Re-Post of Bob Marvin's (the Geo) Letter from CYP websiteCypress thinks it has discovered the source of Albemarle’s Clayton Valley, Nevada Lithium Brine Mine next door at surface in a highly soluble lithium-rich mudstone with lithium grades 5 to 7 times that of the mine. It is believed that rain water has washed through the claystones to depths that have then traveled onto the ALB property.
Below is a re-post of the letter written by Bob Marvin, CYP geo re: Successful Lithium extraction by VERY weak acid solution in Minutes
The letter was written before the first drill program.
CYP, of course, is located next to Albemarle, the only producing North American lithium mine.
Cypress is now waiting for approval by the BLM stating that the land disturbance has been put back to its original condition before the first drill program; then they will arrange for their second drill program which they are eager to commence. After which, they will get their first estimated resource calculation.
LETTER by Bob Marvin
“I am the PGeo for Cypress Development Corp. We have been intensively exploring several large land positions in the eastern Clayton Valley in 2016. We have now collected and assayed nearly 1000 samples of outcropping, pervasively lithium mineralized volcaniclastic mudstones, claystones and volcanic ash units.
We, like everyone else, started there assuming the lithium was bound in the silicate mineral known as Hectorite. As our initial target was lithium brine only, we were sampling the uplifted, outcropping mudstones and claystones to provide data as to the extent of these assumed brine source rocks. Initial lithium assays were very good, up to 3000 ppm lithium and nearly always above 1000 ppm.
While all these initial field sampling events were being done I was hauling home 5 gallon buckets of the mudstone material for a series of table top tests. It was noted early on the material was extremely reactive due to high calcium carbonate content, solid, fist size or larger chunks of the material were seen to completely disintegrate in less than 2 minutes when immersed in white vinegar, ie weak acetic acid. The vinegar was then cut to half strength by dilution with tap water with no change in the disintegration pattern. Even in 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water, large chucks fizzed away to salt rich solution with a minor amount of clastic sand and silt grains settled at the bottom of the large beaker being used.
The next step was using pure water, in these tests about 70% of the samples disintegrated within 4 or 5 minutes while a small portion of the samples took several hours to disintegrate.
So, by the time we received the first assays results back from Chemex, we had already learned several very important facts about the rocks containing the lithium mineralization. First of all, the rocks were extremely reactive in weak acid solutions and even in pure water due to a perceived combination of high porosity and high calcium carbonate content. Also, none of the tested samples swelled when placed in water so we also knew we were not dealing with smectite group clay minerals, the well-known swelling clays that cause problems in civil engineering, cracked foundations, etc. We also knew that hectorite was a smectite group clay mineral with lithium entrained in its crystal structure as at Kings Valley, Nevada and elsewhere in Mexico.
So, even though the USGS has for decades stated that lithium mineralization in the Clayton Valley is contained within hectorite bearing claystones, we knew by early February that this was just not true. To prove the point by substantiating the table top tests done by Cypress, we had Chemex re-run our samples by 2 additional assay methods, one using a dilute acid solvent, known as weak agua regia. and a second additional method using distilled water as a "solvent".
Well, it worked, both additional assay methods proved the lithium in the mudstones and claystones, the uplifted lake basin sediments, was highly leachable at low temperature, proof positive that the mineralization is not contained in hectorite. Hectorite must be heated to >1000 degrees centigrade for a period of time before it can be leached used a highly caustic, concentrated acid treatment. So, by early March 2016 Cypress knew we had made a serious discovery in terms of not only well mineralized rock but also had to some extent stumbled onto the fact the mineralization was amenable to leaching with very dilute acid at room temperature. And this meant and means that these mineralized rocks can be treated at much lower cost due to vastly decreased energy requirements and with much more environmentally friendly solutions.
So, what have we done since March????, well we have kept right after our work to be sure, with alacrity, we expanded our land holdings, conducted large follow-up sampling programs and in July we signed a deal with Pure Energy Minerals which allows Pure Energy to earn a 51% interest in our Glory lithium project. Other deals were available to us but we wanted a deal with PE because we share their vision of building new lithium mines in the Clayton valley using new technologies, and doing it as rapidly as possible.
To this end we are conducting a series of increasing detailed field and assay programs in our ongoing effort to delineate the full extent of the surface mineralization discovered (or recognized) at Glory. Along with these programs we are also busy conducting initial exploration programs on our larger and 100% owned Dean Lithium Project. The Dean claims are contiguous with the Glory project and share the same geology and mineralization patterns, all based on preliminary results, lithium assays recently reported show very strong lithium mineralization at Dean in the same host section we have come to know so well at Glory. We are using our advanced assay methodologies at Dean as well and are waiting on initial results of weak acid and water extraction of lithium from mineralized, uplifted lake bed sediments.
Cypress is looking forward to 2017 with a great amount of energy and optimism. Any thoughts of resting on our 2016 accomplishments are unrealistic as we plan to enter the new year more focused than ever on winning the fight every day, week and month until what is now well begun is finished. Fortunately, much remains to be done.”
That is the exploration story to present, but keep an eye on us as things are likely to really get interesting from here, this is serious business.
If you have questions or concerns please contact any of us at Cypress.
Robert D. Marvin PGeo(ONT), CPG
Project Manager, Cypress Development Corp.
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