Laguna Cachi Deposit

Producer in Potosi, Bolivia with commodities Sodium, Cobalt, Halite, Lithium, Boron-Borates, Molybdenum, Tungsten, Arsenic
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10005860
MRDS ID BL10026
Record type Site
Current site name Laguna Cachi Deposit
Alternate or previous names Cachi Laguna

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -67.94116, -21.72672 (WGS84)
Elevation 4495
Relative position 41 KM S70W OF ESTANCIA LAS JUNTAS, 220 KM FROM UYUNI BY ROAD.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Potosi(province)

Bolivia(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Federal lands

Federal(land status)

Geographic areas

Country State
Bolivia Potosi

Comments on the location information

  • DUE WEST OF CERRO PABELLON CACHI LAGUNA.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Sodium Primary
Cobalt Critical Primary
Halite Tertiary
Lithium Critical Tertiary
Boron-Borates Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Tungsten Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Brine Ore
Halite Ore
Trona Ore
Ulexite Ore

Analytical data

Result BRINE ANALYSES BY BALLIVIAN AND RISACHER (1981): DENSITY 1.044, PH 10.60, CL 12 G/L, SO4 787 MG/L, B 216 MG/L, SIO2 90 MG/L, NA 20.9 G/L, K 7.29 G/L, LI 177 MG/L, CA 10.0 MG/L, MG 0.4 MG/L. ANALYSIS OF SODA CRUST (AHLFELD ET AL, 1964): 47.30% NA2CO3, 11.00% NAHCO3, 11.05% NA2SO4, 7.10% NACL, 0.97% INSOLUBLE RESIDUE. BRINE ANALYSES BY RISACHER ET AL (1984): 21 TO 25 DEGREES CENT, DENSITY 1,196 TO 1,238
Result PH 10.05 TO 10.38
Result CO3 75,000 TO 81,000 MG/L
Result CL 32,000 TO 57,200 MG/L
Result SO4 25,900 TO 35,800 MG/L
Result B 1,210 TO 2,500 MG/L
Result SI 202 TO 225 MG/L
Result P 160 TO 230 MG/L
Result F 40 TO 70 MG/L
Result AS 438 TO 2,300 MG/L
Result NA 80,000 TO 92,000 MG/L
Result K 19,700 TO 35,600 MG/L
Result LI 416 TO 848 MG/L
Result CA 4.9 TO 6.0 MG/L
Result MG 0.7 TO 2.9 MG/L
Result MO 25 TO 50 MG/L
Result W 11 TO 20 MG/L.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 267
USGS model code 35b.13 (35bm)
Deposit model name Lithium-rich playa brines

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pleistocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Evaporite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -67.94116, -21.72672

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Alkaline Lake

Comments on the geologic information

  • LAKE FREEZES OVER IN WINTER WITH A CRUST OF NATRON, THERMONATRITE AND HALITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of last production 1960

Land status

Ownership category Federal

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Empresa Minera Barrero , Quimica Boliviana
    First year 1958
    Last year 1960

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ASSUMES LAKE VOLUME OF 420,000 CUBIC METERS, 42.4 G/L TRONA

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 0M

Comments on development

  • PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF TRONA FROM 1958 TO 1960. IN 1990, SODIUM CARBONATE ORE FROM LAGUNA CACHI WAS BEING TREATED AT A PILOT PLANT SOME DISTANCE FROM THE LAKE. A COMPANY/PERSON NAMED BARRERO RAN THE OPERATION. ; ECON.COM: PILOT PLANT IN USE 1990 IS A 2 MT BATCH BOILER THAT YIELDS 150 KG REFINED SODIUM CARBONATE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BALLIVIAN, O., AND RISACHER, F., 1981, LOS SALARES DEL ALTIPLANO DE BOLIVIA; METODOS DE ESTUDIO Y ESTIMACION ECONOMICA: PARIS, OFFICE DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE OUTRE-MER, 246P.

  • Deposit

    AHLFELD, F., AND SCHNEIDER-SCHERBINA, A., 1964, LOS YACIMIENTOS MINERALES Y DE HIDROCARBUROS DE BOLIVIA: DEPARTAMENTO NACIONAL DE GEOLOGIA BOLETIN 5, P. 328.

  • Deposit

    RISACHER, F., SAMUEL, J., AND KREMPP, G., 1984, CONCENTRATIONS EXTREMES EN MOLYBDENE, TUNGSTENE ET ARSENIC DANS LES SAUMURES DUN LAC DE L'ALTIPLANO DE BOLIVIE: COMPTES RENDUS ACADEMIE SCIENCES PARIS, V. 299, SER. II, N. 19, P. 1325-1328.

  • Deposit

    RISACHER, FRANCOIS, 1984, ORIGINE DES CONCENTRATIONS EXTREMES EN BORE ET EN LITHIUM DANS LES SAUMURES DE L'ALTIPLANO BOLIVIEN: ACADEMIE DE SCIENCES DE FRANCE COMTES-RENDUS, SERIE 2, V. 299, NO. 11, P. 701-706.

  • Deposit

    RISACHER, F., AND MIRANDA, J., 1976, INDICIOS DE INTERES ECONOMICO EN LOS SALARES DEL SUD LIPEZ: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, UNIVERSIDAD MAYOR DE SAN ANDRES - L'OFFICE DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE OUTRE-MER INFORME, 8 P.

  • Deposit

    GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION BY BALLIVIAN AND RISACHER (1981)

  • Deposit

    SITE VISIT WAS MADE BY G.J. ORRIS AND S. ASHER-BOLINDER OF THE USGS AND J.E. SORIA E. AND RENE ENRIQUEZ R. OF GEOBOL IN AUGUST, 1990.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSIT IS AN ALKALINE LAKE OF 3000 SQUARE METERS AREA. THE PART OF THE LAKE CONTAINING BRINES IS 1.5 KM IN AREA WITH AN AVERAGE DEPTH OF 0.2 M FOR AN AREA OF 1 SQUARE KM AND 10 CM FOR AN AREA OF 0.5 SQUARE KM.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1990 Long, Keith R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-FEB-1990 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey PARSED HOST ROCK AND ASSOCIATED ROCK INFORMATION FROM OLD SINGLE VALUED FIELD TO NEW MULTIVALUED FIELD
Editor 27-APR-1995 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.