The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a massive lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains (concentrated in the Carolinas) and another in Oregon's McDermitt Caldera, estimated at 2.3 million metric tons of lithium oxide. At current market rates this translates to roughly $1.5 trillion in value, which could significantly reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese lithium imports. The catch: extracting it faces major technical and environmental hurdles that could take years to overcome, and the valuation assumes successful commercial extraction at scale.