Industry being built around Alberta's ample liquid brine lithium supply turning major corner

There's an emerging industry in Alberta -- potentially worth billions of dollars -- mining ancient saltwater deposits instead of solid rock for lithium.

There's an emerging industry in Alberta -- potentially worth billions of dollars -- mining ancient saltwater deposits instead of solid rock for lithium.

Lithium is used mostly in rechargeable batteries but is also an important ingredient in glass cooktops and other everyday goods.

The industry is turning a major corner.

It's been a big week for Calgary-based E3 Lithium as its first pilot plant started extracting the important metal from liquid brine deposits, located deep underground near Olds, Alta.

"Projects like ours that are trying to be developed are in their final stages, so the technologies are now getting across the line in terms of commerciality. We're starting to see a couple of projects build a commercial direct extraction facility," said Chris Doornbos, CEO of E3 Lithium.

The coming decade is expected to bring a boom in the emerging sector.

AER, the federal government and businesses all expect that liquid brine lithium -- much of it located in Alberta -- will add a big boost to Canada's estimated 3.2 million tonnes of conventional rock-based reserves.