Smackover Lithium sets new benchmark as Arkansas gears up for the big stage

Written By Jane Madden

This Week:

Smackover Lithium’s Franklin Project in East Texas has posted record-high brine grades. And the full agenda for the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit is now live, featuring a packed lineup of keynotes, panels and breakouts that will set the tone for the industry’s future.

  • Smackover Lithium’s East Texas breakthrough: Franklin Project boasts the highest brine grades ever reported in North America.

  • Summit agenda drops: From Sanders’ keynote to mainstage panels with Standard Lithium, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Equinor and Albemarle — here’s who’s speaking and why it matters.

Let’s dive in!

Smackover Lithium’s East Texas Play Shows Record-High Grades

Smackover Lithium — the joint venture of Standard Lithium Ltd. and Equinor — has released its first inferred resource for its Franklin Project in northeast Texas, confirming the highest lithium brine grades ever reported in North America and signaling East Texas’ rise as a key player in the U.S. battery supply chain.

By the Numbers

The Franklin Project’s maiden resource comes in at 2.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), alongside 15.4 million tonnes of potash and 2.6 million tonnes of bromide. 

  • The lithium itself grades out at an average 668 milligrams per liter, with one exploration well — Pine Forest No. 1 — registering 806 mg/L, the highest brine grade ever reported on the continent.

Smackover Lithium has been stitching together this position since 2022, leasing more than 46,000 acres in what is now an 80,000-acre project area. The resource estimate draws from a mix of old and new data: 2D seismic surveys and historic oil and gas well records, combined with three exploration wells drilled in 2023. 

  • Those efforts gave the JV enough geological and chemical information to publish this first formal look at what lies beneath East Texas.

Map by Smackover Lithium

What They’re Saying

Andy Robinson, Standard Lithium’s president and COO, said the Franklin Project gives the company a second major growth engine, one that complements its flagship South West Arkansas Project: 

  • “We believe East Texas to be a meaningfully underappreciated part of our total asset portfolio,” Robinson said, adding that the results should draw “more appropriate recognition for this world-class asset.”

Equinor’s Allie Thurmond, who leads​​ the Norwegian operator’s U.S. lithium operations, echoed Robinson, calling the report “an important step in realizing the broader lithium potential” for the joint venture. She said the milestone shows how quickly the team is turning exploration into tangible progress.

What’s Next

Smackover Lithium plans to drill additional appraisal wells and re-enter three shut-in wells to refine its models. It will also begin direct lithium extraction testing on Franklin brine, drawing on lessons learned from Standard’s Arkansas demonstration plant. Those efforts are designed to pave the way toward a preliminary feasibility study.

The bottom line: With record-setting grades and the scale to eventually produce 100,000 tonnes of lithium chemicals per year, Smackover Lithium’s Franklin Project is shaping East Texas into a new anchor for America’s battery materials future.

More: Get the report (PDF).

Inside the Agenda for the Second Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit

The full agenda is out for the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit, and it’s packed. 

The two-day event — set for Oct. 28-29 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock — will feature keynote speeches from national energy leaders, deep-dive panel discussions with global lithium developers and breakout sessions focused on the technology, policy and workforce needed to build a U.S.-based battery supply chain.

  • With Arkansas at the center of a growing domestic push to produce lithium from brine using direct lithium extraction (DLE), the summit offers the most complete picture yet of how key players are turning the state into a critical mineral hub.

Let’s take a look at what’s on tap.

Keynotes, Capital & Clarity:

The speaker lineup is stacked with industry players and policy minds.

Day 1 (Tuesday):

Day 2 (Wednesday):

Both Benchmark and Fastmarkets are top lithium market analysts. Expect key insights on pricing, demand forecasts and trends.

Must-Watch Mainstage Moments:

Day 1 (10-11 a.m.):
Mainstage Panel – Lithium Industry in Arkansas
Moderated by Lance Turner, editor of Lithium Link, panelists are leaders at some of the top companies involved in DLE in Arkansas:
• Andy Robinson, president and COO at Standard Lithium Ltd.
• Allie Thurmond, vice president of North American lithium at Equinor
• Patrick Howarth, lithium global business director at ExxonMobil
• Kristen Ghattas, vice president, CSS and lithium, at Chevron
• A representative from Albemarle Corp.

Why it matters: This should be an illuminating conversation among five major developers in Arkansas’ lithium sector.

Other Mainstage Panels:

Day 1:

• The Missing Midstream — with “Mr. Lithium” Joe Lowry; Dan Blondal, CEO of Nano One; Dave Park, CEO of Standard Lithium; and Hugh McDonald

Day 2:

• Global Lithium Investment Trends — featuring Chris Berry of House Mountain Partners; Rahim Bapoo of BMO Capital Markets; and Ernie Oritz of Lithium Royalty Corp.
• National Defense & Battery Supply Chains — with Gracelyn Baskaran of CSIS, and Gary Stanley, retired U.S. Department of Commerce.

• Building A Lithium Economy in Arkansas — with Hugh McDonald, Bob Galyen of Galyen Energy, and Anthony Tse of EMR Capital.

• Arkansas Lithium Tech Accelerator – spotlighting startups and pilot-stage innovation from RAM Geothermal, Chevron, Standard Lithium and Nano One, with Arthur Orduna of The Venture Center.

Breakouts and Deep Dives:

This year’s summit also includes an array of breakout sessions covering topics such as:

Day 1:

  • DLE technologies and safety

  • Building the energy workforce

  • Regulatory pathways

  • Federal policy updates

  • Innovations in lithium processing

Day 2:

  • Contracting for billion-dollar projects

  • Local community impact

  • Next-gen battery chemistries

  • Arkansas geology and data mapping

  • Infrastructure planning and incentives

The bottom line: With global majors, tech disruptors and policymakers all at the table, expect real news, new partnerships and a clearer picture of what’s next in the heart of the U.S. battery belt.

Secure your spot now! GET TICKETS

Previously: A look at last year’s inaugural summit: Video | White paper

What We’re Reading, Watching

Here’s a quick sample of other lithium-related news we’re reading and watching:

  • Lithium Link’s first guest, Arkansas drilling veteran Robert Reynolds, talks to KTBS-TV’s Rick Rowe about DLE prospects in the Smackover Formation. | Watch the story

  • The Magnolia Reporter was there as Southern Arkansas University President Bruno Hicks and Sheryl Edwards, SAU associate vice president for strategic initiatives and director of government relations and LithiumLearns, marked the grand opening of the LithiumLearns initiative at its newly dedicated space at 104 Harvey Couch Boulevard in Magnolia. | Read the article

  • CNBC and Reuters report that the White House is seeking an equity stake in Canadian lithium mining company Lithium Americas, owner of the Thacker Pass lithium clay mine in northern Nevada. | Read the article

Jane Madden
Next

ExxonMobil Goes Deeper Into the Battery Supply Chain