Simbol Materials is beginning commercial operations at a factory in Southern California to capture lithium from existing geothermal energy plants, a technology it says has the potential to turn the United States into a major lithium exporter. The plant will also capture manganese and zinc. The California company will piggyback on an existing geothermal plant that makes electricity by pumping hot water from deep underground and using its heat to make steam to drive a turbine. The “water” is actually a very strong brine, composed of about 30 percent dissolved salts. A study by the American Physical Society identified lithium and zinc as likely to be very important in the new energy economy of the future. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/business/energy-environment/simbol-materials-plans-to-extract-lithium-from-geothermal- plants.html