East Texas sits on a goldmine of lithium, but questions loom over how the state will regulate mining and production

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TEXARKANA - When Scott Norton became president of the TexAmericas Center, he hoped the industrial park would attract employers that would bring much-needed jobs to North East Texas.

Little did he know the industrial center would sit atop one of the country's largest and richest lithium deposits, known as the Smackover Formation, and would also become a key location for mineral production in Texas.