Salton Sea, Slab City

[MotorVation]

Link to story in the Desert Sun

I don't know how lithium mining is going to affect Slab City but I'm glad something constructive will happen with the Salton Sea. As it is, it's literally a sewer and gets worse as time goes on. The New River, the most polluted river of its size in the US dumps into it and has no outlet. That's in addition to all the other problems the Sea has. The whole area is pretty much a toxic waste dump.

I camped right on the shore two years ago for 3-4 days in the van. It's a beautiful area but even the air isn't safe to breathe for long. I'm glad I did get to see it

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Lithium extraction requires massive amounts of water per ton. Dropping the local water table further.

The brine ponds will hang around afterwards.

Doubt that the process will improve the Salton Sea area.

Between Goldfield and Tonopah in Nevada, on the road to Alkali Hot Springs. further west of US-95 lies some brine ponds before you get to Silver Peak. If anyone passing through that area wants to see the impact.

 

[bebewanna]

I spent a few months there awhile ago, 1996. Camped just on the other side of the highway, towards the hills. It's all houses now. Friends had rented apt for the winter. Never been across to Slab City, but you hear few good things about it.
I had breakfast in a Cafe every morning next to the sea. It was all alkali then. Really a sad picture.

 

[MotorVation]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/04/the-salton-sea-could-produce-the-worlds-greenest-lithium.html

Above is a link to a more in-depth article on CNCB. It could turn out to be a good thing particularly if California works out a deal with these companies to clean up the mess that's already there and even better if they bring in a good water source

 

[user 22017]

Lithium extraction requires massive amounts of water per ton. Dropping the local water table further.

Thanks for pointing that out. Plus, lithium is a finite resource. I read cobalt is used to make lithium batteries, too. There are problems with child labor in cobalt mining. It is only mined in one location.

 

[MotorVation]

From the second article:

Traditionally, lithium extraction involves either open-pit mining or evaporation ponds, which work by pumping lithium-containing brine to the surface and waiting for the water to dry up. Both of these methods have huge land footprints, are often very water intensive and can create a lot of contamination and waste.

But at the Salton Sea, three companies are developing chemical processes to extract lithium in a much cleaner way, taking advantage of the Salton Sea’s rich geothermal resources. Near the lake, there are already 11 operating geothermal power plants, 10 of which are owned by Berkshire Hathaway’s renewable energy division, BHE Renewables.

 

[MotorVation]

www.cnbc.com/2021/11/17/samsung-panasonic-and-tesla-embracing-cobalt-free-batteries-.html#:~:text=Among%20its%20goals%2C%20the%20blueprint,their%20technologies%20in%20electric%20vehicles.

Link to an article concerning cobalt and lithium batteries above

 

[Casa De Wherever]

Hung out at Desert Shores as a kid (Grandma's desert cabin) and have tremendously fond memories of hiking, fishing, rockhounding, bb gun and .22 plinking, plus mini bike riding, boating, bonfires, etc. It has however, morphed into somewhat a ghost town so still enjoy visiting. The Slabs have their own charm, but sure liked it better when the 'Low's' had a chapter there.

 

[user 16179]

Hung out at Desert Shores as a kid (Grandma's desert cabin) and have tremendously fond memories of hiking, fishing, rockhounding, bb gun and .22 plinking, plus mini bike riding, boating, bonfires, etc. It has however, morphed into somewhat a ghost town so still enjoy visiting. The Slabs have their own charm, but sure liked it better when the 'Low's' had a chapter there.

I spent the past Dec and Jan just a few miles away from Slab City on some private property in the desert. The utoobers that make The Slabs seem so artistic and wonderful need to keep the phone video going and TURN AROUND. Then the world will see the mounds of trash, the burnt out cars and trailers along with the wondering, biting dogs. It is one step from a third world country. I was there to recover from an injury after I had been off the bike for 10 months. I got attacked and bit by a dog driving past Slab City. Luckily there were witnesses so I had no problems with the owner after I returned the attack. There is so much junk I installed Slime into my bike tires to prevent the flats that happened more than I've had the last decade. A friend said they wanted to go visit there but wasn't going to because of gas prices. No problem, just stay at a local landfil for a day or so. Probably cleaner and more safe

 

[Cajunwolf]

@wrongway2 Yeah, the slab's not for the weak at heart. Been there a couple of times myself over the years, and it only gets worse. The trash makes the place so drab, and the homeless wanna-be artists swarm there during the winter, but the summers are brutal.