| Basis for focus area |
Playas within the Cactus-Sarcobatus Flats HUC8 watersheds selected from the Nevada state geologic map (Stewart and Carlson, 1978) with a 5 km buffer to include surrounding alluvium. |
| Identified resources |
Identified resources of lithium. |
| Production |
None. |
| Status |
Active exploration. |
| Estimated resources |
Bonnie Claire (2021): Inferred resource of 3,407.3 million tonnes with a Li grade of 1,013 ppm; 3,451.5 million kg Li, 18,372.3 million kg LCE (Samari and others, 2021). |
| Geologic maps |
Workman and others (2002), scale 1:250,000. |
| Geophysical data |
Partly adequate (10%) aeromagnetic coverage. Inadequate aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Unconsolidated sediments in closed basins. |
| Deposits |
Bonnie Claire deposit (USMIN Site_ID: NV00148). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
USMIN; Lane and others (2018); Samari and others (2021). |
| Geochemical evidence |
Industry data. |
| Geophysical evidence |
Unknown. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Unknown. |
| Comments |
Models for Li brines and clays both require a Li source, and the source will be Neogene volcanic and sedimentary rocks within a HUC or within a neighboring HUC. It would be fabulous if mapping could identify these lithologies and their location with respect to basins (in the center of a HUC). |
| Cover thickness and description |
Sediment and clay at the surface and at depth. |
| Authors |
Lisa L. Stillings. |
| New data needs |
Geologic mapping, geophysics, geochemistry. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
Updated geologic mapping. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High-resolution, Rank 1 aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric surveys. Any geophysics that can define basin depth, geometry, volume, cross-cutting structures would be helpful for calculating the volume of brine, where to drill in the basin, or whether basin fluids might flow into an adjacent basin. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar inadequate. |
