BLM minerals staff briefs council on lithium‑brine exploration lease east of Green River

Drew, minerals staff from the Salt Lake City office, presented an early-stage mineral-lease proposal for lithium brine east of Green River and showed a map of the proposed lease blocks. The package includes several parcels in Emery County (about 300 acres total) and substantially larger acreage in Grand County for exploration sampling and potential future production.

Drew said the current stage is exploration; the company would pay annual royalties during exploration and production royalties if the project advanced. Attendees asked for clearer maps, the nature and locations of drilling or excavation, and how brine would be produced; Drew said the proposed operations are underground brine leases rather than surface drill sites and promised to provide more detailed maps and excavation plans as the proposal develops. A technical question about depth prompted a staff reply that the brine targets are typically thousands of feet deep — council members cited ranges of roughly 8,000–12,000 feet for production wells in similar projects.

The council requested that staff circulate a more detailed map and a plain-language description of the exploration plan before formal local comment or any recommendation.