Lithium enrichment in intracontinental rhyolite magmas leads to Li deposits in caldera basins

Thomas R. Benson (), Matthew A. Coble, James J. Rytuba and Gail A. Mahood
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Thomas R. Benson: Stanford University
Matthew A. Coble: Stanford University
James J. Rytuba: United States Geological Survey
Gail A. Mahood: Stanford University

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The omnipresence of lithium-ion batteries in mobile electronics, and hybrid and electric vehicles necessitates discovery of new lithium resources to meet rising demand and to diversify the global lithium supply chain. Here we demonstrate that lake sediments preserved within intracontinental rhyolitic calderas formed on eruption and weathering of lithium-enriched magmas have the potential to host large lithium clay deposits. We compare lithium concentrations of magmas formed in a variety of tectonic settings using in situ trace-element measurements of quartz-hosted melt inclusions to demonstrate that moderate to extreme lithium enrichment occurs in magmas that incorporate felsic continental crust. Cenozoic calderas in western North America and in other intracontinental settings that generated such magmas are promising new targets for lithium exploration because lithium leached from the eruptive products by meteoric and hydrothermal fluids becomes concentrated in clays within caldera lake sediments to potentially economically extractable levels.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00234-y

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