SSGF Trace Element Concentrations
Presented are trace element concentrations of minerals from the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF), located in the Imperial Valley, California. With a recent increase in demand for lithium, the area is actively being studied as a source of geothermal brine for lithium extraction. The SSGF geothermal brine is additionally enriched in other critical minerals, particularly Mn and Zn. Studying surface and subsurface rocks from the SSGF offer a unique opportunity to investigate the brine-rock interactions that dictate the distribution of various critical minerals in an active hydrothermal system. This study was performed to identify the primary host minerals of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and the REEs in the SSGF and connect observed mineralogical reaction textures to the nature of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and REE mobility during brine-rock reaction in the SSGF. Rocks and brines sampled in this study are from surface rhyolitic domes on the South Eastern shore of the Salton Sea, the sedimentary and evaporitic rocks in the Durmid Hills, rhyolitic drill clippings previously studied by Schmitt & Hulen, commercial drill wells, and CA State 2-14 well.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - Presented are trace element concentrations of minerals from the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF), located in the Imperial Valley, California. With a recent increase in demand for lithium, the area is actively being studied as a source of geothermal brine for lithium extraction. The SSGF geothermal brine is additionally enriched in other critical minerals, particularly Mn and Zn. Studying surface and subsurface rocks from the SSGF offer a unique opportunity to investigate the brine-rock interactions that dictate the distribution of various critical minerals in an active hydrothermal system. This study was performed to identify the primary host minerals of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and the REEs in the SSGF and connect observed mineralogical reaction textures to the nature of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and REE mobility during brine-rock reaction in the SSGF. Rocks and brines sampled in this study are from surface rhyolitic domes on the South Eastern shore of the Salton Sea, the sedimentary and evaporitic rocks in the Durmid Hills, rhyolitic drill clippings previously studied by Schmitt & Hulen, commercial drill wells, and CA State 2-14 well.
AU - Kovalick, Alex
A2 - Humphreys, J
A3 - Brounce, Maryjo
A4 - McKibben, Michael
A5 - Nico, Peter
DB - Geothermal Data Repository
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - geothermal
KW - trace elements
KW - Salton Sea Geothermal Field
KW - rocks
KW - mineral
KW - hydrothermal
KW - Lithium Valley
KW - geothermal brine
KW - raw data
KW - Imperial County
KW - SSGF
KW - Imperial Valley
KW - rare earth elements
KW - REE
KW - critical minerals
KW - Mn
KW - Zn
KW - Co
KW - Ni
KW - brine-rock reaction
KW - rock samples
KW - brine samples
KW - rhyolitic domes
KW - Durmid Hills
KW - Schmitt and Hulen
KW - CA 2-14
KW - wells
KW - chemistry
KW - fluid chemistry
KW - geochemistry
KW - Salton Sea
LA - English
DA - 2026/01/08
PY - 2026
PB - University of California Riverside
T1 - SSGF Trace Element Concentrations
UR - https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808
ER -
Kovalick, Alex, et al. SSGF Trace Element Concentrations. University of California Riverside, 8 January, 2026, Geothermal Data Repository. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808.
Kovalick, A., Humphreys, J., Brounce, M., McKibben, M., & Nico, P. (2026). SSGF Trace Element Concentrations. [Data set]. Geothermal Data Repository. University of California Riverside. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808
Kovalick, Alex, J Humphreys, Maryjo Brounce, Michael McKibben, and Peter Nico. SSGF Trace Element Concentrations. University of California Riverside, January, 8, 2026. Distributed by Geothermal Data Repository. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808
@misc{GDR_Dataset_1808,
title = {SSGF Trace Element Concentrations},
author = {Kovalick, Alex and Humphreys, J and Brounce, Maryjo and McKibben, Michael and Nico, Peter},
abstractNote = {Presented are trace element concentrations of minerals from the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF), located in the Imperial Valley, California. With a recent increase in demand for lithium, the area is actively being studied as a source of geothermal brine for lithium extraction. The SSGF geothermal brine is additionally enriched in other critical minerals, particularly Mn and Zn. Studying surface and subsurface rocks from the SSGF offer a unique opportunity to investigate the brine-rock interactions that dictate the distribution of various critical minerals in an active hydrothermal system. This study was performed to identify the primary host minerals of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and the REEs in the SSGF and connect observed mineralogical reaction textures to the nature of Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and REE mobility during brine-rock reaction in the SSGF. Rocks and brines sampled in this study are from surface rhyolitic domes on the South Eastern shore of the Salton Sea, the sedimentary and evaporitic rocks in the Durmid Hills, rhyolitic drill clippings previously studied by Schmitt \& Hulen, commercial drill wells, and CA State 2-14 well.},
url = {https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Geothermal Data Repository, University of California Riverside, https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1808},
note = {Accessed: 2026-04-11}
}
Details
Data from Jan 8, 2026
Last updated Jan 14, 2026
Submitted Jan 8, 2026
Organization
University of California Riverside
Contact
Alex Kovalick
443.791.8728
Authors
Keywords
geothermal, trace elements, Salton Sea Geothermal Field, rocks, mineral, hydrothermal, Lithium Valley, geothermal brine, raw data, Imperial County, SSGF, Imperial Valley, rare earth elements, REE, critical minerals, Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, brine-rock reaction, rock samples, brine samples, rhyolitic domes, Durmid Hills, Schmitt and Hulen, CA 2-14, wells, chemistry, fluid chemistry, geochemistry, Salton SeaDOE Project Details
Project Name Improved Quantification Of Li Resources For Lithium Valley
Project Lead Alexandra Prisjatschew
Project Number 39128
