Deposit types/Lithium

Lithium brine (salar)

Salty groundwater in a closed desert basin that is rich in dissolved lithium and is pumped to the surface and evaporated.

What it is

Salty groundwater in a closed desert basin that is rich in dissolved lithium and is pumped to the surface and evaporated.1

How it forms

A dry closed basin with a salt lake or salt flat collects lithium from nearby rocks (lithium-bearing source rocks, with associated igneous or geothermal activity). Sinking of the basin floor keeps space for an aquifer that holds the brine, and enough time lets the brine concentrate. USGS lists seven common features, including arid climate and tectonic subsidence.1

Host rocks

Salt-flat sediments over aquifers; lithium-bearing source rocks in the basin.1

Where it forms

Closed basins with tectonically driven subsidence and associated igneous or geothermal activity, in arid belts on either side of the equator.1

How old

Young (active basins)1

Typical grade

Producing brines average 160 to 1,400 ppm lithium1

Typical size

Estimated resources of 0.3 to 6.3 Mt of lithium per producing deposit1

Mines of this type

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Mines

An example ofOlarozSee Olaroz, an example of this deposit type.1An example ofSilver PeakSee Silver Peak, an example of this deposit type.1An example ofSalar de Atacama (SQM / Nova Andino Litio)See Salar de Atacama (SQM / Nova Andino Litio), an example of lithium brine (salar).1An example ofSalar del Hombre Muerto (Fenix)See Salar del Hombre Muerto (Fenix), an example of lithium brine (salar).1

Events

ExamplesLithium brine production begins at Clayton ValleyBrine is now the main source of lithium.2

Sources

  1. Critical Mineral Resources of the United States (PP 1802), Chapter K: Lithium US Geological Survey
  2. Lithium, Professional Paper 1802-K US Geological Survey

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Salar de Atacama, Chile, NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); San Francisco, California: the Golden Gate bay area. Photograph, ca. 1880., Unknown (Wellcome Collection) (Public Domain Mark 1.0).