A group of nonprofits, area businesses and water users tried to stop a lithium mining project near the Green River this summer. Their attempt failed, but now they’re trying again — in court.
Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asks the 7th District Court in Moab to overturn the Utah state engineer’s decision to approve water rights for lithium extraction by Blackstone Minerals, a Las Vegas-based subsidiary of Anson Resources, which is headquartered in Australia.
“This proposed lithium extraction site will be mere feet from my front yard and the river,” said Gayna Salinas, a farmer in Green River, in a statement.
“We are not assured that the State Engineer’s decision follows the letter of the law,” she continued. “This lawsuit is an important next step for the people and resources of Green River to ensure accountability.”
In May, Utah State Engineer Teresa Wilhelmsen approved an application from Blackstone Minerals to use 14,000 acre-feet of water per year from an aquifer. For reference, one acre-foot of water can sustain two Utah households for a year.
A month later — after hearing concerns about the project’s water use — Wilhelmsen announced that she would reconsider that decision. But she doubled down on approving the water right last month.
A spokesperson for the Utah Division of Water Rights said neither the agency nor the state engineer have a comment on the new lawsuit because they have not received it yet.
Lithium extraction is a water-intensive process. But Anson Resources claims its method uses virtually no water to mine the metal.
The company would first drill thousands of feet deep to draw lithium-saturated brine to the surface. Then, using a nascent technique called direct lithium extraction, or DLE, Anson plans to pull the lithium out of the brine using a material developed by Sunresin, a Chinese company.
Anson will rinse the lithium free from Sunresin’s material using 2,500 acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado and Green Rivers. The Wayne County Water Conservancy District approved that water right in January 2023; Anson paid just $1 for the water, which they can use for 23 years.
After culling the lithium from the brine, Anson says, it will reinject 100% of the water it drew from the aquifer back underground for a “non-consumptive” use of the water.
Those challenging the state engineer’s decision are skeptical that Anson’s extraction technique is truly non-consumptive. One study, published in March 2023, found that the direct lithium extraction method can use more water than open-air evaporation.
“The Green River and the Colorado River System deserve the highest standards of review when it comes to granting large-scale industrial projects touting unproven technology and results,” said Lauren Wood, a trip director with Holiday River Expeditions, in a statement. “Our coalition’s effort is about getting something we don’t often see in the waterways of the west: accountability.”
The state engineer also considered a protest from the Bureau of Reclamation — a federal agency that oversees water projects across the West — that the lithium project would strain the drought-ridden Colorado River system and contaminate water supplies.
When she reapproved the project’s water right in September, the state engineer dismissed those concerns.
Anson and Blackstone Minerals did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new lawsuit. But in September, Anson CEO Bruce Richardson said the project “will provide clean lithium in an environmentally responsible manner and importantly support the Utah economy through the creation of well-paying jobs.”
The coalition worries that the state engineer’s decision set a dangerous precedent for water use in Utah and believes more companies will try to follow in Anson’s footsteps.
The Bureau of Land Management recently approved two lithium drilling projects in nearby Grand County, one of which is headed by another Anson subsidiary: A1 Lithium Inc. A1 Lithium will explore for lithium near State Route 313, the main road used to access Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.
While the state engineer was reviewing Blackstone Minerals’ Green River Lithium project, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s reelection campaign accepted a $10,000 donation from A1 Lithium, according to state campaign finance records.
Canadian company American Potash LLC, in another exploration project greenlit on BLM land, will look for lithium and potassium-bearing minerals in the Labyrinth Canyon region.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
