STAMPS, Ark.—Global corporations are flocking to southwest Arkansas to invest millions in plants that will extract dissolved lithium from an ancient saltwater sea trapped under the Smackover Formation, a bounty that could generate billions, maybe trillions, of dollars in profits.
The “white gold rush” for the critical mineral essential in manufacturing lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power modern electronics will create thousands of construction jobs in the coming years, and hundreds of full-time positions in the coming decades across Arklatex—southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and east Texas.
The “lithium boom” promises to revitalize withered towns that have weathered declines in the region’s oil, lumber, carpet, and furniture industries, a century-long contraction marked by shuttered storefronts in deserted downtowns….