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Australasian Metals Limited (ASX: A8G, Australasian or the Company) is pleased to advise that the Company has entered into an Option Agreement with Verdant Minerals Limited regarding the Dingo Hole High Pure Quartz Project (EL31078) (Dingo Hole HPQ Project). The acquisition of the highly prospective project will provide Australasian with exposure to the rapidly growing High Pure Quartz (HPQ) sector.
Highlights
- Australasian has signed an option to acquire the Dingo Hole High-Purity Quartz project in the Northern Territory
- High Pure Quartz (HPQ) is defined relative to the IOTA® standard and is a key strategic raw material for global semiconductor and electronics industries
- HPQ resources that can be processed to meet the IOTA® standard are rare globally and growth in AI technologies is resulting in surging demand
Dingo Hole High Pure Quartz Project Highlights:
- Significant outcropping silica mineralisation across the project area with good road access
- Historical geochemical data indicate over 30 surface samples contain greater than 99.94% SiO2 with only minimal sample preparation prior to assay1
- 9 historical samples potentially meet IOTA standard with deleterious elements such as aluminium (Al) below 10 ppm and titanium (Ti) and lithium (Li) below 1 ppm
Dingo Hole High Pure Quartz Project
The Dingo Hole HPQ Project (EL31078) is located in the Georgina Basin, approximately 300km southeast of Tennant Creek (Figure 1). The project covers 35.16km2 and was subject to limited exploration by Rum Jungle Resources Limited (Rum Jungle, renamed to Verdant Minerals Limited) from 2012 to 2016.
Figure 1 Dingo Hole High Pure Quartz (HPQ) project location in Central Northern Territory
In 2015, Rum Jungle conducted a mapping and rock chip sampling program across the Dingo Hole project. 30 of the Dingo Hole samples tested were found to contain greater than 99.94% SiO2 with only minimal sample preparation prior to assay (the samples were pre-leached with 20% Hydrofluoric acid at 60˚ for 4 hours and subsequently washed in Milli-Q water). While this is highly encouraging, it is the low levels of deleterious elements such as aluminium, titanium and lithium contaminants that highlight the project’s world-class potential (Figure 2). Nine of 30 ICP-SMS samples from Rum Jungle’s program contained less than the IOTA® standard for deleterious elements aluminium (Al) at 16.2ppm (16,200ppb), nearly all were better than the 200ppb (0.2ppm) IOTA® level for lithium (Li) and all were well below the 1.2ppm (1,200ppb) level for titanium (Ti).
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This article includes content from Australasian Metals 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.
A8G:AU
International Lithium
Overview
As the demand for clean technologies grows, so too does the demand for high-tech rechargeable batteries to power the green economy. However, the United States and the European Union’s current dependence on Japan, South Korea and China for 80 percent of the world’s battery production is threatening their auto industry. As the largest processor and producer of these battery materials, China alone can significantly influence pricing and supply chain flows.
The United States and the European Union are working to reduce dependence on these countries and restructure supply chains. Both regions have identified Canada as a secure and stable source of sustainable raw materials, such as lithium, which is critical to the growing electric vehicle market. As a result, mining companies with Canada-based projects that supply materials needed for high-tech rechargeable batteries such as lithium may be an interesting opportunity for investors to consider.
International Lithium (TSXV:ILC,OTC:ILHMF,FRA:IAH,OTCQB:ILHMF) is a mineral exploration company focused on developing a portfolio of lithium and rare metals projects and royalties in Canada and Ireland. The company is led by an experienced management team with a proven track record of advancing prospective projects with low technical risk in established mining jurisdictions.
International Lithium delivers shareholder value through project development, strategic partnerships and project sales. The company’s projects include the Raleigh Lake and Avalonia projects.
The company’s flagship Raleigh Lake project is a wholly owned and highly prospective lithium, rubidium and caesium project in Ontario. Raleigh Lake spans 48,500 hectares adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway and CPR railway, just outside the town of Ignace, and features promising drill results. Drilling identified stacked tabular dyke-like bodies that gently dip from surface, covering an area of 600 meters along strike by 400 meters downdip with each dyke having grades akin to the 3.78-meter interval grading 1.72 percent lithium oxide and 2,829 parts per million (ppm) rubidium in drill hole RL21-03. Prospecting on newly acquired claims discovered 20 new pegmatites at surface level over several kilometers.
A positive preliminary economic assessment for Raleigh Lake, released in December 2023, shows an annual after-tax cash flow of C$634 million, NPV of C$342.9 million, IRR of 44.3 percent.
International Lithium’s Avalonia project is a joint venture lithium project located in Leinster, Ireland, spanning 29,200 hectares covering a 50-kilometer belt. Drilling on the Avalonia project returned 2.23 percent lithium oxide over 23.3 meters including 3.43 percent lithium oxide over 6 meters and 1.50 percent lithium oxide over 5.6 meters. The Avalonia project is currently under an option agreement. International Lithium currently owns 45 percent.
“International Lithium. is now in by far the strongest financial position that it has been since its listing in 2011, and we look forward to building successfully on that both at our lithium and rubidium project at Raleigh Lake in Ontario and on our other present and future projects,” said chairman and CEO John Wisbey.
In October 2021, the company sold its share in the Mavis Lake joint venture lithium and caesium project in Ontario to Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) with proceeds totaling C$1.48 million and a possible further C$1.38 million linked to resource discovery milestones.
The company also sold its remaining interest in the Mariana project in Argentina for US$13.17 million, which has placed International Lithium in a strong financial position to further increase its liquidity. In 2021 alone, the company raised C$4.9 million in equity financing.
International Lithium is currently focused on developing its flagship Raleigh project, but the company also continues to identify additional properties to grow its portfolio. In February 2024, International Lithium entered into an agreement to acquire 90 percent interest in the Firesteel project, a highly prospective grassroots copper and cobalt property in Northwestern Ontario, signaling an expansion of the company’s critical minerals portfolio. The company completed the purchase of the Firesteel property in May 2024 and has filed applications for permits to conduct the first drilling program at Firesteel targeting copper mineralization and test up to six distinct targets with up to 2,000 metres of core drilling.
Company Highlights
- International Lithium is developing a portfolio of lithium and rare metals projects and royalties in Canada and Ireland, aiming to deliver shareholder value through project development, strategic partnerships and project sales.
- The company’s flagship Raleigh Lake project is a wholly owned and highly prospective lithium, rubidium and caesium project in Ontario, Canada.
- The company produced its maiden resource estimate for lithium and rubidium and has released a positive preliminary economic assessment for Raleigh Lake.
- International Lithium has signed an agreement to purchase 90 percent interest in the Firesteel project, a highly prospective grassroots copper and cobalt property in Northwestern Ontario.
- The company’s 29,200-hectare Avalonia project is a joint venture lithium project located in a large belt in Leinster, Ireland. Drilling on the project returned 2.23 percent lithium oxide over 23.3 meters including 3.43 percent lithium oxide over 6.0 meters and 1.50 percent lithium oxide over 5.60 meters.
- Alongside Canada and Ireland, International Lithium has identified Zimbabwe as a strategic jurisdiction in the company’s global lithium strategy.
- International Lithium is led by an experienced management team with a proven track record of advancing prospective projects with low technical risk in established mining jurisdictions.
Key Projects
Raleigh Lake
The flagship Raleigh Lake project is a fully owned lithium, rubidium and caesium project located immediately west of Ignace in Ontario, Canada. The Raleigh Lake project spans 48,500 hectares and is accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway. The project also features access to the Canadian Pacific railway, natural gas pipelines and a hydropower line that crosses through the property.
Drilling on the property began in April 2021 and returned promising grades of lithium, sizable amounts of rubidium and small amounts of caesium. Drilling identified mineralization hosted in at least four main pegmatites and more observed in outcrops. Drill results include 2.80 of lithium oxide over 9.0 meters as well as 1.05 meters grading 2.69 percent lithium oxide from 31.04 meters and 1.18 meters grading 4210 ppm rubidium from 29.86 meters within a 3.78-meter interval grading 1.72 percent lithium oxide and 2829 ppm rubidium.
In 2021, International Lithium focused on evaluating the regional potential for additional lithium-bearing pegmatites in and around the Raleigh Lake area and, as a result, has expanded the project from 3,000 hectares to more than 47,700 hectares, based on analysis of regional geophysical and geological data.
Phase 3 of the diamond drilling program, which began in September 2022 at Zone 1 of the Raleigh Lake Lithium project intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatite, demonstrating tremendous continuity of the mineralized body.
Phase 3 drill highlights
- All Phase 3 holes testing Pegmatite 1 in Zone 1 intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatite, demonstrating tremendous continuity of the mineralized body
- Thicker and higher-grade mineralization intersected closer to the surface as anticipated.
- Phase 1, 2 and 3 pierce points have intersected Pegmatite 1 along a strike length of over 800 meters and along its dip for over 400 meters.
Pegmatite 1 Spodumene Zone Intersection Highlights*
- RL22-45: 4.85 meters grading 2.06 percent lithium oxide in lower spodumene zone (from 89.5 meters);
- RL22-48: 15.82 meters grading 2.25 percent lithium oxide (from 65.56 meters);
- RL22-49: 2.21 meters grading 2.47 percent lithium oxide (from 72.69 meters);
- RL22-50: 4.62 meters grading 2.29 percent lithium oxide (from 56.12 meters);
- RL22-56: 2.96 meters grading 2.13 percent lithium oxide (from 72.42 meters);
Pegmatite 1 Rubidium-bearing Microcline Intersection Highlights*
- RL22-45: 3.98 meters grading 1.21 percent rubidium oxide from 85.52 meters;
- RL22-57: 4.69 meters grading 0.60 percent rubidium oxide from 152.51 meters.
Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate
International Lithium released its lithium and rubidium mineral resource estimates (MRE), which are closely related due to their spatial relationships, but their respective resource estimates are considered separate and unique.
Lithium MRE
This is a summary of the lithium MRE for lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites of the Raleigh Lake pegmatite field. The open pit and underground MREs are constrained via optimized pit shell and minable shape wireframes, respectively.
Rubidium MRE
An independent MRE has been calculated for the rubidium contained within microcline zones of the LCT pegmatites. Rubidium also occurs throughout the LCT pegmatites within the lithium-bearing spodumene at a lower cutoff but is not included in this rubidium MRE. Rubidium reaching grades greater than 4,000 ppm is attributed to pockets of high modal abundance of microcline (potassic feldspar). The open pit and underground MREs are constrained via optimized pit shell and minable shape wireframes, respectively.
Rubidium Open Pit and Underground MRE
In December 2023, International Lithium released its positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for a proposed lithium mining operation to produce spodumene concentrate at Raleigh Lake. The PEA has demonstrated a highly favourable economic scenario based on the production of a spodumene concentrate containing 6 percent lithium oxide. Project economics show an after-tax cash flow of C$634 million, NPV of C$342.9 million and IRR of 44.3 percent per annum, with a nine-year mine life and project duration of 11 years.
Avalonia
Spodumene in boulder at Avalonia
The Avalonia project is a joint venture lithium project located in Leinster, Ireland. The property spans 29,200 hectares covering a 50-kilometer belt with around 29 significant lithium pegmatite occurrences. Drilling on the Avalonia project returned 2.23 percent lithium oxide over 23.3 meters including 3.43 percent lithium oxide over 6.0 meters and 1.50 percent lithium oxide over 5.60 meters. However, some drill results on the property are still pending.
International Lithium currently owns 45 percent of the project while Ganfeng Lithium owns 55 percent. Ganfeng Lithium has the option to acquire 79 percent of the project by spending C$10 million for exploration activities by September 2024 or by producing a positive feasibility study. If the option is exercised, International Lithium will retain 21 percent of the Avalonia project which may reduce further if the company does not contribute to the project. However, if the company’s ownership becomes less than 10 percent then its share will convert to a 1 percent NSR.
Firesteel Copper Project
The 6,600-hectare Firesteel property consists of 17 mining claims, making up 316 mining claim units in Northwestern Ontario. The property is adjacent to Highway 17, less than 10 kilometers west of Upsala, Ontario stretching westward to the Firesteel River for approximately 16 kilometers.
Firesteel is located within the central Wabigoon Sub-province at the eastern limit of the Lumby Lake Greenstone Belt, which contains massive mafic flows or gabbro interspersed with thin felsic meta volcanic and rare pillowed mafic units. Historical assay results from samples taken at locations approximately 1.6 kilometers northeast and 2.8 kilometers southwest of the Roadside 1 Copper Zone returned values of up to 2.6 percent copper, 3.327 ppm gold and 2.6 percent copper, 4.294 ppm gold, respectively (Bumbu 1995).
Management Team
John Wisbey - Chairman and CEO
John Wisbey joined the board of ILC in 2017. After a few months, he became deputy chairman and then he became chairman and CEO in March 2018. He has personally invested significant funds in ILC since joining the board and is now ILC’s largest shareholder. He has had a career as a technology entrepreneur and is also a former banker. More recently, Wisbey was a green energy entrepreneur. He founded two London AIM-listed companies –– IDOX plc which provides software for the UK local government and Lombard Risk Management plc which specializes in software for bank risk management and regulation. He also established CONVENDIA Ltd. which is a private company that specializes in software for cash flow forecasting, project valuation and M&A financial analysis. Wisbey holds various non-executive director roles in the UK and Switzerland. He was formerly a banker at Kleinwort Benson. At Kleinwort Benson, he held various roles, including a director in the derivatives group, head of options and corporate lending. Wisbey has acted as a public company chairman, CEO, or director for twenty years. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.
Maurice Brooks - Director and CFO
Maurice Brooks joined the board of ILC in 2017. He is a licensed senior statutory auditor in the UK. Since 2000, he has been a senior partner at Johnson Smith & Co. in Staines, Surrey. Before that, Brooks was a senior partner in Johnsons Chartered Accountants in the London Borough of Ealing. His commercial and investment experience includes executive directorships in manufacturing and an investment accountant role to the superannuation fund of the Western Australian state government. His early professional employment includes Ball Baker Leake LLP and LLC and Price Waterhouse Coopers-UK.
Anthony Kovacs - Director and COO
Anthony Kovacs joined the board of ILC in 2018 and has worked with the company since 2012. He has over 25 years of experience in mineral exploration and development. Before joining ILC, he held senior management roles in which he sourced and advanced iron ore and industrial minerals projects. Kovacs was involved in early-stage work at the Lac Otelnuk Iron Ore project in Quebec, Canada and the Mustavaara Vanadium Mine in Finland. Before that, Kovacs worked for Anglo American where he focused on Ni-Cu-PGE and IOCG projects. At Anglo-American, Kovacs was directly involved in several discoveries internationally. Kovacs has significant experience with industrial minerals, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals and precious metals projects throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Ross Thompson - Non-executive Director
Ross Thompson joined the board of ILC in 2017 and is the chair of the audit and remuneration committees. He is a speaker and expert in marketing behavioral science. In 1995, he founded Giftpoint Ltd. which is now one of the largest specialist promotional merchandise businesses in the UK. with offices in London and Shanghai. Giftpoint Ltd.’s clients include L’Oreal, Oracle, Ocado and Pernod Ricard among others. Thompson was president of IGC Global Promotions, one of the world’s oldest and largest global networks of premium resellers, for seven years. He is an active investor with a special interest and understanding of natural resources businesses.
Geoffrey Baker, Non-executive Director
Geoff Baker joined the board of ILC at the end of 2022, and is a member of the audit committee. He has a distinguished career in the natural resource and finance industries. He is a director of Tim Trading, a company offering consultancy services in the oil and gas industry. During his tenure as manager of Insch Black Gold Funds, Baker received the Investors Choice Swiss Fund Manager of the Year Award. He is a co-founder of a digital collectible non fungible token CryptoChronic and of Cannastore, a pilot e-commerce website. Baker holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Windsor in Ontario.
17.65% Niobium & Exceptional REE Results from In-Situ Source at Wabli Creek Project
HIGHLIGHTS
- In-situ or bedrock source of high-grade Niobium (Nb) and Rare Earth Elements (REE) has been discovered during the latest program of rock chip sampling at Wabli Creek, Gascoyne, W.A.
- The recently identified ovoid late-stage intrusive feature (ASX Announcement 28 May 2024) is considered the likely parental source of the Nb-Y-Ta-Ti-REE enriched pegmatites at Wabli Creek. Further, geochemistry indicates that a carbonatite association cannot be ruled out in addition to the pegmatites.
- This ovoid intrusive feature is younger than the surrounding country rock, with a diameter in excess of 3km’s and a circumference greater than 8km’s.
- Granitic pegmatite is now confirmed as a primary source of mineralisation with in-situ assay results including:
- 17.65% Nb2O5, 0.15% Y2O3, 10.81% Ta2O5, 31.39% TiO2, 0.37% TREO (24WRCK049)
- 13.22% Nb2O5, 0.13% Y2O3, 6.27% Ta2O5, 18.97% TiO2, 1.13% TREO (24WRCK046)
- These outstanding results have been chipped straight off bedrock (in-situ) and hold similar concentrations to the previously reported high grade weathered surface material (eluvial samples previously reported 32% Nb2O5 and 2.57% TREO -ASX Announcement 21 December 2023). Importantly, the in-situ assay results taken straight from the bedrock were taken approximately 0.5km from the historically reported 32% Nb2O5.
- The majority of the ovoid intrusive feature most prospective for Nb-Y-Ti-REE mineralisation (the margin zone), is poorly exposed and remains under-explored.
- Detailed airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys recently acquired are currently being interpreted by Southern Geoscience to identify and refine key priority targets for further exploration.
- The Company is actively progressing its heritage discussions with the Native Title custodians of the land and will return to site for additional sampling in the short term.
Most importantly, these latest high-grade assay results (17.65% Nb2O5 and 13.22% Nb2O5) confirm that the hard rock source material holds the same or similar high-grade concentrations as the weathered surface material (eluvial material), previously reported by the Company (32% Nb2O5 and 2.57% TREO - ASX Announcement 21 December 2023). Further, the in-situ samples have been chipped straight off the bedrock (in-situ) approximately 0.5km from the previously reported sample returning 32% Nb2O5.
Figure 1: Large black rock fragments chipped directly from the in-situ granitic pegmatite outcrop, Wabli Creek, Gascoyne, W.A (Sample – 24WRCK046).
Located in the highly prospective Gascoyne Province of Western Australia, approximately 150km north of Gascoyne Junction, the Wabli Creek project has previously reported high grade niobium and TREO eluvial results up to 32% Nb2O5 and 2.57% TREO (ASX Announcement 21 December 2023).
These latest in-situ results, in addition to the large ovoid intrusive feature (ASX Announcement 28 May 2024), provide a fundamental change in the prospectivity at Wabli Creek.
Figure 2: High grade assay results from granitic pegmatite collected at the margins of the late stage, ovoid intrusive feature, Wabli Creek, Gascoyne, W.A (24WRCK046 & 24WRCK049), including historical results approximately 0.5km away reporting 32% Nb2O5 (ASX Announcement 21 December 2023).
During the Company’s current program, a total of 49 rock chip samples were taken from Wabli Creek (E09/2377), during May 2024. Sampling was focused on the Priority 1 geochemical targets outlined by Sugden Geoscience (ASX Announcement 21 December 2023).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Reach Resources, 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.
