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Jindalee Lithium
Overview
Jindalee Lithium (ASX:JLL,OTCQX:JNDAF) is an Australia-based exploration and development company advancing North America’s largest lithium deposit. After a spinout of its Australian assets, Jindalee has become a pure-play lithium company focused exclusively on its promising 100-percent-owned McDermitt project. Jindalee recognises the vast opportunity for lithium projects in the US as the country progresses towards its sustainable energy transition and developing a robust domestic supply chain for critical minerals.
As the US strives to transition to clean energy, demand for lithium will continue to increase as this critical mineral is necessary to achieve the country’s net-zero goals. With its favorable mining policies and infrastructure, the US actively supports the advancement of new projects to strengthen its domestic supply chain.
Jindalee’s McDermitt asset, located in southeast Oregon, contains a unique type of lithium mineralisation. Most lithium projects in North America are lithium brine or pegmatite deposits; however, the McDermitt project is an unconventional sediment-hosted lithium asset.
Sediment-hosted lithium deposits such as McDermitt are long-life assets with low strip ratios and low mining costs. Jindalee can leverage this advantage over other lithium assets, both in terms of reaching production faster and reducing operating expenses.
There is currently no commercially operating sediment-hosted lithium project in North America. Two recently announced projects, however, are under development and demonstrate McDermitt’s future trajectory as both companies move toward production.
The 2023 mineral resources estimate (MRE) for McDermitt contains a combined indicated and inferred mineral resource inventory of 3 billion tons at 1,340 parts per million (ppm) lithium for a total of 21.5 million tons (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at 1,000 ppm cut-off grade. At 21.5 Mt LCE, McDermitt is the largest lithium deposit in the US by contained lithium in mineral resource, and a globally significant resource, with the deposit remaining open to the west and south.
In June 2023, Jindalee commenced a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the McDermitt Lithium Project appointing Fluor Corporation as lead engineer. The company expects completion of the PFS by mid-2024. Jindalee also announced initial metallurgical results from acid leaching of the beneficiated samples of McDermitt ore. Lithium extraction from composite samples averaged 93 percent (250 micron (µm)) and 94 percent (75 µm) while lithium extraction from all units exceeded 98 percent with higher acid additions.
In a move that signifies the US government's support of the McDermitt lithium project, the US Department of Energy's Ames National Laboratory signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Jindalee's subsidiary HiTech Minerals to develop cutting-edge extraction methods for the McDermitt project. The Ames National Laboratory spearhead the DOE's Critical Materials Innovation Hub
An experienced management team, with the right blend of experience and expertise in geology, corporate administration and international finance, leads Jindalee to fully capitalise on the potential of its assets.
Company Highlights
- Jindalee Lithium is a pure-play lithium exploration and development company focusing on its flagship McDermitt lithium project, currently the largest lithium deposit in North America.
- The United States has ambitious electrification goals but lacks the critical minerals to reach them. Jindalee aims to strengthen the North American supply chain to enable the country to reach net-zero emissions targets.
- Globally, most of the lithium is currently sourced from either pegmatite or lithium brine deposits. The company’s McDermitt deposit, however, is sediment-hosted, an emerging style of lithium deposit with the potential to be a long-life, low-cost source of lithium.
- There are presently no sediment-hosted lithium assets in North America that have reached production. Jindalee is ideally positioned to help fill this void in the market.
- Other companies in North America are moving towards production, and their progress indicates Jindalee’s future trajectory.
- An experienced management team leads Jindalee towards capitalising on the potential of its assets.
Key Project
McDermitt Lithium Project
The McDermitt Project is located in Malheur County on the Oregon-Nevada border and is approximately 35 kilometres west of the town of McDermitt. The 100-percent-owned asset covers 54.6 square kilometres of claims at the northern end of the McDermitt volcanic caldera. Following positive results from its 2022 drill campaign, the resource at McDermitt has increased to 21.5 Mt LCE, making McDermitt the largest lithium deposit in North America.
Project Highlights:
- Rare Sediment-hosted Lithium Deposits: The McDermitt asset supports low-cost mining operations due to its flat-lying sediments. This type of lithium deposit is amenable to low-cost mining operations, while still producing excellent metallurgical results.
- Resource Increased by 62 percent early 2023: Compilation of the 2022 drilling results saw the estimated indicated and inferred resources at McDermitt increase to 3 billion tons at 1,340 ppm lithium, a 62 percent increase in contained lithium. The updated resource released by the company contains a combined indicated and inferred total of 21.5 Mt LCE at 1,000 ppm cut-off grade.
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with POSCO Holdings: Jindalee entered into an MOU with POSCO Holdings (NYSE:PKX), under which POSCO will fund metallurgical testwork on McDermitt ore and undertake joint research for the asset. POSCO is partnering with General Motors to supply cathode active material (including lithium) for its electric vehicles.
- Fluor recommended processing route: In March 2023, US engineering group Fluor reviewed all testwork undertaken at McDermitt and recommended beneficiation and acid leaching as the optimal processing route.
- Highly encouraging metallurgical testwork: Results from beneficiation and acid leaching tests have exceeded expectations. Beneficiation testwork completed in late 2023 (on sample representing a nominal life-of-mine average feed) recovered 92 percent of the lithium to leach feed and rejected 25.3 percent of the mass at a cut size of 250 µm. Additionally the acid leach test work announced in early 2024 demonstrated very high lithium extraction rates on beneficiated ore. Specifically, the calculated lithium extraction for a composite sample using 250 µm leach feed was 92.9 percent which compares favourably with the extraction rate (94 percent) achieved through testwork from the finer (75 µm) leach feed using 500 kg/t acid. Further testwork is now underway.
- PFS in progress: Jindalee has appointed Fluor Corporation to commence the PFS for McDermitt, set to be completed by mid-2024.
Management Team
Ian Rodger - Chief Executive Officer
Ian Rodger is a qualified mining business executive with almost 15 years of experience in various roles including as a mining engineer for Rio Tinto across two large greenfield mine developments, before successfully transitioning into mining corporate finance where he held Executive and Director positions at RFC Ambrian overseeing origination and management of numerous mandates across a range of corporate advisory roles. Rodger was the project director for Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL) where he made significant contributions to successfully define the value potential of the West Musgrave nickel/copper province through the delivery of a portfolio of growth studies. Most notably, he led technical, market and partnership development workstreams, successfully confirming value potential for producing an intermediate Nickel product for the battery value chain.
Rodger holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland, a Masters of Mineral Economics from Curtin University and is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Lindsay Dudfield - Executive Director
Lindsay Dudfield is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in multi-commodity exploration, primarily within Australia. He held senior positions with the mineral divisions of Amoco and Exxon. In 1987, he became a founding director of Dalrymple Resources NL and spent the following eight years helping acquire and explore Dalrymple’s properties, leading to several greenfield discoveries. In late 1994, Lindsay joined the board of Horizon Mining NL (Jindalee Lithium’s predecessor) and has been responsible for managing Jindalee Lithium since inception. Lindsay is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, the Geological Society of Australia and the Society of Economic Geologists. He is also a non-executive director of Jindalee spin-out companies Energy Metals (ASX:EME), Dynamic Metals (ASX:DYM) and Alchemy Resources (ASX:ALY).
Wayne Zekulich - Non-executive Chair
Wayne Zekulich was appointed to the board as Chair on 1 February 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Zekulich is a consultant and non-executive director who has substantial experience in advising, structuring and financing transactions in the infrastructure and resources sectors. He was previously the head of Rothschild in Perth, chief financial officer of Gindalbie Metals Limited, chief development officer of Oakajee Port and Rail and a consultant to a global investment bank. Currently, he is chair of Pantoro Limited (ASX:PNR) and non-executive director of the Western Australian Treasury Corporation. In the not-for-profit sector, he is the past chair of the Lester Prize and is a mentor in the Kilfinan program.
Darren Wates - Non-executive Director
Darren Wates is a corporate lawyer with over 23 years of experience in equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, resources, project acquisitions/divestments and corporate governance gained through private practice and in-house roles in Western Australia. Wates is the founder and principal of Corpex Legal, a Perth-based legal practice providing corporate, commercial and resources related legal services, primarily to small and mid-cap ASX listed companies. In this role, he has provided consulting general counsel services to ASX listed company Neometals (ASX:NMT) since 2016, having previously been employed as legal counsel of Neometals. Wates holds Bachelor's degrees in Law and Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.
Paul Brown - Non-executive Director
Paul Brown has over 23 years of experience in the mining industry, most recently with Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) where he was chief executive – lithium, and chief executive – commodities. Brown has held senior operating roles with Leighton, HWE and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and has a strong track record in technical leadership, project/studies management, and mine planning and management. Brown is currently CEO of Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS). He holds a Master in Mine Engineering.
Brett Marsh - VP Geology and Development (US)
Brett Marsh is an AIPG certified professional geologist and a registered member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) with over 25 years of diverse mining and geological experience. He has worked for and held senior leadership roles for Kastan Mining, Luna Gold, Kiska Metals, Newmont, Freeport-McMoRan, Phelps Dodge, ASARCO and consulted to deliver numerous NI 43-101 technical reports. Marsh has demonstrated the ability to deliver results in culturally diverse and geographically difficult environments, such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia, Australia, and has also worked in remote areas of Alaska. He has managed all phases of the mining lifecycle including greenfield and brownfield exploration, project development (including preliminary economic assessments, pre-feasibility and feasibility), project construction, mine operations, and environmental. He successfully led multi-cultural teams to develop business processes and implementation plans for many mine development and operational projects.
Carly Terzanidis - Company Secretary
Carly Terzanidis has 20 years of prior experience in the financial services industry, having been employed by Euroz Hartleys, DJ Carmichael and Shaw and Partners. Terzanidis’ recent experience has been in corporate services and in the role of company secretary for resources-focused entities. Terzanidis acts as company secretary for Alchemy Resources (ASX:ALY), Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR) and Viridis Mining and Minerals (ASX:VMM). Terzanidis holds a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Accounting and Corporate Administration and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance.
High grade Assay Results Continue at Youanmi
- The latest batch of assays have been received from the 11,000m drilling program (both diamond core and reverse circulation) at the high gold-grade Youanmi Gold Project, located centrally in Western Australia’s prolific gold fields
- The recently-completed infill/exploration program aimed to improve resource confidence and open up corridors for resource growth; to underpin the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), and, additionally, provide sample material for ongoing metallurgical optimisation test-work for the DFS program
- Latest highlights from the program include:
- RXDD131: 4.38m @ 19.07 g/t Au from 387.98m,
- incl. 1.73m @ 41.43 g/t Au from 389.96m
- RXDD119: 4.56m @ 14.60 g/t Au from 220.64m
- RXDD115: 2.99m @ 21.11 g/t Au from 249.88m
- RXDD119: 4.0m @ 7.37 g/t Au from 162.0m
- RXDD132: 7.19m @ 3.90 g/t Au from 263.61m
- RXDD133: 2.83m @ 6.53 g/t Au from 431.00m
- RXDD128: 3.82m @ 4.51 g/t Au from 364.59m,
- incl. 1.73m @ 8.22 g/t Au from 364.59m
- incl. 1.73m @ 8.22 g/t Au from 364.59m
- RXDD122: 0.95m @ 13.50 g/t Au from 204.44m
- §These results further demonstrate the continuity of high- grade gold mineralisation along the Youanmi greenstone belt belt, and the potential for resource growth both at depth and along-strike, with discovery potential to the south
- 35,000m Step-up drill campaign well underway with the plan to bring forward ounces and increase the mine plan
The program focused on converting Inferred stopes at Pollard, United North and Youanmi Main to higher confidence Indicated classification and providing material for metallurgical testing for the upcoming Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) – on track for H2 CY25.
This final consignment of diamond assay results are the fourth batch of assays results returned from the drill program and have been entirely drilled from the Pollard, Youanmi and United North areas (Figure 1).
Rox Resources’ Chief Executive Officer, Phillip Wilding, commented:
“It’s pleasing to round out the 11,000m RD and DD drilling program with another batch of excellent intercepts.
“More importantly, the program has significantly improved our knowledge of the high grade and underexplored Youanmi ore system, and shown that mineralisation remains open at depth.
“Next steps are to convert Inferred areas of the Resource to the higher confidence Indicated classification, and finalise key intercepts of sample material for metallurgical test work to feed into the Youanmi DFS.
“We are excited to have commenced the 35,000m Step-up program to potentially bring forward ounces in the mine plan and significantly increase the size of the Pollard ore zone.”
Youanmi Major Growth Drill program
Resource drilling has focused on converting selected Inferred stopes in the current Mineral Resource of 16.2Mt at 4.4g/t Au for 2.3Moz (Indicated: 10.7Mt at 4.5g/t Au for 1.6 Moz : Inferred 5.5Mt at 4.2g/t Au for 0.7 Moz) 1 to higher confidence Indicated classification at Pollard, United North and Youanmi Main as shown in plan on Figure 1. The drilling has also provided both sample material for metallurgical testing and valuable geological data for the pending Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) planned for second half of 2025.
Figure 1: Plan view of the Youanmi Gold Project featuring drill hole collar locations and 2024 Resource outline overprinted on aerial photography
Outside of the immediate resource area, drilling was also conducted on near-mine exploration and focused on the Youanmi South prospect area, or Paddy’s Lode, first reporting high-grade intercepts in 20232. The drilling at Paddy’s has complimented the Company’s exploration strategy moving south along the Main Lode Shear Zone (MLSZ) and adding additional gold ounces to the Resource. Youanmi South has the potential to grow the Resource above the 103kozpa Production Target outlined in the recently completed Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”)3.
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This article includes content from Rox Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Drilling Commenced at Viani in Fiji
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Phase 1, three-hole diamond drilling program has commenced at the Viani Project, Fiji and will test for extensions to the quartz vein gold mineralisation at depth.
- Phase 1 is expected to be completed in early 2025, with plans for additional drilling under the same program dependent on the initial results
- The Viani Project (SPL1513) covers an area of approximately 200km2 and is largely underexplored.
- At the Dakuniba prospect within Viani, low sulphidation epithermal high-grade gold mineralisation has been mapped over >3km strike length.
- Diamond drilling completed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1995 to 1997 intersected high-grade gold in low sulphidation epithermal quartz veins, including 0.6m @ 27.6 g/t Au.
Alice Queen’s Managing Director, Andrew Buxton said,
With drilling underway, Alice Queen is positioned to test the epithermal gold-style mineralisation identified in historic drilling at the Viani Project. Weather permitting, we anticipate completing the Phase 1, three-hole diamond drilling program in early 2025. Following this, our exploration team will mobilise the drill rig to the Sabeto Project in Fiji to maintain the momentum of this campaign. To deliver timely results to shareholders, we intend to accelerate the analysis of the drill core at ALS Brisbane.”
Image 1 – Diamond drilling at Viani
Details
Geology
The geology of the Viani Project (SPL 1513) comprises olivine basalts and volcaniclastics of the Natewa Volcanic Group which are intruded by andesite sills and dykes. In the 1940s, gold mineralisation was found by local prospectors near the village of Dakuniba. At Dakuniba, low sulphidation style epithermal gold occurs in quartz veins, and silicified rocks along a 3km long NE trending zone.
In 1995-1997, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) drilled six diamond holes at Dakuniba and intersected high-grade gold in chalcedonic, crustiform, colloform banded quartz veins at depths of 50m to 100m below surface (i.e. MJVFV-5 intersected 2.2m @ 11.3 g/t Au, incl 0.6m @ 27.6 g/t Au at 121m downhole). This high-grade gold mineralisation is open in all directions.
Proposed Drill program
The initial Phase 1 drill program at Viani (see Table 1) will comprise three diamond drillholes designed to test continuity to the epithermal gold mineralisation previously intersected in JICA drillhole MJVFV- 5 (2.2m @ 11.3 g/t Au) (see Figure 2). The drilling will test for extensions to the gold mineralisation at depth and along strike.
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This article includes content from Alice Queen Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
