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Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 15, 2025 at 0:33

Tonni, there is a lot of uninformed speculation regarding lithium from brine.  It has nothing to do with the Haynesville Shale or the Haynesville sandstone wells in Louisiana.  In fact there is no Haynesville Shale within thirty miles of Arkansas. I shared an internet article with Rock Man yesterday that was an uninformed promotion piece that mentioned Haynesville Shale in Arkansas.  As soon as I see that I know not to trust what is being reported.

LSU will test brine samples from Louisiana Smackover, not Haynesville, wells along the state line to see if there are any with economic concentrations of lithium.  There may be some however the royalty income that flows from those that do have the required concentrations and are fortunate to get included in a lithium unit will see very small payments.  I would caution mineral owners that do end up a part of a lithium play that the royalty will be nothing like what we have experienced with the Haynesville Shale.  Not for the lease bonus or the long term royalty.

The potential benefits if lithium does becomes profitable enough for investments to pursue it are jobs and tax revenue.  And that will be very limited as to location.  If projections are to be believed, there is more than enough lithium in southwest AR and east TX to meet domestic demand for lithium for decades to come.  And that is if lithium is not replaced by a cheaper and more efficient battery technology.

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