Texas Smackover Lithium Play
As the Smackover (SMK) Lithium (Li) play picks up steam we need to acknowledge that from regulatory and legal standpoints, there will be significant differences between the play in South Arkansas and in East Texas. Very soon we expect to know more about royalty provisions and regulatory guidelines. From past experience with dissimilarities between Texas and Louisiana mineral laws and regulatory statutes governing the Haynesville Shale, we hope to limit confusion and make it easier to access the information that will be pertinent to land and mineral owners.
In order to help members and quests to the website and to avoid confusion, we will start two new discussions, one for Texas and one for Arkansas. There is an abundance of information in the original SMK Lithium discussion threads and members may want to click on them and then save them to their computer bookmarks/favorites to be able to access them in the future as they will eventually rotate off the main page. After 24 hours, comments in those discussions will be closed but the replies will remain available in the website archive. Archived discussions are available by using the search box in the upper right corner of all website pages.
GoHaynesvilleShale.com was one of the first resources for mineral owners to learn basics, share information and generally provide a place where mineral owners could become more informed managers of their mineral assets in the age of the Internet. The website is pleased to continue to provide those services to those who will benefit from the SMK Lithium Play. Please keep in mind two things. You are a key part of the on the ground intelligence network by letting your friends and neighbors know about GoHaynesvilleShale.com and encouraging them to participate in site discussions. And since GoHaynesvilleShale.com is free for all to use, please consider a donation to help keep the website online.
Joe B. Lovelace
From Press Release issued by Standard Lithium March 26, 2025
https://www.standardlithium.com/investors/news-events/press-release...
Mar 27
Lisa
Do y’all know of any other real people who have gotten more than that in Texas. I’m already aware of an operation in Franklin county that is offering 12.5%. That seems to be an outlier.
Jun 3
Jesse Joyner
Seems to me, like has historical occurred with O&G, the early lithium leasing is being way low-balled. That's sorta been the standard protocol for "plays" over the years. Plus, the largest landowners tend to be inked first. Ask the old-timey landowners what they got for their "oil" back in the '20s & '30s, etc. Total low-ball. And some of those inconsequential bonuses and ridiculous royalty percentages are still in effect today. Such HBPs can be a curse, which the trusting country folk initially thought were good deals in Louisiana/TX/Ark. Of course, way back, not many people used lawyers and signed away rights for peanuts, which stuck with 'em for decades, with sum still bemoaning the old HBP leases. Heartbreaking. Yeah, and I know 'cause it happened in my family. So, if it was me, at such low-ball peanut terms, I'd pass and tell them to come back when they had a "fair & reasonable" offer, which is a Pentagon-type procurement term. In other words, seems to me that right now there's very little money garnered by landowners leasing their lithium. If it was me, I'd wait until the "play" got much more mature and the prices went up to legit O&G leasing terms in the 21st Century. Just saying. (Of course, the naysayers will argue that low-balling is needed to develop this new resource and make the lithium play viable. And that would mimic the similar argument used back during the first oil boom in the ArkLaTex.) Just saying.
Jun 4