Lithium Exploration Plans In Nevada
VANCOUVER - Surge Battery Metals Inc. reported the overall explorational rationale and proposed plans for the lithium exploration program to be conducted at its San Emidio Lithium project in Nevada. The San Emidio Project is located in the San Emidio Desert, Washoe County, Nevada about 99 km north-northeast of Reno, Nevada. The property position consists of 60 association placer claims covering about 1942 Ha (4,800 acres) centered on the San Emidio playa. The target of this early-stage exploration project is a lithium brine deposit similar to those at Clayton Valley, Nevada and similar other producing deposits in Chile and Argentina. These lithium rich brines are thought to be the product of evaporative concentration of dissolved lithium leached from volcanic ash either by weathering or geothermal fluids.
San Emidio Valley is located in the northeastern corner of the Walker Lane, a structurally complex tectonic zone formed by interaction of the NNW trending strike-slip movement of the Pacific Plate and ENE – WSW extension of the Great Basin. This zone is still geologically very active with numerous earthquakes and recent volcanic activity. The interplay of the two structural regimes results in a trans-tensional environment characterized by deep rhombochasm basins and steep ranges. Since the extensional movement is on-going, the basins continue to sink, preserving the basin fill and fluids.
The oldest geologic formations in the Fox and Lake Ranges are Triassic and Jurassic metasediments of the Nightingale Sequence. These rocks were folded and faulted during the Mesozoic and intruded by Jurassic and Cretaceous age plutons. The package was uplifted and eroded prior to the middle Tertiary. Volcanic flows and clastic rocks of the Pyramid Sequence were deposited on a fairly flat surface during the middle Miocene. The Truckee Formation, another package of volcanic sandstones and volcanoclastic rocks was deposited during the upper Miocene. Volcanic ash and sediments in the Wind Mountain area are in the 4 – 5 million year age range and have been offset up to a kilometer vertically by range front faulting since that time.
San Emidio Valley is home to a large and long-lived geothermal system that is still active. The Ormat Energy San Emidio geothermal plant, about 2 km east of the center of the claim block is currently producing about 11 megawatts of power and has recently been granted approval to construct another 40 megawatt plant. The active geothermal system extends about 6 km roughly north – south along the range front fault. Numerous tufa mounds, acid sulfate alteration, and sinter follow the structure. Currently the center of the upwelling geothermal fluids is near the power plant to about 1 km north; the remaining thermal features are from horizontal flow along the structure. The heat source appears to be simple deep circulation into the crust; it is not related to igneous activity.
Greg Reimer, President & CEO, said, “After a review of the detailed work previously completed by a prolific lithium exploration company in the area, our geologists are proposing to expand the soil survey to the north, filling in the additional area of the new property boundary. That said, a 400-meter grid gravity has also been recommended by our geology team to get a better idea of the sub-surface topography. Following this work, a combination CSAMT / natural source AMT lines across the valley will be used to map the various conductors vs. resistors, and to identify the potential for brine filled gravel beds vs. less permeable ash layers. Based on these results, the team may consider additional seismic work in the area. This important work will ultimately help identify the future drill targets in the area.”