The Andean plateau is a small region of South America extending between northwest Argentina, southwest Bolivia, and northern Chile. It concentrates the largest global resources of lithium brines in its numerous salars. Of these, the giant salars in Bolivia and Chile have been relatively well studied; however, only little is known about the smaller but numerous salars in the Argentine Puna region. In this article, we present the results of the first regional-scale reconnaissance exploration of the 12 major salars situated in the southern part of the Puna plateau (24°S–26°30’S). Hydrochemical data indicate that the shallowest brines are characterized by highly variable Li concentrations, with mean Li grades ranging between 57 and 570 mg L⁻¹, and mean Li/Mg ratios from 0.01 to 1.24. A survey of the brine chemistry of the salars across the Puna plateau, including its northern part, has revealed the absence of a geographical pattern in Li⁺ grade distribution. However, a comparison among mean Li⁺ grades, Li⁺/Mg²⁺ ratios, and the sizes of all salars allows an estimation of their Li mining potential. Specifically, the salt pan of Arizaro represents the highest potential, mainly due to its size; Antofalla-Botijuelas has a large surface and promising Li/Mg ratios for Li recovery via brine evaporation, though its elongated shape is a constraint; and Pastos Grandes, Pozuelos, and Rincón have encouraging Li grades, interesting salar sizes, and relatively easy access. Olaroz, Cauchari, and Hombre Muerto contain the highest Li⁺ grades in brines of the Argentine Puna and embody the most interesting perspectives of the Argentine plateau in a regional context. Salar sizes could be related to maximum Li⁺ grade of brines. Larger salars would then be expected to contain brines with higher Li⁺ grades than smaller ones, which could be considered as a useful criterion for surveys of brine-type deposits.

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阿根廷安第斯高原南部普纳地区撒拉族人的锂和盐水地球化学

安第斯高原是南美的一个小区域，介于阿根廷西北部，玻利维亚西南部和智利北部之间。它在众多盐沼中集中了全球最大的锂盐水资源。其中，对玻利维亚和智利的巨型撒拉族人进行了比较充分的研究。然而，对阿根廷普纳地区较小但数量众多的撒拉族人知之甚少。在本文中，我们介绍了对位于Puna高原南部（24°S–26°30'S）的12个主要撒拉人的第一次区域规模的勘查探索的结果。水化学数据表明，最浅的盐水的特征在于锂浓度变化很大，平均锂等级介于57至570 mg L ^-1之间。，平均Li / Mg比为0.01至1.24。对整个Puna高原（包括北部）的盐沼的盐水化学进行的一项调查表明，Li ⁺品位分布中没有地理图案。但是，平均Li ⁺等级，Li ⁺ / Mg ²⁺之间的比较比例和所有撒拉族的大小都可以估算出它们的锂开采潜力。具体来说，Arizaro的盐锅具有最大的潜力，主要是因为它的大小。Antofalla-Botijuelas具有较大的表面，并且有望通过盐水蒸发回收L​​i / Mg，尽管它的细长形状是一个限制因素。Pastos Grandes，Pozuelos和Rincón具有令人鼓舞的Li级，有趣的撒拉族大小，并且相对容易获得。Olaroz，Cauchari和Hombre Muerto在阿根廷Puna盐水中的Li ⁺含量最高，并且在区域范围内体现了阿根廷高原最有趣的观点。盐浆的大小可能与最大Li ⁺盐水等级有关。预计更大的盐沼将包含更高的Li ⁺盐水 等级比较小的等级要好，这可以被认为是盐水类沉积物调查的有用标准。