Surge battery Metals (v.nili) has made a lithium discovery with striking similarities to the high-grade lithium deposit of Lithium Americas in Nevada. The Nevada North Lithium Project owned 100% by Surge is located 290 kms east of the McDermitt Caldera which hosts the Thacker Pass deposit in likely a completely new lithium district. Coincidentally regional mapping has identified the Jarbidge Rhyolite thought to be present at the Nevada North project as having a similar age and composition to the Thacker Pass deposit.
Thacker Pass has lithium grades in lakebed sedimentary claystone and clays three to four times the grade of regular lithium clay deposits in Nevada. The lower grade deposits were theorized to be formed by a two-step process of diagenesis of lakebed tuffaceous sediments within the basin and leaching of lithium by meteoric waters from surrounding rhyolite rocks and deposition into the basin. With Thacker Pass a third step occurs which greatly increases the lithium content of the lithium rich lakebed sediments. The presence of welded rhyolite tuffs just below the lakebed sediments is key. These very hot glassy rhyolites cool and degas over hundreds of thousands of years carrying lithium rich gas into the overlying lake beds in great quantities. These gassy welded tuffs are not present in the basement rocks of the 1000 ppm lithium deposits of the Clayton Valley for example.
In recent press releases Surge has announced assays from 6 holes of an 8-hole program intersecting impressive grades of lithium in the 2000 to 5000 ppm range. This led to my assertion that the third step of widespread Thacker style degassing and lithium enrichment had occurred at the Nevada North property of Surge. In their latest press release Surge announced that welded tuffs are present as basement rocks of the volcano-tectonic basin hosting the lithium rich sediments. This confirms the underlying rocks at Surge's discovery are potentially similar hot, vitric, gassy volcanics (as evidenced by their welding) as at Thacker Pass. See the youtube link at the 45-minute mark for a presentation on lithium gas enrichment at Thacker Pass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=U4RssO53_tc
Surge's holes 7 and 8 assays are pending. The two holes contain thick (72 to 120 meter) intersections of prospective claystone and blue-grey clays in huge step outs to the south of previous successful drill holes 1 through 6.
The author is simply an experienced lithium investor that holds shares in nili.
