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I have no experience in the mining industry, but is it possible that current technology has a limit on how quickly it can extract lithium from a deposit given the area of the exposed cross section?

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No, it's really the economics of it. Lithium and other evaporite minerals are usually concentrated in ponds so the evaporation rate can play a part, but usually it's a matter of efficiently using the capital over the lifetime of the operation.

It's easy to drill more wells or build more ponds.

I work in the industry and, as luck would have it, am on a project near the facility in Nevada.

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