Articles | Volume 17, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-991-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-991-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Aug 2026
Research article |
| 19 Aug 2026
| 19 Aug 2026
Structural controls on lithium-bearing fluid flow in Clayton Valley, Nevada
Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd., San Antonio, Texas, 78238, USA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
David A. Ferrill
Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd., San Antonio, Texas, 78238, USA
Isaac A. Rangel-Landeros
Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Kristina L. Butler
Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison,1215 West Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
Daniel E. Ibarra
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Zachary T. Sickmann
Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Madigan R. Blake
Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Brandon Swanson
Albemarle Corporation, NV-265, Silver Peak, Nevada, 89047, USA
Kevin J. Smart
Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd., San Antonio, Texas, 78238, USA
Lee Ann Munk
Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 308 Reichardt Bldg., 1930 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2156 Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
David F. Boutt
Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
Lisa D. Stockli
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712-1722, USA
Daniel F. Stockli
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712-1722, USA
Catherine A. Gagnon
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
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Short summary
Faults and fractures can act as long-lived pathways that move lithium through the Earth. By combining field observations, chemical analyses, and dating of minerals, we show that these structures repeatedly channel fluids over millions of years. This process controls where lithium accumulates and helps explain how valuable deposits form. Understanding these pathways improves our ability to identify and assess lithium resources.
Faults and fractures can act as long-lived pathways that move lithium through the Earth. By...
