US seeks new lithium sources as demand for batteries grows

FILE - Derek Benson, chief operating officer of EnergySource Minerals, walks through the Featherstone plant in Calipatria, Calif., where the company is producing geothermal energy and extracting lithium from brine Friday, July 16, 2021. Benson says EnergySource Minerals has extracted lithium there on a small scale since 2016 and the company has plans to build a much larger addition for mineral extraction. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)