UAA professor receives grant to study lithium: an increasingly important commodity for alternative energy technology

Last week the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the recipients of their mineral research grants for 2010. UAA's Dr. LeeAnn Munk, associate professor and chair of the geology department, is one of the recipients. This new research on a range of minerals important to our economy, national security and land-use decisions has been funded through grants awarded by the USGS. Recipients of the 2010 USGS Mineral Resources External Research Program grants will study copper, lithium, rare earth elements, uranium and phosphate in the United States.

Munk, along with C. Page Chamberlain of Stanford University, received $69,892 to study the formation of lithium resources in brine waters and clays, helping with estimations of resource potential in these environments. Lithium is an increasingly important commodity for alternative energy technology. This research will focus on brine resources at Clayton Valley in southwest Nevada and on clay resources at McDermitt Caldera in northcentral Nevada.

Other grant recipients will study: a technique for identifying hidden copper resources, formation of lithium and rare-Earth-element deposits, uranium resources in sandstone and hidden phosphate in Virginia.

The USGS Mineral Resources External Research Program invited research proposals that will help ensure a sustainable supply of minerals for the nation's future; understand the relationship between minerals, the environment and public health; provide information to make informed land-use decisions; and deliver mineral information critical to national security. Proposals were accepted from academia, state agencies, industry and other private sector organizations and scientists. For more information, visit the Mineral Resources - External Research Program site.