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Lithium exploration and project development company Critical Resources Limited ASX:CRR (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce assay results from the first drill hole of the summer 2023 resource extension drilling program at the Company’s 100%-owned Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.
Highlights
- Assay results from drill hole MF23-207 confirm outstanding thick intercept of high- grade lithium mineralisation at the Mavis Lake Main Zone
- The significant intersection of spodumene mineralised pegmatite returned:
- 74.4m at 1.18% Li2O, from 176.15m down-hole, including:
- 32.95m at 1.81% Li2O from 215.6m down-hole
- The intercept is interpreted to be associated with a new plunging trend, which the Company is excited to comprehensively drill test over the coming weeks
- Permits for new drill pads have also been submitted to further test the extent of this significant mineralisation trend
- The wide, high-grade intercept is located outside the current resource model and is expected to add significantly to our current Mineral Resource
- Resource extension drilling continues at the Main Zone with further assays pending
The drill hole (MF23-207) is the widest interval of spodumene mineralisation recorded to date at the Mavis Lake Lithium Project, highlighting the Project’s significant upside potential.
Assay results confirm the significance of the intercept, averaging 1.18% Li2O across the 74.4m intercept, with multiple sections grading over 1.8% Li2O and further sections grading up to 3.28% Li20.
The Drill Hole Summary can be seen in Table 1, full exploration results are provided in Appendix 1.
Thick, High-Grade Intercept
MF23-207 has intersected an exceptional interval in terms of both its thickness (and therefore implications for a future resource upgrade) and the grade of the spodumene mineralisation encountered.
The interval has an average grade of 1.18% Li2O and includes significant intervals of high-grade mineralisation. A detailed breakdown can be seen in Table 2.
The intercept is expected to add both tonnage and increased grade to a future Resource upgrade. The true thickness is 60% of the down-hole width, calculated by the contact angles relative to core axis and the modeling of ore shapes with other known drill hole data. A total true thickness is 44.6m in width, representing a significant increase of current MRE projected mineralisation shapes.
This interval is possibly a complex plunging structure that extends throughout the entire ~1.5km Main Zone area, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Long Section Model, looking SE, of the Main Zone with the projected plunge area (dark red) related to the 74.4m intercept in MF23-207
MF23-207 was designed to extend the current resource towards the north and follow known mineralisation at depth. The hole was designed to intersect the Main Zone mineralisation shapes obliquely, due to the location of permitted drill pads.
New drill permits have been submitted for the purpose of testing the pegmatite closer to true widths. Ice drilling may be conducted in the winter months to continue testing this swell area at depth.
Figure 2 shows a Cross-Section of Drill Hole MF23-207 in context with previous intercepts and modelling of the current 8Mt resource.
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This article includes content from Critical Resources, 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.
CRR:AU
Spodumene Pegmatite Discovery at Esperança Project in Brazil Yields LIBS Results up to 4.04% Li2O
The discovery has been made during early-stage exploration programs which include project scale geological mapping, ground reconnaissance, and soil sampling. These early-stage programs remain ongoing with further results to come over the coming weeks. The discovery supports the Company’s exploration thesis and uplifts the remaining prospectivity across all three project areas: Canabrava, Caraíbas and Esperança projects.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Artisanal excavations reveal a lithium bearing pegmatite with elongate crystalline spodumene crystals up to 50cm in length
- LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) results of spodumene crystals return up to 18,800 ppm Lithium, or 4.04% Li2O
- Discovery provides walk up drill target for fully funded drilling campaign to begin Q1 2025
- Soil sampling and geological mapping continues across the Esperança, Canabrava and Caraíbas projects with further results due over the coming weeks
Lightning Minerals Managing Director Alex Biggs said, “I am highly encouraged by these results from Brazil. As I have spoken about, as a team we are committed to discovery and completing our works in a diligent and structured manner, the proof of which is in these results. The Company is progressing its projects in Brazil quickly and cost effectively and generating significant results for the business which we feel will be transformational. I am proud of and congratulate our geology teams both in Australia and Brazil who have conducted themselves in a professional and astute manner which has been crucial in making a discovery such as this. This is a great first step for us in Brazil and is testament to the prospectivity of the region as I have discussed previously. We look forward to drilling in Q1 2025 and further results to come imminently from all three project areas in Brazil. I would also like to thank our shareholders who have supported our vision and exploration strategy. As a Company we are firmly committed to the lithium thematic and firmly committed to Brazil where we see significant potential moving forwards”.
Lithium Discovery at Esperança Project
During geological mapping fieldwork conducted in mid-November 2024 field geologists encountered a previously unknown historical artisanal mine within the Esperança project area. The site presented with a small access which opened into a set of sub vertical shafts sunk several meters into schists of the Salinas formation. Upon investigation the geology team has discovered pegmatitic lithologies in the walls of the excavations, of which the suite of minerals indicates inclusion of macro crystalline (up to 50cm) elongate crystals of spodumene as shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b).
Figure 1a (left): Brazilian geologist Vitor Araujo Alves showing the spodumene rich portion of the zoned pegmatite discovered at the Esperança Property. Figure 1b (right): Large elongate spodumene crystals (Spd) up to 50cm in length showing homogeneous growth patterns amongst a quartz (Qtz) and Feldspar (Fdsp) rich matrix
The Company’s geologists have collected selective mineral specimen grab samples in sample VLM207 (Figure 2). Six separate minerals have been analysed via a SciAps Z-903 hand-held LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) device which has returned lithium endowment of up to 18,800 ppm lithium, which equates to a lithium oxide percentage of 4.04% Li2O.
The SciAps Z-903 handheld LIBS device is considered a qualitative analysis technique only and is used as an in-field preliminary check to establish if a mineral is lithium-bearing. Certified laboratory assays are required to provide accurate, quantitative analysis. A table of the six SciAps Z-903 handheld LIBS results testing the spodumene crystals is shown in Table 1. A full table of results are presented in Appendix 2, Table 2.
While the current field observations indicate that the mineral identified is a lithium-bearing mineral, the percentage of lithium produced from the LIBS analyser does not correlate to an accurate quantitative measurement of the lithium concentration of the mineral itself, or to the overall grade of the pegmatite.
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This article includes content from Lightning Minerals, 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.
