Topaz studio 2 stained glass filter1/6/2024 These deposits are gaining more attention due to the recent assessment of the McDermitt/Kings Valley deposit in Nevada (Fig. In clay deposits, Li is leached from rhyolitic lavas and volcanic ash by meteoric and hydrothermal fluids, and is structurally bound in clay (e.g., hectorite Na 0.3 3Si 4O 10 2) developed in ash-rich sediments in basins adjacent to the source rocks 13, 14. 1 and 2a) 7, which form on evaporation within closed basins of meteoric water that has leached Li from surficial rhyolitic rocks 11. Approximately 35% of the current production comes from two saline brine deposits in salars in Chile (Figs. Due to their high grades and global distribution, pegmatite Li deposits account for approximately half of global Li production, the majority of which is produced from pegmatites in Australia (Figs. Pegmatite Li deposits form during very late-stage crystallization of water-rich, rhyolitic magma, during which Li minerals lepidolite and spodumene crystallize 11, 12. Lithium resources, which represent the total amount of Li extractable under current (reserves) plus potentially foreseeable economic conditions, occur primarily as pegmatites, brines, and clays (Figs. 1) 7, highlighting the strategic necessity for governments and manufacturers to reduce import reliance by securing additional domestic Li resources. In addition, the current market share of Li is dominated by Australia and Chile, who together account for more than three-quarters of the world’s Li production (Fig. 1), with the supply/demand balance likely becoming critical by 2030 10. Although current annual consumption of Li is small (~32.5 kt/a) compared to the estimated global economically extractable Li reserve of ~14 Mt 7, projections of future Li demand through 2050 range from ~3–35 Mt 5, 6, 8, 9 (Fig. ![]() Lithium (Li) is classified as an energy-critical element by several governments 4 due to increasing demand for Li-ion batteries, which have a high power density and relatively low cost that make them optimal for energy storage in portable electronic devices, the electrical power grid, and the growing fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles 5, 6. Recognition of the climatic impact of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions has led to the development of sustainable energy technologies requiring unconventional ore resources 1 identified as “critical” or “strategic” based on their importance to clean energy and the potential geopolitical risk to supply 2, 3. 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. ![]() 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. 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. 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.
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