Core logs from Searles Lake, California

Character and distribution of nonclastic minerals in the Searles Lake evaporite deposit, California

“…This paper summarizes the areal and stratigraphic distributions and ', megascopic characteristics of the nonclastic minerals in the Searles ^ Lake evaporite deposit. This information is based primarily on the cores described by Smith and Pratt (1957) and Haines (1959) but has been largely verified by inspection of about 70 logs of cores obtained by the American Potash & Chemical Corp. The stratigraphy of the deposit, as described by Flint and Gale (1958) and Smith (1962), is illustrated on figure 2.…”

“…Na2CO3 -NaHCOs-2HsO Tychite____________________ 2NasCOi-2MgCOs-Naa SO« Most of the minerals listed have been repeatedly noted by workers concerned with Searles Lake. Two were not reported in the logs of Geological Survey cores (Smith and Pratt, 1957;Haines, 1959), although they have been noted in other cores. These two are galeite others, 1955, 1963) and teepleite (D. L. Sawyer, written communication, 1958).…”

“…The upper 150 feet of fill is known from numerous logs of cores obtained by the companies that extract chemicals from the deposit (Flint and Gale, 1958, figs. 2-4), and from logs of 41 cores (GS-1 to GS^tl) described by Haines (1959). The deposits below 150 feet are sampled by 5 cores: 1 that extends 875 feet (Lr-W-D) , see Smith and Pratt, 1957), 1 that extends to 628 feet ("Searles deep well," see Gale, 1914, p. 289), and 3 that extend to about 300 feet (kk, sl-34, and S-2, see Flint and Gale, 1958 figs.…”

“…In the following sections of this report, the occurrences, habits, and some of the megascopic properties of the nonclastic minerals in Searles Lake are described, primarily on the basis of material from the shallow drill holes GS-1 to GS-41 (Haines, 1959) and the deep drill hole L-W-D (Smith and Pratt, 1957); the locations of these and other core holes are shown on figure 3. Descriptions of minerals given in other publications are included where the stratigraphic positions of the specimens can be determined.…”

Lithium resources and requirements by the year 2000

“…The amount of lithium now found in Searles Lake indicates even more loss. The calculations assumed the following: (1) an av erage of 30 ppm Li in the salts of the Upper Salt (the average of 54 unpublished analyses of water-soluble lithium in cores GS-1, GS-4, and GS-10, obtained and described by the Geological Survey (Haines, 1959)); (2) an average of 60 ppm Li in the brine (intermediate be tween the richest (80 ppm) brines, from the center of the deposit, and the brines present around the edge (10-40 ppm)); (3) a brine:salt ratio of 40:60; (4) salt and brine densities of 2.1 and 1.3; and (5) the volume of the Upper Salt to be l.OSx 109 m3 . Reasonable variations in these assumptions are possible, but none alter the fact that much of the lithium in the Owens River disap peared before the salts in Searles Lake were crystallized.…”