Alberta says it’s sitting on a potential US$1 trillion lithium resource: What happens now?

Brine sampling in progress at LithiumBank’s owned Leduc Formation well in West-Central Alberta. (LithiumBank)

Alberta is sitting on one of the largest lithium resources in the world. The challenge now is proving it can actually be produced.

The province’s rich lithium discovery is not sudden.

Scientists and oil companies knew of dissolved lithium in underground brine across oil and gas fields for decades, but the economics and technology were not in place to measure it or extract it.

Until recently.

Last week, the province quantified its in-place lithium resources for the first time. The Alberta Geological Survey found Alberta holds 82.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, potentially ranking it as the third largest lithium resource in the world.

“Times have changed,” says the province’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals, pointing to rising demand for lithium in electric vehicles, batteries, data centres and consumer electronics.

On paper, the resource could be worth nearly US$1 trillion if produced using direct lithium extraction, a technology companies like E3 Lithium have been racing to perfect.

The company’s CEO, Chris Doornbos cautioned the figure is theoretical, noting “you never get 100 per cent” of the value in the ground, but the report is significant.

“I think the validation is here now,” said Doornbos.

“We’ve needed more and more lithium. It’s most of what’s coming out of China today, but the big push from the G7 countries to go domestic so quickly is probably the biggest, most important moment.”

Doornbos said the shift is not about discovering lithium, but about extracting it economically, which could allow Canada to build its own battery supply chain.

“We are in deficit in the North American battery ecosystem,” he said.

• Canada is racing to refine this key battery ingredient at home

How companies plan to make it work

E3 Lithium has spent years developing technology to extract lithium from brine in Alberta’s Leduc reservoir, a byproduct of oil and gas operations previously considered wastewater.

The company began developing its technology in 2016, piloted it in 2023 and launched a demonstration facility in 2025.

“We’re going to see the technology prove out… demonstrating it to people who will finance this project,” said Doornbos.

“That for us commercializes lithium.”

E3 is targeting first production between 2028 and 2029, with an initial output of about 12,000 tonnes annually. Doornbos said securing financing remains one of the biggest hurdles.

Other Alberta-based companies are taking a different approach. LithiumBank is working with a major oilfield services company to scale extraction.

Alberta’s lithium is lower grade than the brines found in South America, making extraction more complex, but Alberta’s vast resource base and existing oil and gas infrastructure help offset that, says the chief operating officer of LithiumBank, Kevin Piepgrass.

“We have dozens of wells that we can potentially reuse. We have pipelines that we can reuse, roads, power lines… all these things in place that really reduces the capex,” he said.

Piepgrass said direct lithium extraction is not optional in Alberta.

“The only way it’s possible… is direct lithium extraction,” he said, noting the province cannot rely on evaporation methods used in warmer climates.

LithiumBank is targeting initial production of about 10,000 tonnes per year, with potential to scale up to 34,000 tonnes. Piepgrass said the company could see first production around 2030 if development moves ahead as planned.

Unlike some global producers that ship lithium abroad for processing, Alberta projects aim to produce battery-grade lithium domestically.

Big opportunity, but real risks remain

The reason lithium is an attractive opportunity for Canada is because it builds on Alberta’s oil and gas workforce, says John Kirton, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of the G7 Research Group.

He said lithium could “make Alberta genuinely a clean energy superpower.”

“It’s highly attractive for producing what’s called a just transition,” he said, noting oil and gas workers could transition into lithium development.

Kirton said the discovery is significant because Canada currently imports lithium largely from the United States, while exporting much of its own output south.

But he warned there are major uncertainties, like technology.

“It is still unproven at commercial scale,” he said.

He also pointed to Canada’s lack of processing capacity, noting the country is “not meaningfully in the lithium processing game,” which could require further investment.

Global competition is another challenge. Established producers like Chile and Argentina have proven extraction methods and favourable climates.

At the same time, lithium prices remain volatile. “It can just crash,” Kirton said, adding that “there’s a new technology… sodium works even better and is cheaper.”

He says while small to medium businesses may benefit from the domestic supply chains, the economic payoff for Canada as a whole could take about a decade.

Governments are betting on it

Lithium is already a priority under Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy, with billions committed to building domestic supply chains.

Doornbos said part of that push is driven by concerns over global market dynamics, including China’s dominance in the sector.

E3 Lithium has received about $80 million in combined federal and provincial funding, while LithiumBank has received support from Alberta and is in discussions with the federal government.

Natural Resources of Canada currently ranks Canada as the sixth leading lithium producer in the world.

The department says it will update the ranking after Alberta’s recent geological report.