Company Update First-Ever Lithium Identified at Hopetoun Project, WA

Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT) ("the Company" or "Impact Minerals") provides company update.

• Spodumene and yttrium-bearing apatite identified in pegmatite veins at the Kalahari Prospect.
• First recorded lithium in the Hopetoun area which covers an interpreted extension of the Ravensthorpe greenstone belt host to multiple mines and deposits of lithium (Mt Cattlin ASX:AKE), nickel (e.g. RAV 8 ASX: NIS) and copper-gold (Kundip, ASX:MM8).
• The veins occur within the Proterozoic Munglinup Gneiss and are thus younger and possibly of a different origin to ‘classic’ Archaean LCT pegmatites in the region.
• Application for a new exploration licence lodged to cover part of the Jerdacuttup Fault and the southern extension of the Ravensthorpe greenstone belt, extending the Joint Venture ground holdings in the area to 185 square kilometres.
• Diamond drill programme to test Top Knotch and Silverstar prospects almost complete. Anomalous copper discovered at Top Knotch with the combined geochemical-geophysical anomalies not yet explained. Soil geochemistry surveys extended to better define targets.
• Advanced negotiations in progress for the sale of the Blackridge Gold Project in Queensland.
• Deep-penetrating ground EM survey continues at the Broken Hill Joint venture with IGO.
• Several parties evaluating Commonwealth Project in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW.

Outcrops of pegmatite veins with large spodumene and apatite crystals have been identified at the Kalahari Prospect, part of Impact Minerals Limited’s Hopetoun Project near the mining centre of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia (Figures 1, 2 and 3).

Impact Minerals’ Managing Director Dr Mike Jones said “The recognition of outcrops of lithium-bearing minerals is an exciting development for Impact and its joint venture partners at Hopetoun. Most of the previous work in the area has been focussed on the precious and base metal potential of the Albany Fraser belt given it the host to the Nova-Bollinger deposit.

It is possible however that the belt also may host significant lithium and rare earth deposits and we look forward to the assay results from our initial samples. In the meantime we will extend our soil geochemistry surveys over more of the project area to define areas for follow up work. Dr Jones said.

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