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Lithium development company, Critical Resources Limited (ASX:CRR) (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the conclusion of its first metallurgical test work program and advises that high-grade, low-impurity spodumene concentrate has been produced with very high recoveries from its 100%-owned Mavis Lake Lithium project in Ontario, Canada.
Highlights
- Scoping-level metallurgical test work program concludes with consistently strong results across lithia grade and recoveries
- High lithium grades and recoveries, coupled with very low impurities demonstrates excellent potential for Mavis Lake to produce a premium product
- Representative feed grade (1.2% Li2O) produced a 6.02% Li2O concentrate with total lithia recovery of 77.5% via heavy liquid separation (HLS) and flotation
- High feed grade (1.6% Li2O) produced a 5.98% Li2O concentrate with total lithia recovery of 87.3% via HLS and flotation
- HLS optimisation delivers a coarse concentrate at 6.2% Li2O with 72.1% recovery
- Processing techniques, concentrate grade, impurities and recoveries to inform the Mavis Lake Scoping Study, due for completion mid-CY2023
Test Work Overview
The scope of the test work program was designed to support a Scoping Study for the Mavis Lake Lithium Project. The first tranche of test work was designed as a basic mineralogical characterisation and coarse fraction Heavy Liquid Separation (HLS) test work program focused HLS and magnetic separation. The first tranche of test work resulted in the production of excellent grade concentrate (6.4% Li2O) with very low Fe2O3 impurities (refer to ASX Announcement released 9 February 2023).
The second tranche of test work expanded to incorporate concentration test work on both the HLS middlings and fines components. From this, a global grade and recovery balance was developed for each composite. Mass balance, grade and yield can be seen in tables 1 and 2.
Table 1 – Grade and Recovery Balance – Representative Grade Composite
Table 2 – Grade and Recovery Balance – High Grade Composite
Program Details
The Metallurgical test work was undertaken by SGS Canada at their Lakefield facility in Ontario, with supervision in Australia by technical consultants MineScope Services. The sample suite for the test work program, was focused on representative samples from the Mavis Lake mineralised zone.
A total of 50 quarter-and-half core samples, from seven drill holes, were selected to provide a wide range of spatial locations, lithia grades, lithologies, spodumene intersection depths and also account for typical mining dilution. For full details refer to Appendix 1.
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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.
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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.
