“I don't believe there is a "Tap" like source/spring that has Hi Li content that is depositing it in our tenements.Simply weathering away over Eon's & just the right Geology!Hi again SMR.”
I respectfully disagree with U on this one after further research and ref in particular to an excellent paper ( Munk et al) on sources of Li.
Apologies once again for the length of this post but it’s better than reading the whole Munk et al paper. It is worth a read though as it may well help in giving a full picture of what any particular Li company might have in terms of a Succeasful Li project.
In reading this there r quite a few ways for Li to be sourced. However the item is suggests that simple fresh water percolation through Li rich rock sourece is not likely to give U an order of magnitude higher Li brine concentrations of 1000mg and upwards. U may get the necessary result by an upwards hydro gradient set up by the extremely arid conditions that pulls the Li in brine to the upper halites, however imo this is unlikely at Candelas as there is quite a large alluvial fan covering the basin which would restrict this process.
The other main factor will be a time/climate factor that allows hundreds if not thousands of cycles of dry periods that allow concentration of the Li in brine.
Given the proximity of Cerro Galen to the Calderas bath tub basin there is a high chance that ignimbrite contributes a significant amount of Li to this potential lithium resource ( as per Mattillas research )
But I have changed my tac considerably after reading this item.
IF interested in where the Li is coming from, and to form a balanced view as to why Candelas may be the perfect Li source for GLN It’s worth a whole read and HM gets a mention. Bear in mind though they are talking about the salar and not a paleo channel covered by alluvium.
Hare a few excerpts that support the hydrothermal source assertion given Candelas’ location and position relative to a significant magmatic system in Cerro Galan
“ Ultimately, the initial brine composition determines the production process.”
“ The composition of the source rocks, inflow waters, and the resulting brine composition dictate how the brine will evolve once it undergoes evaporation and mineral precipitation (Eugster, 1980) “
Six Characteristics Common to Continental Lithium Brines
The Li‐rich brine systems in our compilation (Table 1) share six common (global) characteristics that provide clues to deposit genesis while also serving as exploration guidelines. These include:
(1) arid climate;
(2) closed basin containing a salar (salt crust), a salt lake, or both;
(6) sufficient time to concentrate Li in the brine.
“ The second characteristic, shared by all continental Li‐rich brines, is a closed basin with a salar(s) or salt lake(s).
Poster Comment : which Calderas is NOT.
This characteristic is controlled primarily by climate and tectonic setting. Salars or salt crusts are common where brines exist in shallow subsurface aquifers. The aquifers may be composed of halite and other interbedded salts—commonly gypsum, as well as volcanic ash or ignimbrites, alluvial gravels and sands, and tufa (commonly evidence of modern or past hydrothermal activity). “
Poster Comment: which Candelas has lower down
BUT again, we don’t have a salar here !!!
However we do have ignimbrites and hydrothermal with the Candelas basin.
” The third characteristic is evidence of hydrothermal activity. THIS LIKELY PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLL IN THE FORMATION OF LITHIUM RICH BRINES for several reasons: (1) it provides a hot water source for enhanced leaching of Li from source rocks; (2) it is also likely a direct source of Li from shallow magmatic brines and/or magmatic activity; (3) it may play a role in the con- centration of Li through distillation or “steaming” of thermal waters in the shallow subsurface; (4) thermally driven circula- tion may be an effective means for advecting Li from source areas to regions of brine accumulation; and (5) it can result in the formation of the Li‐rich clay mineral hectorite, which can in turn be a potential source of Li to brines if leaching and transport occur from the clay source.
” A fourth characteristic of all Li‐rich brine deposits is that they occur in basins that are undergoing tectonically driven subsidence. “
As Mattilla has identified Candelas as a hidden subsided basin covered by alluvium.
” The fifth characteristic or requirement for the formation of Li‐rich brines is a viable source(s) of Li. Lithium sources in various basins appear to include magmatic fluids, high‐ silica vitric volcanic rocks, hectorite, and ancient salt depos- its. “
“ The sixth characteristic or requirement for the formation of Li‐rich brines is time. The time it takes to leach, transport, and concentrate Li in continental brines is not well understood. “
Poster comment : as mentioned above given the proximity of Calderas to CG imo the permeating freshwater would be working hard to create a potetial high grade Li resource.
” The potentially important sources of Li to brines include high‐silica volcanic rocks, preexisting evaporites and brines, hydrotherm clays, and hydrothermal fluids. The relative role of Li leaching from source rocks by low- and high-tempera- ture fluids versus Li sourced in magmatic fluids themselves is not known and studies addressing this topic are scant. A study by Price et al. (2000) suggests that Li in the Clayton Valley, Nevada, brine is leached by groundwater from vol- canic tuffs and that process alone can account for all the Li in the brines. However, experimental weathering studies by Jochens and Munk (2011) have shown that less than 10 μg/L Li are released from these volcanic rocks when exposed to water at ambient conditions. Godfrey et al. (2013) reported similar findings from low-temperature leaching of Li from volcanic rocks near Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina. Risacher and Fritz (2009) concluded that Li and B in Andean salars are derived from the weathering of ignimbrites. Yu et al. (2013) demonstrated that playas in the Qaidam basin receive Li transported by streams that is ultimately sourced from upstream hydrothermal inputs. They also hypothesized that source(s) of Li are from alteration of volcanic rocks by hydrothermal fluids and/or from direct connection to differ- entiated magmatic sources.
” the distillation of Li from geothermal heat- ing of fluids may play a significant role in concentrating Li in these brines, and perhaps causes prolonged replenishment of brines that are in production. Since many of the Li‐rich brines exist over, or in close proximity, to relatively shallow magma chambers it may be that through faults and fractures, the late‐ stage magmatic fluids and vapors have pathways to migrate into the closed basins.
” Lithium can enter a basin from leaching of rocks and allu- vial fans and hydrothermal fluids associated with magma at shallow depths. Many closed basins are actually connected via subsurface flow paths and can act as sinks for regional transport of ground water. Large fault systems can often act as preferential flow paths allowing Li to be delivered via magmatic‐derived fluids from depth. Because brines have extremely high total dissolved solids, they are denser than fresh water, which affects the movement of these fluids in the subsurface. Often there are strong feedbacks between the dis- solution of halite, moving ground water, and density changes resulting in complex flow paths that act to mix subsurface flu- ids. Through a combination of evaporation and hydrothermal distillation brines can reach Li concentrations on the order of 1,000s of mg/L.
And I’ll stop there !!!
This has been a huge learning process for me in determining that it IS likely that Candelas has a hydrothermal Li feed that is significant to the modelling of the Calderas Li source.
But once again I commend Mattilla et al in their excellent research which has motivated me to chase what we might be likely to see emerge over the coming months with the GLN exploration.
(20min delay)
