From Rockstonehttps://rockstone-research.com/index.php/en/research-reports/3950-The-Missing-Puzzle-Piece-to-Discover-Lithium-Aquifers-in-the-Kibby-Basin-of-Nevada
When you have a 27 square kilometer big property, where basically no one ever conducted any modern exploration to find lithium-bearing aquifers, you need to start somewhere to prove your case that there could be lithium.
So Belmont looked at the Clayton Valley and compared it to the Kibby Basin, and they found a geologic setting similar to the continental brine model ascribed to the Clayton Valley. Then they did a 3D gravity survey over the entire property and found that it has the structure of a perfect lithium basin.
This was followed by 2 “scout-holes“ to find out if there is any lithium in those sediments and to get a first look of the basin‘s geology. Drilling found promising lithium values (up to 200 ppm) in sediments which is a great indication that a near-by aquifer may host much higher grades. With 13 of 25 core samples assaying over 100 ppm lthium, these sediments could very well be a potential source of lithium for the underlying aquifers.
The question then arose where to drill next in order to find the aquifer, respectively the pay zone. A consultant to Belmont, took a deep dive into researching the Kibby Basin and made some striking findings, with the results you can see in today‘s news release.
Originally, he just wanted to put the company‘s property borders on a map, so he looked at some satellite images and started to think outside the box. He obtained more satellite data sets as he had the feeling he was onto something.
Belmont‘s consultant then contacted the USGS and NASA to confirm his theory and soon it became clear that he found the missing puzzle piece. As the images indicate, he may have found the location of the geothermal system – right in the heart of the Kibby Basin. This looks like a big “discovery“ as there is no surface expression of a geothermal system and until now it was not even clear if at all there is a geothermal system on the property.