Lithium venture moves into East Texas
The lithium boom has made its way into East Texas. Since my last lithium article many exciting things have taken place.
Smackover Formation – East Texas In September of 2025, the Smackover Formation in East Texas was reported by Smackover Lithium to have some of the highest lithium brine concentrations in all of North America.
Smackover Lithium is a joint venture (JV) between Standard Lithium and Equinor. Formed in May 2024, Smackover Lithium is developing two Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) project areas in southwest Arkansas and East Texas. Standard Lithium owns a 55 percent interest and Equinor holds the remaining 45 percent interest in the two project locations, with Standard Lithium maintaining operatorship.
The Smackover Formation is a proven brine production region with extensive lithium resources.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Smackover Formation is “a relic of an ancient sea that left an exten- sive, porous, and permeable limestone geologic unit that extends under parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
It is known for its rich deposits of oil and bromine.
The Smackover Formation is around 2,000 feet deep in the northern parts and 22,000 feet deep in southern regions. It was named after an Arkansas town where they first drilled and produced ‘Smackover Limestone’ in 1936.
Standard Lithium Team
I had the pleasure of speaking with team members (Chad Martin, Vice President of U.S. operations at Standard Lithium; Jesse Edmondson, Standard Lithium’s director of government relations and Valarie Smith, Standard Lithium’s community relations representative) from Standard Lithium recently who gave updates on the ongoing and upcoming projects, including the Franklin Project.
“So, we found out that the highest concentration of brine is actually in Texas. The formation itself stretches from near the Waco area, up to Dallas then runs through East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into the Florida panhandle.” Martin said. “Standard Lithium started hiring in Arkansas in 2019 and there are currently 35 people operating the Demo Plant in Eldorado around the clock. The JV has around 80 people working on the progression of the projects in Arkansas and East Texas.”
As per the company, “With our East Texas Projects, we have secured a significant brine lease position, drilled and sampled lithium brine showing immense potential to develop a resource and future production. The JV is targeting potential production of more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium chemicals per year in Texas in multiple phases. This goal is supported by two additional projects the JV is planning to develop in East Texas that are anticipated to roughly triple the size of the JV’s portfolio area in the state.”
“It is a slow process that will take time but it will be dome right,” Edmonson said. “We always want good communication with the landowners and people in the area and we ask them to be patient and understanding with the process.”
Lithium can be mined by evaporation ponds where they cover thousands of acres and pump the brine to the surface. It’s low energy but using the sun for evaporation can take a while.
Normally to use evaporation ponds companies need flat acreage which you don’t find a lot of in Southern Arkansas and East Texas. The humidity in this area is terrible for evaporation ponds as well.
The other method is Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) which uses various technologies to extract lithium from brine and it is done so in a matter of hours or days. It is considered much more environmentally friendly.
DLE production has much lower water and carbon footprints and the chances of damage to local water sources are considerably less.
The Franklin Project The Joint Venture announced in the fall that their first project in the East Texas region of the Smackover highlights the size and quality of its brine position. They found it contained the highest reported lithium- in-brine grades in North America and marks a key step towards the ultimate goal of reaching production of more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium chemicals per year in Texas through multiple phases. This goal is further supported by two additional projects that the JV is planning to develop in East Texas that roughly triples the size of the portfolio area in the state.
Dr. Andy Robinson, President and COO of Standard Lithium stated, “Our team has been working diligently for the past four years to identify the most attractive areas to secure sizeable, high-quality brine resources in North America, and the Franklin Project provides a strong foundation for future, much larger production in the Smackover that will complement our South West Arkansas Project. Standard Lithium is more than a single project company. We believe East Texas to be a meaningfully underappreciated part of our total asset portfolio and expect this report to be a key initial step towards achieving more appropriate recognition for this worldclass asset.”
That is huge news for Texas which leads the United States in oil production.
The Report for the JV’s first project in the East Texas region of the Smackover highlights the size and quality of its brine position. The Project also contains the highest reported lithium-in-brine grades in North America, including a previously measured 806 mg/L at the Pine Forest 1.
The JV will also conduct direct lithium extraction (“DLE”) testing of the Project brine, leveraging insights gained from Standard Lithium’s Demonstration Plant located in El Dorado, Arkansas, as well as the JV’s Southwest Arkansas project.
Meeting the Public They also discussed the community workshop in Mt. Pleasant where members of the area gathered for a chance to learn more about what is going on concerning the lithium expansion into Texas.
“Anytime a new company makes its way into the area in which you live, people want to know what’s going on,” Smith said. “The community was very receptive when we met with them in Mt. Pleasant.”
Not only did those in attendance get to meet members of the Standard Lithium team, but they also got to learn about the process of lithium extraction.
“We want to earn the trust of the community because we want to be a part of the community,” Martin remarked. “From the beginning we have been transparent in Arkansas and we want to do the same in East Texas.”
President Robinson added this statement in one story.
“We’re working with landowners and we’re very respectful of what land means to people in East Texas. The fact that so many of these ranches have been passed down for generations or a first-time landowner who has worked so hard to have that– we appreciate that kind of intrinsic value that the land has. We want to be conscious and careful by design to make sure we’re not disturbing any of the shallow surface groundwater aquifers.”
While they are in talks with East Texas leaders, Robinson said they are still several years away from knowing exactly where mining infrastructure would go.
The Project
Martin and Edmonson were adamant about the project and that a find like this puts America up near the top of producing battery- grade lithium along with China.
“We want to be the leader in energy transition and cut down having to go overseas for it,” Martin said. “We’ve had about 80 people working from the beginning (Phase 1) back in 2018 and they are still there.”
The East Texas Oil Field is considered the largest contiguous oil reservoir in the U.S. outside of Alaska and with decades of oil and gas development, East Texas could definitely benefit from DLE.
The technology is there and the future is now.
“Smackover Lithium believes East Texas has the potential to lead the nation in lithium production,” Edmonson said. “We will do it the right way and with the right technology we can produce lithium efficiently.”
“We always want to be respectful of the people who live and work on the land. Our goal is to build a true partnership with East Texans by creating jobs, investing in the community and bringing opportunity to landowners,” Edmonson added.
“We also want to educate people about what we’re doing.”
Standard Lithium and Equinor are industry leaders working together to bring world-class lithium resources, knowledge and expertise to the region and the projects within.
The company is adamant about making relationships with all involved and keeping everyone up to date on many different avenues the process may take.
To keep up with what’s going on visit https://www. standardlithium.com/ news/.