April 8, 2021 - TheNewswire - Vancouver, BC, Canada - Nickel Rock Resources Inc. (“the Company”) ( TSXV:NICL ) ( OTC:NIKLF ) is pleased to announce the conclusion of an initial exploratory drilling test on their Clayton Valley Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA. This strategic land package, covering approximately 2,300 acres (930 ha), directly adjoins a western portion of lithium producer Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) evaporation ponds and is nearby Cyprus Development Corp.’s (TSXV: CYP) 5,430-acre Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project. The program consisted of three reverse circulation holes totaling 356 meters (1155 feet). The holes were intended to test the presence of lithium bearing clay members of the lakebed sediments. Drillhole RCV-01, drilled to a depth of 130m (425 feet), was designed to twin a geothermal gradient hole drilled by a previous explorer. Results of this hole correlated with the log of the previous hole including intervals of volcanic ash and dark green clay. Hole RCV-02, located approximately 1260 meters north of RCV-01 was drilled to a depth of 135.6m (445 ft) and penetrated a section consisting primarily of rhyolitic volcanic ash and interbedded sediments. It penetrated a 4.5-meter section of dark green clay before entering the metamorphic alluvium. Poor drilling conditions and high-water flows ended the hole before reaching the target depth but after successfully evaluating the lake sediment section. Hole RCV-03, located 3,890m (12,762 ft) north from Hole RCV-01, was designed to look for a perched section of volcanoclastic sediments beneath an alluvial fan. Previous water well logs indicated a layer of clay, ash, and silt beneath the alluvium and above the bedrock. Apparently, this hole was located too close to the pediment and encountered metamorphosed dolomite at a depth of 56 meters (185 feet) and about the projected elevation of the sedimentary section. The hole lost circulation in an apparent karst horizon at 68.5 meters (225 feet) and was terminated at 79.2 meters (260 ft) without regaining sample return.
The samples collected from holes RCV-01 and RCV-02 have been shipped for sample preparation and analysis in Sparks, Nevada. Several water samples collected during the drilling program will soon be shipped and analyzed for lithium brine.
Potential lithium bearing clays, within lake sediments and ash beds, were previously reported in rough drillers logs of historic geothermal exploration wells on file with the Nevada State Engineers office (permit #66034A). Well, GPXM2 (1994) reported “green to olive green siltstone, mudstone and clay” over a thickness of 510 ft (155.4m) from 130 ft (39.6m) to 640 ft (195m). In January of 2006, Western Geothermal partners drilled hole WGP#2 to a depth of 405 feet (123m) in the Goat Island graben. According to their reports, this hole cut interbedded zones of gravel, silt, and hot spring apron material. More importantly, “from 280ft (85.3m) to 305 ft (93m) fine grained green sand and silt logged as volcanic ash was encountered. This unit may be correlative to the Main Ash Aquifer, which is a marker bed in other areas of the Clayton Valley Basin ”.
Mr. Robert Setter, Company President and CEO comments “Lithium clay exploration is booming again in Clayton Valley. The recently completed reverse circulation drilling program allowed our geological team to identify various clay and ash in each drill hole completed. Now that the current exploration program is done, groundwork for a more significant exploration program will soon get under way. We are excited about this opportunity in Nevada, the reverse circulation drilling program has been helpful in identifying important geological information on the sedimentary layers which will be used assist the geos in planning future exploration on our strategically located project located next to Albemarle Inc. and near Cypress Minerals in Clayton Valley.
Mr. Alan Morris, Geological Consultant and Project QP, further comments “The clay layers encountered in the 1994 geothermal well are beneath gravel and alluvial cover and do not form obvious outcrops. This current drilling program has helped to define the clay layers, as well as, the determination of concealed faults which the Company believes to be important in the formation of lithium-bearing clays.”