Jackson Valley is a basin and range down-dropped graben. The valley is down-dropped via normal faulting. Geophysical testing revealed a significant gravitational low through the central belt of Jackson Valley. This testing indicated the valley is upwards of 800m deep and infilled with coarse alluvium, deposited over the last several million years. Results of geologic mapping indicate groundwater flow to the south, and west of Nevada Sunrise claims.
The Jackson Valley region bears lithium-rich geology. The southwest portion of the surrounding Montezuma range is composed of a thick sedimentary sequence intruded by numerous rhyolitic dykes, likely the source of tested, lithium-rich obsidian fragments. The northeast section of the range is similar; the sedimentary sequence is overlain by a thick mass of rhyolitic tuff. Erosion of surrounding mountain ranges likely formed the coarse alluvium and is understood to be a primary lithium source. Lithium is supplied to the basin through weathering of volcanic rocks and dissolution and transport of lithium by surface and groundwater.
Coarse alluvium permits the accumulation and storage of lithium-rich groundwater in abundant pore space. High rates of evaporation in the valley concentrate lithium which is highly soluble and does not readily form evaporite crystals. Thus, concentration is increased in unevaporated waters. Specifics of subsurface Jackson valley stratigraphy are unknown. In Clayton Valley, lithium brine aquifers are bound by low porosity claystone and mudstone beds, similar subsurface stratigraphy is expected in Jackson Valley given the concurrent development of both basins.
Jackson valley is a closed system, crucial for long-term lithium accumulation and attributed to the region’s arid climate. The nature of a closed system is one in which water entering the basin does not have a surface outflow. In the past this prevented paleo lakes of Jackson Valley overflowing which would drain lakes, carrying away dissolved lithium. In the modern, the closed system of Jackson valley refers to the lack of drainage routes available for water entering the basin via precipitation. As water is unable to drain the valley it becomes stored in aquifers within the coarse alluvium as lithium-rich brines.
Jackson Valley is an ideal geologic setting for the accumulation of lithium brines through the entrapment of surface and groundwater within the basin. The local geology offers an abundant lithium source with the arid, closed environment enhancing concentrations. In north-eastern Jackson valley, steep normal faulting has created subsidiary basins at which lithium-rich brines may pool, similar geologic conditions may present themselves within the Miranda project claims.
