Bayash
The Bayash (“Tochka”) LCT pegmatites were discovered in 1956 by V. Kascheyev, a Soviet geologist, during geological mapping. The pegmatites were described as Tochka pegmatites named after a small village Tochka, located 1.0 km to the northwest (1:10,000 scale). In 1992, the Tochka village was renamed Bayash Utepov.
Geologically, in contrast to Kene LCT pegmatites, the Baysh pegmatites are mainly associated with the exo-contact of Tochka porphyritic plagiogranites and sedimentary-metamorphic rocks (schists) of the same Takyr Formation (D3-C1). The Bayash pegmatites and altered host rocks represent low eroded rare element mineralization supra-zone open to depth, containing lithium resources. They are extended in the NW direction for up to 8km with thickness varying between 500m and 1,200m on the surface. At the surface, the pegmatites are mainly represented by several hundred outcropped pegmatite veins (spodumene-bearing) with thickness up to 10m and up to 1.9% Li2O (Dalares, 2023, Channel K-389).
Bayash pegmatite rock-forming minerals (ref. Osipova, 1990)
|
Pegmatite type |
Spodumene (%) |
Quartz (%) |
Albite (%) |
Microcline (%) |
Muscovite (%) |
|
Albite-spodumene (Spodumene) pegmatites |
30-40 |
10-20 |
20-40 |
15-20 |
1-2 |
|
Microcline-albite pegmatites |
5 |
20-30 |
10-20 |
10-30 |
2-5 |
|
Albite pegmatites |
3-5 |
10-30 |
30-40 |
10-15 |
5-10 |
|
Microcline pegmatites |
- |
20-40 |
10 |
30-40 |
2-5 |
Geochemical specifications
In 2024, Dalares conducted a geochemical soil sampling at Bayash (using a 200mx40m sampling grid) with quantification of 56 elements that resulted in defining a rare-metal association similar to Kene.
Similarly to Kene, a Li-Cs-Sn-Rb-Tl-Ta-Be-Nb-Bi geochemical signature has been revealed for Bayash with only difference in lanthanoid and siderophile associations due to a difference in host rock occurrence. The Kene pegmatites are hosted in granites, and the Bayash pegmatites – in sedimentary rocks. There were five (5) anomalies identified at Bayash.
The geochemical dispersion map of this association delineates zones of intensive development of pegmatite and quartz veins, dikes of various thicknesses with primarily NW strike.
In the distribution of anomaly fields of the association a mosaic structure aligned with the general structure of the property has been detected. It is apparent that mosaic structure is stipulated by a lower erosion compared to Kene. Generally, considering geochemical similarity with Kene the zone erosion can be classified as a supra-ore.
The size of the most extensive zone of potentially lithium ore anomalies reaches 1,400m with 150-250m in width but its NW extension has not been delineated.
