Phoenix Water - PXW - Lithium - 100x, page-1091

A few snippets;

"Exxon, which invented the lithium-ion battery in the 1970s but stepped away from the technology, plans to begin producing at least 10,000 metric tons per year of lithium in Arkansas by 2026"
"Exxon, like other fossil fuel producers, has faced pressure to reduce carbon emissions from operations.
Reuters reported this year that Exxon shareholder Engine No. 1 had pressured the company to deploy DLE.
Exxon is not expected to publicly announce which DLE technology it has chosen, according to the source.
Reuters reported this year that Exxon and Chevron (CVX.N) held talks with International Battery Metals (IBAT.CD) and EnergySource Minerals about licensing DLE technology."

This part regarding current a current "regulatory roadblock" in Arkansas is particularly interesting.

"Separate from its Tetra partnership, Exxon also controls more than 100,000 acres in Arkansas from which it plans to begin lithium production by 2027, according to the source. Exxon, like Albemarle (ALB.N), Standard Lithium (SLI.V) and others aiming to produce the battery metal in Arkansas, face a key regulatory roadblock. The southern U.S. state, just north of Louisiana, has a royalty structure for bromine, which Albemarle has long produced there, but not for lithium, which could delay development in the short term.The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, which overseas lithium operations in the state, has said it plans to hold hearings on the matter."

"Exxon plans to send at least six representatives to the Benchmark Minerals conference next week in Los Angeles, according to an attendance list seen by Reuters. It would mark the company's first attendance at the major critical minerals conference."

Could diversification into California be a good option? I wonder what the grades, flow rates, etc and resource to reserve conversion ratios are like in Arkansas? According to the Office of the State Geologist, it looks like grades can contain "as much as 445ppm" which is comparable to Phoenix's average grade 437ppm in its12.4mt resource.

"The bromine-rich brines from wells in the Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation of Columbia County in southwestern Arkansas contain as much as 445 parts per million lithium. Lower values are reported in waters originating from some water wells and hot and cold springs scattered across Arkansas. Except for lithium's potential as a by-product from the bromine brines in the Smackover Formation, other concentrations of commercial potential are not known to exist in Arkansas."

https://www.geology.arkansas.gov/minerals/metallic/lithium.html