California's 'White Gold' Rush: Lithium In Demand Amid Surge In Electric Vehicles

As demand for electric vehicles heats up, there's concern about a shortage of the key minerals needed to make them. The Biden administration has called for boosting domestic production of such minerals, including lithium for the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. And that has many hoping for big business in a desolate spot of California's Imperial Valley.

A few miles from the shores of California's Salton Sea, a construction crew is at work on the future site of Hell's Kitchen Lithium and Power. It's a geothermal facility, meaning it uses Earth's natural heat to create electricity.

That alone has fueled investment here for years. This facility, run by the Australian company Controlled Thermal Resources, will someday produce enough geothermal energy to power 1.1 million homes. And once it's fully operational, it will also be able to extract lithium from the geothermal brine under the ground.

"The sea has been receding for up to about 20-40 yards a month in the shallow lands down here," explains CEO Rod Colwell, pointing out the change on a windy day in Calipatria, near the man-made lake's southern edge.