, local Indigenous and farming communities rely heavily on fragile, balanced water tables for agriculture and grazing (such as llama or alpaca herding). Over-pumping frequently leads to resource conflicts.
* **Ecosystem Collapse:** Fragile desert wetlands (such as salt-flat lagoons) lose their water supply, threatening native species (like Andean flamingos) and reducing the ecosystem's ability to store carbon.

### Emerging Solutions
To address these issues, the industry is increasingly moving toward **Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE)** technology. DLE acts like a filter, pulling lithium directly from extracted brine so that up to 90% or more of the processed water can theoretically be injected back underground, drastically cutting surface evaporation losses and a quifer depletion.

 

[313Ghazi]

Let's hope it only goes ahead if they do that DLE method.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

Good work by OGDC.

Regards

 

[hydrabadi_arab]

Not good news for the water table in Sindh.

I asked Gemini what impact lithium mining has on the water table in the region.

The impact of lithium mining on regional water supplies depends heavily on **how** the lithium is extracted, but in most cases, it severely strains water quantity and threatens water quality. Because the largest reserves are located in naturally arid regions (like the High Andes or desert basins in Nevada), the high water consumption creates significant ecological and social friction.
The impacts fall into four main categories:
### 1. High Water Consumption & Depletion
* **Brine Evaporation Mining:** In places like the "Lithium Triangle" (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia) and Nevada, lithium is extracted by pumping mineral-rich brine from deep underground into massive open-air evaporation ponds. This process evaporates roughly **500,000 to 2 million liters of water per ton of lithium** produced.
* **Hard-Rock Mining:** In places like Australia or North Carolina, lithium is mined from hard rock (spodumene). While this process uses less water than brine evaporation, processing and washing the rock still requires substantial amounts of fresh water, which can strain local municipal and agricultural supplies.
### 2. Disruption of Freshwater Aquifers
Even when miners pump salty brine rather than drinking water, removing billions of gallons of underground brine creates a massive pressure drop in the deep aquifers. This causes fresh surface water and shallow drinking-water aquifers to sink deeper or flow inward to fill the void.
This dynamics leads to:
* **Drying Wells and Streams:** Surrounding drinking wells, wetlands, and rivers often dry up as freshwater is drawn down.
* **Salinization:** Fresh groundwater can mix with salty brine pockets, rendering domestic and agricultural water sources unusable without costly treatment.
### 3. Chemical Contamination Risks
The chemical processing stage involves treating extracted materials with substances like sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or sodium carbonate to refine lithium into battery-grade material.
* **Leaching & Tailings:** Waste rock, tailings ponds, and chemical runoff can leach heavy metals (like arsenic) or toxic processing chemicals into local surface streams and groundwater if not strictly managed.
* **Airborne Dust:** In dry regions, lithium-laden dust from processing sites and evaporation beds can blow into nearby freshwater bodies and soil.
### 4. Direct Impact on Local Communities & Ecosystems
* **Agriculture & Livestock:** In arid regions, local Indigenous and farming communities rely heavily on fragile, balanced water tables for agriculture and grazing (such as llama or alpaca herding). Over-pumping frequently leads to resource conflicts.
* **Ecosystem Collapse:** Fragile desert wetlands (such as salt-flat lagoons) lose their water supply, threatening native species (like Andean flamingos) and reducing the ecosystem's ability to store carbon.

### Emerging Solutions
To address these issues, the industry is increasingly moving toward **Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE)** technology. DLE acts like a filter, pulling lithium directly from extracted brine so that up to 90% or more of the processed water can theoretically be injected back underground, drastically cutting surface evaporation losses and a quifer depletion.

• Pakistan's Geothermal Brines: Because the lithium is already dissolved in underground water, it does not require open-pit mining. Instead, operators use Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) to pump the hot water up, filter out the lithium chemically, and pump the water back underground. This is generally much faster to process, requires less land, and is environmentally cleaner.

 

[Goenitz]

For sure, Sindh would have good alkaline deposits, but I think even a feasibility and initial development should be done by an independent agency. It can be another trick like Thar Coal.