SO here u guys have just been watching me bumble along when all u early holders knew this stuff all along !!!
Thanks to one Mr William Yen from back in 2018 some time.
An accurate geochronology of the most recent explosive silicic volcanism atCerro Galan is just emerging (Kay et al., 2011). Based on thisdata, it is clear that caldera-forming eruptions clustered in a0.710 (Sparks et al., 1985; Kay et al., 2011).
Thermal water in the region has been observed to have more radiogenicSr isotope ratios than these ignimbrites (Jordan et al., 1999).This has been interpreted to indicate interaction betweenthermal waters and radiogenic basement rocks. These data and interpretations are in accord with data we have collectedfrom
hot-spring and surface water in the Río Aguas Calientes drainage, which drains the Cerro Galan caldera and feeds the eastern subbasin of the Salar del Hombre Muerto (Table S1).
These samples indicate this drainage may be a signicant Lisource to the salar. A hill slope hot spring discharging into RíoAguas Calientes has an Li content of 5.5mg/L, and the riverinto which it ows (Río Aguas Calientes) has an Li content of3.2 mg/L. Both this hot spring and the river have radiogenic87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.71584 and 0.71763, respectively), consider-ing that these are draining a large silicic volcanic caldera lledwith a young rhyodacite ignimbrite.If the Río Aguas Calientes drainage is the dominant sourceof Li over the last 2 Ma, its predicted that Li inux must agreewith other constraints. Typically it is assumed that halite hasbeen accumulating in the Salar del Hombre Muerto at a rateof ~500 m/Ma for the last 2 Ma (Jordan et al., 1999). Thisgives a minimum time for generation of the Li brine, whichprior to production had between 234 and 1,100 mg/L of Li,with the majority of brines samples containing between 700to 800 mg/L Li (Nicolli et al., 1982).
And this which Billy or Mattilla have probably posted elsewhere.
Lithium-rich brine within the sub-surface of the Salar del Hombre Muerto (SHM) salt pan in the Andes of northwestern Argentina has a chemical and isotopic composition which is consistent with Li derived from several sources: the modern halite saturated lagoon, Li-rich salts and brines formed recently, and dissolution of halite which precipitated from ancient saline lakes.
SHM lies in the closed basin that includes part of the massive Cerro Galán caldera which is drained by the Río los Patos, which is responsible for 90% of surface runoff into the salar.The low Li isotope composition, +3.4‰, of this river is consistent with significant contributions of geothermal spring water.As water drains through the volcaniclastic deposits which cover a lar
ge proportion of the basin, Li removal, as indicated by decreasing Li/Na, occurs but without significant isotope fractionation. This indicates a mechanism of surface sorption onto smectite or ferrihydrite rather than Li incorporation into octahedral structural sites of clays.
These observations suggest that conditions in this high altitude desert have limited the dilution of hydrothermal spring water as well as the formation of clay minerals, which jointly have allowed the Li resource to accumulate rapidly
The Salar Escondido lithium project, showing the location of Albemarle’s Antofalla lithium project and FMC’s producing Fenix lithium mine and Galaxy Resources’ Sal de Vida lithium development project in the Salar de Hombre Muerto. The Salar de Hombre Muerto is also the location of the Company’s Hombre Muerto North lithium project.
The nearby Cerro Galán Caldera has been postulated to be a primary source of lithium deposits in the region.
The Candelas project is a significant lithium target as the Los Patos channel is interpreted to have been the conduit for approximately 80% of the lithium present in the Hombre Muerto salar.
No doubt all stuff that's been seen before but wil help newcomers to GLN
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