Properties
Stonewall Flat Lithium Project
LocationThe Stonewall Flat Lithium Project covers an area of approximately 1,250 acres on Stonewall Playa in Nevada's Lida Valley Basin. This Basin is immediately south of the Clayton Valley Basin, which hosts the United States' only producing lithium mine, Albemarle’s Silver Peak Lithium Mine.
The Stonewall Flat project is strategically located in the Nevada lithium supply hub, 306 kilometers (191 miles) southeast of Tesla's new Gigafactory, which has a planned production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours per year. Land PositionAmerican Lithium Minerals’ land position is presently comprised of 63 placer mining claims on ground administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
GeologyThe Stonewall Flat playa (dry lake) is in an intermontane basin and is surrounded by tertiary volcanic rhyolitic rock units, which are anomalously high in lithium. These rhyolitic units are thought to act as a potential source rock for lithium in the Clayton Valley brines. The potential lithium source rock includes flows and tuffs that likely extend below the alluvial cover.
The Stonewall Project is in the mining friendly Nye and Esmeralda Counties of Nevada and is serviced by excellent infrastructure with access to power, water and labor. Access to the site is from US Highway 95, the main highway between Las Vegas and Reno. The regional climate also favors natural and inexpensive evaporation for brine concentration and allows year-round work.
Past DrillingDrilling in 1979 by the Division of Energy Storage Systems of the United States Department of Energy at the northern playa of Stonewall Flat penetrated mostly gravel and some beds of sand, terminating in muddy gravel. Lithium values for the sediments ranged up to 121 parts per million (“ppm”) lithium (“Li”) and averaged 33.9 ppm lithium. One ground water sample taken at 455 feet was found to contain 160 ppb dissolved lithium.
2017 Soil Sampling ProgramIn April 2017, another mining company carried out an extensive near surface geochemical sediment sampling program, which published the following results: All 380 samples contained lithium with sediment assays ranging from 14.6 parts ppm Li and up to 187 ppm Li, with 19 samples over 100 ppm. Samples were collected from a grid pattern on the playa (dry lake bed) surface, with a sample spacing of 200 meters (656 ft.) and from N – S oriented lines with a spacing of 500 meters (1640 ft.) between sampling lines (see map). All holes contained lithium. The highest value analytical results were from sample ’21-3′ at 187 ppm Li and from sample ’12-16′ at 159.5 ppm Li. It was reported that the sediment samples were taken under chain of custody to the ALS Chemex lab in Reno, Nevada. The samples were analysed for 51 individual elements by Method ME – MS 41, which is an ultra trace level analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP – MS) methods, with an Aqua Regia digestion. Two clusters of anomalous sediments were found; one in the northwest and one in the southeast of the southern Stonewall Flat playa. (See red highlighting on map below). The higher Li values in the sediments are proximal to fault intersections revealed by bedrock outcrop patterns. The foot prints of the anomalous sediments defined by sampling were on the order of 1.5 km (~ 5000 ft.) long by 0.5 km (~ 1600 ft.) wide.
The fault intersections comprise the bounding structural framework of the moat sediment zone of the Stonewall Volcanic Caldera (rhyolitic – now extinct). The Company’s preliminary interpretation is that leakage of Li rich geothermal solutions at these fault intersections probably enriched the moat sediments which were deposited alongside the faults when the volcano was active (~ 5 million years BP).
2021 Sampling by Altair InternationalDuring July 2021, our joint venture partner Altair International carried out an extensive soil sampling program intended to confirm the mineralization encountered in 2017 by a previous operator. As reported by Altair International, the sampling program returned 137 sediment samples collected from depths of approximately 1 ft. (~ 30 cm) with grades ranging from 20.8 to 172.5 ppm Li. Field duplicates were taken and results confirmed laboratory accuracy. A good portion of two of the three claim blocks comprising the Stonewall Flat project returned anomalous to highly anomalous Lithium values.
Proposed Geophysical WorkA possible next step for this project would be to define areas of interest to be further explored through the use of geophysical methods. A detailed gravity survey may be conducted over areas of interest to determine the depth to a potential brine aquifer. The integration of soil assays with a geophysical interpretation would allow drill sites to be selected for detailed subsurface investigation of the project.
It is expected that potential aquifers similar in composition and thickness to the upper and lower ash aquifers in nearby Clayton Valley could be encountered at depth. The ash aquifers in Clayton Valley were deposited by continental scale volcanic eruptions from calderas located 150 kilometers to the West (90 miles) and 790 kilometers North West (475 miles) of the Stonewall Project area. Ash fall from these volcanoes was deposited in the nearby Clayton Valley 52 kilometers to the North West (31 miles) and most likely also in the adjoining basin of the Lida Valley, where the Stonewall Project is located. The ash aquifers are both a host for and a possible source for lithium brines in the Clayton Valley.
The Stonewall Flat project is strategically located in the Nevada lithium supply hub, 306 kilometers (191 miles) southeast of Tesla's new Gigafactory, which has a planned production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours per year. Land PositionAmerican Lithium Minerals’ land position is presently comprised of 63 placer mining claims on ground administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
GeologyThe Stonewall Flat playa (dry lake) is in an intermontane basin and is surrounded by tertiary volcanic rhyolitic rock units, which are anomalously high in lithium. These rhyolitic units are thought to act as a potential source rock for lithium in the Clayton Valley brines. The potential lithium source rock includes flows and tuffs that likely extend below the alluvial cover.
The Stonewall Project is in the mining friendly Nye and Esmeralda Counties of Nevada and is serviced by excellent infrastructure with access to power, water and labor. Access to the site is from US Highway 95, the main highway between Las Vegas and Reno. The regional climate also favors natural and inexpensive evaporation for brine concentration and allows year-round work.
Past DrillingDrilling in 1979 by the Division of Energy Storage Systems of the United States Department of Energy at the northern playa of Stonewall Flat penetrated mostly gravel and some beds of sand, terminating in muddy gravel. Lithium values for the sediments ranged up to 121 parts per million (“ppm”) lithium (“Li”) and averaged 33.9 ppm lithium. One ground water sample taken at 455 feet was found to contain 160 ppb dissolved lithium.
2017 Soil Sampling ProgramIn April 2017, another mining company carried out an extensive near surface geochemical sediment sampling program, which published the following results: All 380 samples contained lithium with sediment assays ranging from 14.6 parts ppm Li and up to 187 ppm Li, with 19 samples over 100 ppm. Samples were collected from a grid pattern on the playa (dry lake bed) surface, with a sample spacing of 200 meters (656 ft.) and from N – S oriented lines with a spacing of 500 meters (1640 ft.) between sampling lines (see map). All holes contained lithium. The highest value analytical results were from sample ’21-3′ at 187 ppm Li and from sample ’12-16′ at 159.5 ppm Li. It was reported that the sediment samples were taken under chain of custody to the ALS Chemex lab in Reno, Nevada. The samples were analysed for 51 individual elements by Method ME – MS 41, which is an ultra trace level analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP – MS) methods, with an Aqua Regia digestion. Two clusters of anomalous sediments were found; one in the northwest and one in the southeast of the southern Stonewall Flat playa. (See red highlighting on map below). The higher Li values in the sediments are proximal to fault intersections revealed by bedrock outcrop patterns. The foot prints of the anomalous sediments defined by sampling were on the order of 1.5 km (~ 5000 ft.) long by 0.5 km (~ 1600 ft.) wide.
The fault intersections comprise the bounding structural framework of the moat sediment zone of the Stonewall Volcanic Caldera (rhyolitic – now extinct). The Company’s preliminary interpretation is that leakage of Li rich geothermal solutions at these fault intersections probably enriched the moat sediments which were deposited alongside the faults when the volcano was active (~ 5 million years BP).
2021 Sampling by Altair InternationalDuring July 2021, our joint venture partner Altair International carried out an extensive soil sampling program intended to confirm the mineralization encountered in 2017 by a previous operator. As reported by Altair International, the sampling program returned 137 sediment samples collected from depths of approximately 1 ft. (~ 30 cm) with grades ranging from 20.8 to 172.5 ppm Li. Field duplicates were taken and results confirmed laboratory accuracy. A good portion of two of the three claim blocks comprising the Stonewall Flat project returned anomalous to highly anomalous Lithium values.
Proposed Geophysical WorkA possible next step for this project would be to define areas of interest to be further explored through the use of geophysical methods. A detailed gravity survey may be conducted over areas of interest to determine the depth to a potential brine aquifer. The integration of soil assays with a geophysical interpretation would allow drill sites to be selected for detailed subsurface investigation of the project.
It is expected that potential aquifers similar in composition and thickness to the upper and lower ash aquifers in nearby Clayton Valley could be encountered at depth. The ash aquifers in Clayton Valley were deposited by continental scale volcanic eruptions from calderas located 150 kilometers to the West (90 miles) and 790 kilometers North West (475 miles) of the Stonewall Project area. Ash fall from these volcanoes was deposited in the nearby Clayton Valley 52 kilometers to the North West (31 miles) and most likely also in the adjoining basin of the Lida Valley, where the Stonewall Project is located. The ash aquifers are both a host for and a possible source for lithium brines in the Clayton Valley.
Map Indicating the location of the Stonewall Project
Lithium Density within the Lida Valley
Kingman Rare Earth Project
The Kingman Rare Earth (“REE”) Project is comprised of two individual properties known as the “Kingman Feldspar Mine” and the “Mineral X” property. Kingman Feldspar MineThe Kingman Feldspar Mine is located about 5 miles north of Kingman, Arizona on the eastern flank of Bull Mountain. Historically, a large 1.7 billion year old pegmatite was mined from the 1920’s to the 1980’s to produce feldspar and quartz from two separate quarries located on the 35 acre site. The American Lithium Minerals land position is comprised of two lode mining claims on ground administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Since the 1950’s the pegmatite has been known to contain the REE mineral allanite. It is greenish black, with a brilliant pitchy luster. The allanite has been found in place on the western wall of the southern quarry, and in pieces of slide rock in both quarries as well as the mine dumps. The allanite has been found to be comprised of both allanite – (Ce) and allanite-(Nd) A partial analysis of the allanite, made by means of X-ray fluorescence in 1955, reported the following percentage of rare earths: 1.3% yttrium (Y), 4.4% lanthanum (La), 8.1% cerium (Ce), 1.0% promethium (Pr), 4.2% neodymium (Nd), 0.95% samarium (Sm), 0.7% gadolinium (Gd) and 0.13% dysprosium (Dy). Assays of five samples in 2010 also confirmed the occurrence of rare earths.
The work plan at this property will include geological mapping to determine where the exposed allanite is in the existing quarries. Also, in the largely unmined area of approximately 1,200 feet separating the quarries. Metallurgical work will also be required to determine whether the rare earth minerals of interest may be recovered economically from allanite.
Mineral “X” PegmatiteThis property was named Mineral “X” because the identity of the rare earth mineral found there was initially a mystery. It was identified as thalenite in 1965, which contains the REE dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er) and ytterbium (Yb). The rare earths are found in a pegmatite located about two miles east of Interstate Highway I-40 and 5 miles south of Kingman. Detailed study of the exposed pegmatite is planned, as well as prospecting for similar pegmatites on the surrounding mining claim.
The work plan at this property will include geological mapping to determine where the exposed allanite is in the existing quarries. Also, in the largely unmined area of approximately 1,200 feet separating the quarries. Metallurgical work will also be required to determine whether the rare earth minerals of interest may be recovered economically from allanite.
Mineral “X” PegmatiteThis property was named Mineral “X” because the identity of the rare earth mineral found there was initially a mystery. It was identified as thalenite in 1965, which contains the REE dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er) and ytterbium (Yb). The rare earths are found in a pegmatite located about two miles east of Interstate Highway I-40 and 5 miles south of Kingman. Detailed study of the exposed pegmatite is planned, as well as prospecting for similar pegmatites on the surrounding mining claim.
Rock Formations in the Kingman Feldspar Mine