The 17-Pound Doorstop That Hid $64 Billion of Lithium

North Carolina's $64 billion lithium deposit is trapped in a deadlock that has stopped two billion-dollar mines. The documentary traces the ground from Conrad Reed's 17-pound gold doorstop in 1799 and America's first gold rush to the 25-mile Carolina tin-spodumene belt that supplied the world until 1988. It follows Piedmont Lithium and Albemarle's plans to feed Toyota's $13.9 billion battery plant in Liberty, and why county zoning, private wells and daily blasting now decide if the lithium ever leaves Gaston County.