California, United States

The largest lake in California, the Salton Sea, has a "white gold" mine, which is a treasure worth nearly $540 billion, at its bottom.

Scientists were studying the largest lake as part of research funded by the Department of Energy.

The aim of the study is to discover how much lithium, also called "white gold due to its white sand-like appearance", is present at the bottom of the lake.

The lithium is present in such huge quantities that if extracted, it will be able to create batteries for as many as 382 million electric vehicles. The creation of so many batteries will make the United States the leading nation in chemical.

Speaking about the discovery, a geochemistry professor at the University of California and one of the 22 authors of the study, Michael McKibben, said, "This is one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the world. This could make the United States completely self-sufficient in lithium and stop importing it through China."

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Governor of California Gavin Newsom had earlier called the Salton Lake as the "Saudi Arabia of lithium". The discovery has made the lake the world's largest source of lithium.

Will scientists be able to extract lithium from the lake?

Speaking to KJZZ radio, LA Times climate journalist Sammy Roth said, "They found that there's potentially enough lithium down there to supply batteries for 382 million electric vehicles, which is more, more vehicles than there are on the road in the United States today. So, if we could get all that lithium, that'd be huge."

However, it will not be easy to extract lithium from the lake and it will have its own dangers.

As reported by SFGATE, it will not be easy to extract lithium from the lake and it will require "geothermal production wells to extract the lithium-rich brine from thousands of feet below the earth’s surface, and once the lithium is dissolved from the brine, the liquid is pumped back underground."

The drilling can also impact 180,000 people who live near the lake. It can also affect the water supply which comes from the Colorado River. 

(With inputs from agencies)