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Octava Minerals Limited (ASX:OCT) (“Octava” or the “Company”), a Western Australia focused explorer of the new energy metals Lithium, Nickel, PGM’s and gold, is pleased to report that it has signed a binding but conditional agreement to purchase 100% of the shares in Byro Mining Pty Ltd (“Byro”), the owner of the Byro REE & Lithium Project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, from the shareholders of Byro.
Highlights
- Octava has signed a binding conditional agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the issued capital of Byro Mining Pty Ltd, which holds the Byro sedimentary REE and Li project.
- Low-cost entry into potential new source of critical minerals.
- Previous exploration suggests a possible large-scale REE / Li deposit with potential for additional critical minerals.
- GSWA soil sampling identified widespread anomalous halo of REO (Ce, La, Sc & Y only) & Li2O over 40km of strike length.
- Historic drilling over 25km of strike show thick intersections (>90m) of anomalous REE and lithium in black shale.
- Octava will commence material characterisation and extraction studies of critical minerals on existing samples.
Octava’s Managing Director Bevan Wakelam stated,” We are pleased to have secured an agreement to acquire this project. Previous work has identified the Permian black shales of the Byro sub basin to be metalliferous, with anomalous REE & lithium that is laterally extensive and over large thicknesses in historic drilling.
With a low-cost entry point into this highly prospective project, Octava will investigate the potential for Australia’s first, large scale sedimentary deposit of REE & lithium. Metal extraction from black shales is a proven, low-cost technology and we will immediately get to work on material characterisation and initial mineral extraction testwork and further drilling.”
About the Byro Project
The Byro Project is located on the Byro Plains of the Gascoyne Region, Western Australia, 220km south-east of Carnarvon and 650 km north of Perth. It consists of two granted Exploration Licences – E 09/2673 and E 09/2674 – totalling 798 km2. The Byro Project also has Native Title agreements in place. Nearby infrastructure includes accessibility to a commercial port (Geraldton) and power from the NW gas pipeline and future potential access to Western Australian government proposed green energy sites.
Figure 1. Project location map & Byro tenements.
The Byro project lies at the centre of the Byro Sub-basin of the Carnarvon Basin. The sub-basin is Permo-Carboniferous and is approximately 100km by 150km in size and up to 3km in depth. The basin is bound to the east by the Precambrian Yilgarn Craton margin, and to the west by extensions of the Darling Fault. The Permian period is well known for the development of extensive hydrothermal activity, with SEDEX / sediment-hosted polymetallic deposits best known in Europe (Kupfershiefer, Poland and Germany).
GSWA regional soil sampling (4km by 4km sample spacing) identified large anomalous halos of REO up to 540ppm & Li2O up to 180ppm over 40km in strike length and 20km wide. (see Figure 2 below). The tenement area also contains five wide-spaced historic RC drillholes over a ~ 25km strike length and four ~ 1.5km spaced, historic petroleum boreholes (see Figure 1 above).
The historic assay results from the 5 RC drillholes have shown anomalous lithium (200 - 430 ppm Li2O) over large thickness (30 to 90m thick; see table 1A in JORC table in Appendix 2) and are from near surface. Selected drill cutting samples from the petroleum wells North Ballythana Core holes 1 to 4 (stored in the GSWA core Library in Perth) have also been geochemically analysed, returning similar anomalous lithium grades. The sampling has also identified anomalous REE, with samples > 500 ppm TREO and > 600 ppm V205 (see table 2A and 2B in and JORC table in Appendix 2).
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HMW Project Achieves 1,000t LCE Contained Inventory as Lithium Chloride Production Journey on Track
HMW Project Update
- Pond 1 and 2 evaporation continues; approx 1,000t LCE contained inventory
- Pond 3 earthworks almost complete, liner installation at 60% and filling of pond 3 commenced; Pond 4 earthworks have commenced
- Overall project completion now at 33%, with pond construction 45% complete; project execution is advancing as planned
- Aligning with the physical progress of the project, capital expenditure also sits at 33% of the Phase 1 budget
- Key processing parameters; average brine flow rate, average Li grade from wells and evaporation rates in line with the Feasibility Study. The project remains on track to commence production in H1 2025
- Opportunities to reduce the Capex and Opex for HMW Phase 1 identified; engineering and procurement teams working to quantify these opportunities within the next two months
- Low all-in sustaining costs; HMW is expected to be in the 1st quartile of lithium industry’s cost curve with an initial reserve estimate of 40 years
- Phase 2 Operating cost to LiCl concentrate of $US3,510/t LCE equates to a low Li2O equivalent operating cost of SC6 (Spodumene Concentrate) $US310/t-$US350/t; solid production margins at current spot prices
- Following the recent agreement signed with the Catamarca government, offtake and funding discussions are advancing; Glencore due diligence process continues.
Overall completion of the HMW project now sits at 33% with the ponds system already at 45% completion. Approximately 600,000 m2 of evaporation area has now been built, currently housing 1,000t LCE contained inventory. This evaporation area is sufficient to produce a lithium chloride volume of approximately 2.4 ktpa LCE. The key processing parameters, including raw brine well average flow rates, Li grades and evaporation rates are all aligned with the Phase 1 DFS. Based on the rate of construction and the results achieved to date, the HMW project remains on track to start production in H1 2025.
In addition, Galan’s team are analysing options to reduce capital expenditure, these opportunities are focussed on selecting the minimum infrastructure required to commence production of Phase 1. Multiple trade-off exercises are being assessed such as the analysis of rental options for energy supply, reduction of the size for selected buildings, usage of independent smaller control systems, instead of a larger central control system for all facilities.
As previously announced, the HMW project was separated into four production phases. The initial Phase 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) focused on the production of 5.4ktpa LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate by H1 2025, as governed by the approved production permits. The Phase 2 DFS targets 21ktpa LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate in 2026, followed by Phase 3 production of 40ktpa LCE by 2028 and finally a Phase 4 production target of 60ktpa LCE by 2030. Phase 4 will include lithium brine sourced from both HMW and Galan’s other 100% owned project in Argentina, Candelas. The very positive Phase 2 DFS results were announced on 3 October 2023 (https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/GLN/02720109.pdf).
Ponds 1 and 2 completed with evaporation continuing
Pond 3 liner installation and Pond 4 earthworks
Galan’s Managing Director, Juan Pablo (JP) Vargas de la Vega, commented:
“We are very proud of the solid progress being made by the HMW Phase 1 construction team. With more than one third of the project completion now achieved, Galan is well on its way towards its targeted commencement of production in H1 2025. Galan would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the Government of the Catamarca Province in Argentina for their continued support, evidenced by the recent agreement signed to commercialise lithium chloride concentrate from HMW. We are excited about the opportunities this agreement now presents to Galan’s future”
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Quarterly Activities Report to 31 March 2024
HIGHLIGHTS
- First phase of drilling completed at Abbotts North Project (Buttamiah Prospect), WA, with 11 RC holes drilled totaling 1,623m
- Assay results from Abbotts North confirm continuation of LCT system and delineate targets to north and east
- Montague field work commenced identifying abundant newly mapped pegmatites
- Field programs planned at Montague, Yalgoo and Abbotts North for June Quarter
- Demerger transaction completed 25 January 2024
- Transition underway to new leadership team at PLC to align with new strategy
Safety and Environment
Premier1 conducted field exploration activity with no reportable ESG related incidents in the quarter.
Abbotts North Project
Premier1 successfully completed the first phase drilling program at Abbotts North, located 35km north of Meekatharra, Western Australia. The program was completed on time and under budget. A total of 11 RC holes for 1,623m were drilled to test the main outcropping pegmatites at the Buttamiah Prospect.
Nine of 11 drill holes intercepted pegmatites of on average 1 to 3m and locally up to 4m thickness hosted within an amphibolite unit. Occasionally, lepidolite has been identified and further analyses are planned to determine the presence of spodumene in the system. Assays were released subsequent to the end of the quarter. The results show elevated lithium across the stacked pegmatites of up to 0.41% Li2O, confirming the continuation of the LCT system down depth and along strike.
Additional studies of the outcropping pegmatites in the larger Buttamiah Prospect area including fractionation vectoring using K/Rb ratios suggest the core of the system to be located to the east of the previous drilling. In addition, the data indicate that LCT pegmatites occur within the granites to the north of the drill area. Further mapping and sampling of pegmatites in these areas as well as over the remaining tenement package has commenced. Focus is to delineate drill targets of higher grades and thicknesses that have the potential to form a significant lithium deposit within the existing LCT system.
Figure 1: Cross-section of intercepted pegmatites showing significant results >0.05% Li2O.
Premier1 also completed a soil geochemistry program at the Abbotts North project for a total of 600 samples. Factor analysis (FA) was employed with the purpose of identifying multielement signatures within the soil assay samples which may be indicative of Li mineralisation. The work was successful in identifying spatial and geochemical associations between lithium mineralisation and mapped geology.
Montague Project
Premier1 commenced pegmatite mapping and rock chip sampling at the Montague lithium project. The Company has identified abundant new pegmatites along a mafic-ultramafic and siliclastic sequence of the greenstone belt up to 1km west of the main granite contact to the east. Potassium-Rubidium (K/Rb) ratios defined at least two areas of interest that showed high fractionation of below 40 that indicate prospectivity for Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.
The recently commenced first phase of field mapping and sampling has identified pegmatites in these two areas of interest. Occasionally, green mica has been identified and a first set of samples has been sent to the lab. Feldspar samples were taken of all newly mapped pegmatites to determine fractionation trends for further target vectoring and identification of potential drill targets for the second half of 2024.
The project covers the south-eastern portion of the Gum Creek Greenstone Belt which consists of early–mid Archean greenstone belts, intruded by late Archean granitoids and overlain by sporadic Proterozoic metasediments. Vast areas of Cainozoic sediments and transported regolith cover the region. Margins of the belt are typically dominated by contact-metamorphosed basalts and banded iron formations.
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This article includes content from Premier1 Lithium, 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.
