News Space Black hole theory deepens lithium crisis Proposal identifies potential new source of element By Nadia Drake July 19, 2012 at 12:15 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print The universe is lacking in lithium — and instead of solving what’s known as the “lithium problem,” a new study makes it even more complicated. The work, published in the July 13 Physical Review Letters, suggests that some small black holes could be acting as lithium factories.