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Lithium development company, Critical Resources Limited (ASX:CRR) (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased announce further exceptional spodumene-bearing pegmatite intercepts from recent drilling at Mavis Lake1. Additionally, the results identify a new mineralised zone located~300m south of the Main Zone at Company’s 100% owned Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.
Highlights
- Step-out drilling, of newly permitted drill pads, has intersected significant spodumene- bearing pegmatites, approximately 300m south of the Main Zone
- Logging of core from the South Zone identifies very-high concentrations of spodumene up to 45% over lengths greater than 6m.
- Highlights include:
- Drill hole SZ23-002: 6.8m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 72.4m down hole;
- Drill hole SZ23-004: 9.45m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 111.85m down hole; and
- Drill hole SZ23-010: 6.45m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 208.05m down hole
- Main Zone drilling continues to intersect thick intervals of spodumene-bearing pegmatite, proving down dip continuation of the Main Zone
- Highlights include:
- Drill hole MF23-190: 14.7m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 167.6m down hole, and 20.05m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 251.5m down hole;
- Drill hole MF23-189: 17.65m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 167.6m down hole; and
- Drill hole MF22-188: 16.15m of spodumene-bearing pegmatite from 165.1m down hole
- Drilling continues to expand the known area of lithium mineralisation at Mavis Lake, with all results supporting the development of the Company’s JORC 2012 compliant, Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate
Drilling Program Delivers Continued Success
The Company recommenced drilling in early January 2023 with two drill rigs focusing on different areas at Mavis Lake. The recent results extend the known mineralisation of the Main Zone down dip, and confirms that mineralisation remains open at depth. The results also confirms a new mineralisation area to the south of the Main Zone. The successful drilling of the South Zone highlights the continued potential for scale and growth at Mavs Lake with multiple, mapped, spodumene- bearing outcrops yet to be drill tested.
All drill results will be incorporated in a Maiden Mineral Resources Estimate which is currently being developed. Tables 1 and 2 provide a summary of key intercepts, with full exploration results in Appendix 1.
Table 1 – Key spodumene-bearing pegmatite intersections and estimates of spodumene percentage confirmed through visual estimate (South Zone)1
Figure 1 – SZ23-004 core with fine to large white spodumene laths from 111.85m to 121.3m
Future Work
The Company continues drilling at Mavis Lake and has also commenced baseline technical and environmental studies and assessments to support the preparation of a Scoping Study for the Mavis Lake Project.
The Company is awaiting assays from samples collected from over 50 individual drill holes (including samples generated from drilling in late 2022).
Critical Resources’ Managing Director Alex Cheeseman said:
“These are further great results from Mavis Lake, identifying a new mineralisation zone has the ability to significantly increase the scale potential of the project, and is extremely encouraging.
These results reinforce the Company's commitment to conduct comprehensive, large scale drilling programs throughout 2022 and continuing in 2023.
We look forward to further develop our understanding of the mineralisation at Mavis Lake and adding these results to our pending Mineral Resource Estimate.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Critical 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.
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.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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.
