Lots of interesting concepts regarding lithium mining are in this article and also shown are some of the difficulties of both promising more than a company can deliver on the one hand and the pitfalls of dealing with the U.S. government on the other. 

The Salton Sea lithium project was once the "Be All End All" darling of the U.S. government's partnership  with Berkshire.  How that marriage became a divorce is a mandatory lesson in what not to do for other lithium mining operations.

The Holy Grail of DLE is also one of the main characters of this Not Ready For Prime Time  TV Movie... see for yourself:

U.S. steps away from flagship lithium project with Berkshire (msn.com)