Lithium Argentina AG

Structures

The dominant structures in the Puna trending N-S to NNE-SSW are generally compressional or transgressive in nature formed mainly during the Neogene. Other structures are lineaments of regional magnitude, transversal to the Andean strike with a northeast and northwest direction along with displacements that occur in the strike direction and changes in the orientation of the Neogene folds and faults as well aligned volcanic flows of Cretaceous, Miocene-Pliocene and Quaternary ages. Some of the transversal lineaments have a well-documented pre-Cenozoic history, such as the Calama-El Toro- Olacapato lineament. South of this lineament, the deepest levels of the crust are exposed in both the Puna and Calchaquenia suggesting that the pre-Neogene deformation was dominated by vertical movements, descending towards the north. In addition, immediately north of the lineament, the western edge of the Cretaceous rift basin undergoes a marked westward displacement.

Local Geology

Based on the lithological descriptions of the drill core and cuttings together with the interpretation of the available geophysical information and field observations five major geological units were defined and correlated, these units were incorporated into a 3-D geological model of the Pastos Grandes sub-basin. The geological units are described hereafter: