36-7 Preliminary Mapping of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene Volcanic Rocks in Southern Clayton Valley and Implications for the Lithium Enriched Silver Peak Volcanic Center

Session: Cordilleran Mineral Systems: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Critical Metal Ore Deposits (Posters)

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Abstract:

The burgeoning lithium district near Tonopah in western Nevada, within the Walker Lane, represents one of the regions in the United States with the greatest potential for future lithium production. These emerging deposits form through the leaching of lithium from volcanic products and magmatic degassing, traditionally attributed to the Rhyolite Ridge Formation, followed by subsequent concentration in lacustrine sediments. Despite the significance of this lithium district, the processes by which lithium became concentrated in the original volcanic materials remain poorly understood. A key uncertainty in this process is the volcanic source and evolution of the magmas that supplied lithium to the basins.

The Silver Peak Volcanic Center, a proposed caldera in the Silver Peak Range, is widely accepted as the source of the Argentite Canyon Formation and represents a major source of volcanism in the region. Previous studies have also suggested that the Silver Peak Volcanic Center may be the source of the Rhyolite Ridge Formation; however, this interpretation remains uncertain due to limited exposure, incomplete stratigraphic constraints, and an apparent age difference of ~130 ka. Resolving whether these formations share a common source is critical for understanding the magmatic processes that produced lithium-enriched magmas. Accordingly, this study evaluates whether the Rhyolite Ridge Formation was sourced from the Silver Peak Volcanic Center with subsequent volcanism that formed the Argentite Canyon Formation.

We present new preliminary geologic mapping southeast of the Silver Peak Volcanic Center in southern Clayton Valley, emphasizing volcanic stratigraphy, eruptive interpretation, and major- and trace-element geochemistry. Our mapping documents a continuous stratigraphic compositional transition from rhyolite at the base to latite and trachy-andesite at the top that is not recorded in existing geologic maps west of the volcanic center, suggesting that critical stratigraphic sections are absent or unexposed in those areas. Additionally, we identify a mingled ash-flow tuff unit containing pumice clasts of distinct compositions, recording interaction between rhyolitic magma associated with the Rhyolite Ridge Formation and latite compositions related to the Argentite Canyon Formation. These magma interactions indicate a shared magmatic system for the Argentite Canyon and Rhyolite Ridge Formations and suggest that the source of the Rhyolite Ridge Formation may also be located within the Silver Peak Volcanic Center, with important implications for magmatic controls on lithium enrichment within the system.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 3, 2026

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