Balkan Mining and Minerals

December 2023 Quarterly Activities Report

Balkan Mining and Minerals Ltd (ASX: BMM; "BMM" or "the Company") provides the Company’s quarterly activities report for the three months ended 31 December 2023 (“Quarter”).


The maiden 2,500m diamond drilling program undertaken at the highly prospective the Gorge Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada with visual spodumene observed across campaign and laboratory assays pending. Key strategic and operational milestones were achieved during the quarter, outlined below.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Diamond drilling undertaken at the Gorge Lithium Project with for a program of 2,500m with spodumene bearing pegmatites encountered in several holes drilled
  • Drill program currently awaiting assays for approximately 180 samples
  • Clearing and stripping work undertaken in preparation for the drill program reveals previously unmapped pegmatites and extensions to some known pegmatite occurrences at Gorge, further underlining the project’s potential
  • Balkan remains committed to evaluating new project opportunities
  • Mr Karl Simich appointed Non-Executive Chairman

Balkan Mining and Minerals, Managing Director, Ross Cotton commented:

“The maiden diamond drilling activity conducted at our flagship Gorge Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada has revealed a widespread and prolific pegmatite hosted spodumene geology. We eagerly anticipate assays from the 2,500m program which will inform our next steps in advancing this exciting lithium-focused opportunity.

Whilst we remain extremely upbeat on the prospectivity of Gorge, the Board is continually reviewing opportunities to improve and diversify our project portfolio and will advise our shareholders of any new potentialities if and when appropriate.

Gorge Lithium Project (Ontario, Canada)

During the quarter, Balkan primarily focussed on exploration activities associated with the Company’s Gorge Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.

In October, Balkan announced that visual spodumene mineralisation had been observed in the first holes drilled at the Nelson pegmatite occurrence at Gorge (refer to ASX Announcement dated 16 October 2023). As the program was progressed, spodumene mineralisation has been visually identified in 8 of the first 10 holes completed in the program at both the Nelson and Koshman pegmatite prospects (refer to ASX Announcement dated 12 December 2023). The Company currently awaits assays on approximately 180 samples taken from the program and will inform the market as they come to hand.

The stripping and clearing associated with drilling preparation exposed extensions to known pegmatite occurrences at surface with the Nelson pegmatite strike now extending more than 200m. In addition, a new pegmatite dyke north east of Nelson, SP-23-2 was revealed to extend some 50m in strike length with widths at surface ranging from 2.6-5m thick and visual spodumene between 5-15% content.

The diamond drilling program was briefly paused during October after the observation of the traditional hunting season of the region’s First Nation peoples. Shortly after the resumption of drilling, the Company took the decision to engage global drilling house Major Drilling Group International Inc to complete the program with a fit-for-purpose drill rig which led to substantial improvements in drilling rates and efficiency.

Whilst Balkan is awaiting the assays from the diamond drilling program, the Company notes that the most recently reported drilling included hole KS-23-009, which encountered 16.8m of spodumene mineralisation from 5.8m depth.

During the quarter, the Company made the payment of AU$60,000 cash and AU$100,000 in BMM shares to the vendor of the Gorge Lithium Project to move to 50% beneficial ownership of the project (for full details, refer to ASX Announcement dated 4 July 2022).

At a local level, Balkan continues to engage with relevant stakeholders including First Nations communities, land holders and regulatory agencies and authorities.


Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Balkan Mining, 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.

BMM:AU
The Conversation (0)

Bayan Mining and Minerals

Mining Critical Minerals from the Balkan Region

Mining Critical Minerals from the Balkan Region Keep Reading...
Further Exploration Targets Identified at Bayan Springs

Further Exploration Targets Identified at Bayan Springs

Bayan Mining and Minerals (BMM:AU) has announced Further Exploration Targets Identified at Bayan SpringsDownload the PDF here. Keep Reading...
Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report

Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report

Balkan Mining and Minerals (BMM:AU) has announced Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow ReportDownload the PDF here. Keep Reading...
Five sleek, metallic objects with bullet and rectangular shapes stand upright on a light gray background.

Batteries: A Strategic Asset for National Security

The battery narrative largely focuses on electric vehicles (EVs) and electronics, but batteries also play a pivotal role in defense applications, a segment that is becoming key amid heightened geopolitical tensions. From emergency response equipment and communications infrastructure to broader... Keep Reading...
Sheets of printed US$100 bills over a cylinder on a printing press.

US Military Scraps US$300 Million Lithium Carbonate Purchase

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has abruptly canceled a previous tender to purchase up to US$300 million of battery-grade lithium carbonate, Bloomberg reported. According to a procurement notice updated on Monday (August 3), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) scrapped its solicitation for... Keep Reading...
Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report

Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report

Rapid Critical Metals (RCM:AU) has announced Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow ReportDownload the PDF here. Keep Reading...
Blue battery with Australian flag design on a wooden surface.

4 Best-performing ASX Lithium Stocks in 2026

Global demand for lithium presents a significant opportunity for Australia and Australian lithium companies.Australia remains the world’s largest lithium miner, supplying 31 percent of global output in 2025, though its dominance is easing as other lithium-producing countries such as China,... Keep Reading...
Lithium periodic symbol and Canadian flag.

Top 3 Canadian Lithium Stocks in 2026

Lithium prices rebounded in the second quarter of 2026 as stronger-than-expected demand and tightening supply helped the market recover from the cyclical lows reached in 2025.Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose from approximately US$8 per kilogram in May 2025 to more than US$25 by May... Keep Reading...
Excellent Ore Sorting Results-Ag Recoveries to over 1000g/t

Excellent Ore Sorting Results-Ag Recoveries to over 1000g/t

Rapid Critical Metals (RCM:AU) has announced Excellent Ore Sorting Results-Ag Recoveries to over 1000g/tDownload the PDF here. Keep Reading...

Interactive Chart

Latest Press Releases

Related News