Three volcanologists and geologists from Lithium Americas Corporation, GNS Science, and Oregon State University (USA) found that the McDermitt Caldera, an extinct ancient volcano on the Nevada-Oregon border, can accommodate part of the deposit lithium The largest known in the world. It is a very valuable mineral for its applications in industry, especially in making batteries for cell phones and electric cars.
In his research published in the journal Science Advances, Thomas Benson, Matthew Coble, and John Dilles have studied parts of the caldera and believe they have discovered how much lithium forms in that area. Although the existence of the deposit has been known for several years, This new study confirms the magnitude of the rates.
In recent years, lithium has become a very valuable soft metal, mainly due to its use in industrial applications. wide variety of battery types. As its value continues to rise, scientists at mining companies such as Lithium Americas Corporation are looking for mineral deposits to extract this increasingly sought-after material.
The McDermitt caldera is a formation of volcanic origin, approximately 45 kilometers long. and 35 kilometers wide. It is probably the oldest of the caldera sequence formed by the Yellowstone eruption. A large lava dome initially formed as a result of eruptions recorded in the region 19 million years ago. But then this lava dome collapsed and formed a caldera (a type of crater) after an eruption a little over 16 million years ago.
In 2017, another team of researchers found evidence that a section of the caldera called Thacker Pass could be one of the largest sources of lithium ever found. Lithium Americas licensed this location and began prospecting mining. However, they soon encountered opposition from neighbors and Native American groups, but eventually the company saw the right to operate a mine there recognized.
Since then, the research team has been collecting and analyzing samples. looking for the best place to start mining operations. But to find such a place, experts believe they must first find an explanation for how lithium formed there. In their paper, the researchers propose a theory that Lithium Americas plans to use to launch its mining operations.
This theory proposes that hydrothermal enrichment occurred after the volcano erupted (creating lithium, among other things): Deep underground magma was forced into the center of what is now the caldera, leading to the formation of the Montana mountains. While these were happening, faults, cracks and fractures were formed. Lithium allowed to leach to the surface. This process also transformed most of the smectite into illite (different forms of lithium), which ended up along the southern edge of the basin. They concluded that this was the reason why lithium was so abundant there.
The company hopes to receive important benefits Neighbors’ protests continue, fearing that this material will be destroyed and the peace of the region threatened by the exploitation of this material.
Reference work: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh8183
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