Raw petrographic microscopy photos and XRD data used in assessing the mineralogy of the Li-b enriched stratiform ore zone in the Cave Spring Formation, Rhyolite Ridge, NV, USA

The Rhyolite Ridge Project in the Silver Peak Range contains lithium and boron mineralization hosted by late Miocene-early Pliocene strata-bound sediments in an intermontane valley. The ioneer USA Corporation is developing this project and is the industry-sponsor for this research along with the USGS and CREG. A lacustrine section called Cave Spring Formation, measuring up to 1,500 feet thick, hosts the sediments of interest. The unit with economic potential is the middle unit, a 60-foot interval called the Searlesite layer that is mineralized with both lithium clays and boron and is the targeted ore zone and the focus of this research. The younger, marl-rich member of this unit, the Li-Marl layer, shows no searlesite but has higher concentrations of lithium, hosted in smectite-rich interbeds. This research characterizes the lithium and boron mineralization and examines whether diagenesis of tuffaceous sediments (including precipitation of zeolites and searlesite) enhances Li concentrat..., Section 5.7 - Petrographic Microscopy One hundred seventeen polished thin sections have been prepared using the Wagner Petrographic thin section service in Lindon, UT. Twenty-five of these thin sections were prepared from the 17 Crux Samples and are the focus of microscopy analysis. Fifteen of the non-Crux Sample thin sections were used to select samples for Ar-Ar geochronology, as described in section 5.9. Petrographic microscopy allowed for textural analysis of bedding, depositional features, position of zeolites relative to clays and glass, correlations between phases and sanidine freshness evaluation. It also refined target areas for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) work. The ore zone is extremely fine-grained and optical microscopy is not powerful enough to characterize the relationships between minerals. Refining target areas by use of optical microscopy focused and expedited observations in preparation for SEM analysis. Section 5.5 - X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) X-ray diffraction (X..., , # Raw petrographic microscopy photos and XRD data used in assessing the mineralogy of the Li-b enriched stratiform ore zone in the Cave Spring Formation, Rhyolite Ridge, NV, USA ## Description of Appendix III Raw Data See Appendix III for interpreted images. This is the repository for high-resolution original photos that remain uninterpreted. ### Description of the data and file structure Each folder, labeled by sample number, contains all images from a given sample. Each image is labeled with: Figure number (correlated to its image in the text), Sample number, Location letter, power of magnification, PPL (plane-polarized light) or XPL (cross-polarized light), and, if applicable, \"rotated\" (representing 45 degree rotation to show variability of extinction phases). Example file name: Figure III-2.3 DCC-062, locA, 20x, XPL, rotated ## Description of Appendix VI - XRD Raw Data Grain mounts were constructed for topographic imaging using XRD. ### Description of the data and file s...银峰岭（Silver Peak Range）的流纹岩脊项目（Rhyolite Ridge Project）的锂、硼矿化赋存于山间谷地的晚中新世-早上新世层控沉积物中。艾奥尼尔美国公司（ioneer USA Corporation）正推进该项目开发，并与美国地质调查局（USGS）及CREG共同为本研究提供行业赞助。一套名为洞泉组（Cave Spring Formation）的湖相沉积地层厚度可达1500英尺，其赋存了目标沉积物。该地层中具有经济价值的为中部层段——一套厚60英尺的赛尔斯石层（Searlesite layer），该层赋存锂黏土与硼矿化，是本次研究的目标矿带与核心研究对象。该地层中较年轻的富泥灰岩亚层——锂泥灰岩（Li-Marl）层，不含赛尔斯石，但在富蒙脱石夹层中赋存更高浓度的锂。 本研究旨在表征锂、硼矿化特征，并探讨凝灰质沉积物的成岩作用（包括沸石与赛尔斯石的沉淀）是否会提升锂的富集浓度…… 5.7节 岩相显微分析 研究团队采用犹他州林登市瓦格纳岩相薄片服务中心的工艺，制备了117块抛光薄片。其中25块薄片取自17份核心样品（Crux Samples），为本次显微分析的重点对象。剩余15块非核心样品薄片则用于筛选氩-氩（Ar-Ar）年代学测试样品，具体流程如5.9节所述。岩相显微分析可用于层理结构、沉积特征、沸石相对于黏土与玻璃的赋存位置、物相关系以及透长石新鲜度的表征。同时，该分析还为扫描电子显微镜（SEM）工作划定了精准的目标区域。由于目标矿带颗粒极细，光学显微镜不足以表征矿物间的相互关系。通过光学显微镜筛选目标区域，可聚焦并加快扫描电镜分析的前置准备工作。 5.5节 X射线衍射（XRD） X射线衍射（XRD）…… # 用于评估美国内华达州流纹岩脊洞泉组富锂硼层状矿带矿物学特征的岩相显微照片与X射线衍射原始数据 ## 附录III原始数据说明 解译后的图像详见附录III，本数据集存储未经过解译的高分辨率原始照片。 ### 数据与文件结构说明 每个以样品编号命名的文件夹均包含对应样品的全部图像。 每张图像的命名规则如下：图号（与正文对应图像匹配）、样品编号、位置字母、放大倍数、偏光类型（平面偏光（PPL）或正交偏光（XPL）），若适用则添加"rotated"（表示旋转45度以显示消光相位的变化性）。 文件名示例：Figure III-2.3 DCC-062, locA, 20x, XPL, rotated（即：图III-2.3 DCC-062，位置A，20倍放大，正交偏光，旋转） ## 附录VI X射线衍射原始数据说明 本数据集通过X射线衍射完成了颗粒靶台的制备，用于形貌成像。 ### 数据与文件结构说明……