Lithium ore generation and characterization

支持锂矿石勘探的锂同位素研究**总部位于温哥华的Lithium America Corp.正在开发其在国王谷的全资拥有的内华达锂项目，该项目位于美国内华达州麦克德米特火山口的中新世粘土岩中。这是美国已知的最大的锂资源。目前，锂开采主要集中在火山地带蒸发盆地或富锂伟晶岩矿床中的浓缩卤水上。国王谷粘土矿藏**提供了丰富而有趣的替代方案，吸引了勘探公司的注意。这项工作**将检验这些粘土中的锂在一座古老的超级火山喷发期间形成的富锂流纹熔岩和点火沸石的淋滤后积累起来的模型。由此产生的麦克德米特火山口这样的超级火山的坍塌**结构为沉积物创造了一个盆地，并在通过大气水和热液输送后将锂淋溶到**积累。提出了一个野外和实验室项目，以记录锂同位素异常及其与锂浓度的关系，以解释矿床中锂浓度的**空间变异性。这项拟议的研究将使用渥太华大学地球科学实验室开发的同位素和**地球化学技术，建立**矿石成因模型，这将有助于集中在该地点的勘探和采矿活动。

Lithium isotope research in support of lithium ore exploration**Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Corp. is developing their wholly owned Lithium Nevada Project at Kings**Valley, hosted in claystones of the Miocene aged McDermitt Caldera in Nevada, USA. This is the largest**known lithium resource in the United States. Currently, lithium mining focuses on enriched brines from**evaporative basins in volcanic terrains or on lithium-rich pegmatite deposits. The Kings Valley deposit in clays**offers an abundant and interesting alternative that is attracting attention from exploration companies. This work**will test the model that the lithium in these clays has accumulated following the leaching of Li-enriched**rhyolitic lavas and ignimbrites formed during the eruption of an ancient supervolcano. The resulting collapse**structure of a supervolcano like the McDermitt Caldera created a basin for sediments and leached Li to**accumulate following transport via meteoric water and hydrothermal fluids. A field and laboratory program is**proposed to document lithium isotope anomalies and relationships with lithium concentration to explain the**spatial variability of lithium concentrations in the deposit. This proposed research will be using isotope and**geochemical techniques that have been developed in the University of Ottawa geoscience laboratories, to build**an ore genesis model that will help focus exploration and mining activities at the site.