{kanada_flagge}As hoped, Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA; OTCQB: USHAF; FRA: JO0) has again encountered saline conditions in its second drill hole (“JP22-2”) at the Jackpot Lake lithium brine property, Nevada, intersecting the same sequence of sediments and evaporite crystals as the first hole (JP22-1) drilled 2.75 kilometers away. The second well has been advanced to a depth of 231 meters to date. Like the first hole, it will be advanced to as close to bedrock as possible. The first hole had advanced to a depth of 525 meters, where it was terminated in a saline environment approximately 100 meters above the suspected bedrock. A total water column of 481 meters was measured.
{kanada_flagge}As hoped, Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA; OTCQB: USHAF; FRA: JO0) has again encountered saline conditions in its second drill hole (“JP22-2”) at the Jackpot Lake lithium brine property, Nevada, intersecting the same sequence of sediments and evaporite crystals as the first hole (JP22-1) drilled 2.75 kilometers away. The second well has been advanced to a depth of 231 meters to date. Like the first hole, it will be advanced to as close to bedrock as possible. The first hole had advanced to a depth of 525 meters, where it was terminated in a saline environment approximately 100 meters above the suspected bedrock. A total water column of 481 meters was measured.
From their observations to date, the geologists deduced that the uniform stratigraphy in the closed sedimentary basin of Jackpot Lake could continue over a much larger area. For this reason, the company had recently tripled its land position to a total area of about 35.3 square kilometers.
Figure 1: This is the kind of drill core geologists want to see when exploring for lithium brine! The drill core taken from JP22-2 has several zones of evaporite crystals that clearly indicate a salt-forming environment. Such crystals could not exist in a freshwater system.
Usha Resources may drill six holes totaling 2,700 meters and aims to define an initial 43-101 resource.
Deepak Varshney, CEO of Usha Resources commented, “The evidence of continuity in the first two holes of our project confirms a similar geological setting to Clayton Valley. The evaporites show that the basin has undergone long geological phases with successive accumulation and concentration events, similar to the model for deposition at Albemarle’s Silver Peak Nevada Lithium Mine. We are working on a model of the Jackpot Lake basin and we are excited to see the stratigraphy in the remainder of our second hole.”
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Usha Resources’ Jackpot Lake lithium brine property is located in Clark County, 35 kilometers northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It includes 442 optioned and staked mineral claims totaling approximately 35.3 square kilometers. The geological setting of the project is similar to that of Albemarle’s Silver Peak Nevada Lithium Mine, the only producing lithium mine in North America that has been in continuous operation since 1966. Immediately adjacent to Albemarle, which produces conventionally through evaporation ponds, Schlumberger is currently developing its first direct-extraction lithium brine project. In Clayton Valley, sediments from the lithium-rich mountains have filled a closed basin in geologic time, resulting in a concentration of lithium brine due to successive evaporation and concentration events. When rainwater seeps through these salt crusts, enriched brines form at depth.
Conclusion: Signs are mounting that Usha Resources may have discovered a second Clayton Valley in Nevada. This is supported by geological facts that suggest a close relationship between Jackpot Lake and Clayton Valley. The first salt was mined in Clayton Valley as early as the 1860s. Lithium has been produced in Clayton Valley for more than 60 years, now by Albemarle. In contrast, the Jackpot Lake project – located just 35 kilometers outside of Las Vegas and only a four-hour drive from Clayton Valley – was not on anyone’s radar until recently. Therefore, confirmation of a major new liquid lithium resource would be a major event that would likely reverberate throughout the United States. It will likely be a few months before an initial resource is identified. Along the way, however, Usha is sure to release more detailed readings soon. Some of the lithium grades reported so far (up to 300 ppm) have been well above those in Clayton Valley. But as a rule of thumb, average values beyond 100 ppm lithium can be considered economic. For comparison, the lithium resource at the project being developed by Schlumberger right next to Albemarle was 218,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 123 ppm lithium, according to an old 2018 study (PEA by Pure Energy). Usha could shake up the U.S. lithium landscape in a big way.
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