A mining company has announced plans to extract 10,000 tonnes of lithium a year from rocks beneath a County Durham beauty spot after drilling found vast volumes of hot brines laden with the precious mineral. Lithium is an essential component of the rechargeable batteries that power everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles – but the UK is currently entirely dependent on imports. Weardale Lithium’s planned processing plant in the Co Durham valley would strip the lithium from water pumped from deep underground reservoirs, creating the UK’s first domestic supply of the mineral. If the deposits prove commercially viable then the UK could reduce its current complete reliance on imports which mainly come from Australia and South America. The area is the second part of the UK to yield commercially viable lithium deposits. Cornish Lithium is already seeking to exploit similar deposits in Cornwall. It too expects to produce about 10,000 tonnes a year. Stewart Dickson, the chief executive of Weardale Lithium, said the company wanted to establish “a facility for domestic lithium production from naturally occurring geothermal groundwaters that would become a focal point for the UK lithium industry.” Weardale Valley is a renowned beauty spot on the east...