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Lithium development company Critical Resources Limited ASX:CRR (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce significant new assay results from the Company’s drilling program at its 100%-owned Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.
Highlights
- Significant new spodumene intercepts, both near-surface and at depth, add tonnage for a future Mineral Resource upgrade at Mavis Lake
- With a clear pathway for resource growth, Mavis Lake has the potential to become one of the largest, single-site JORC Code compliant lithium resource in Ontario
- Key intercepts include:
- 10.65m @1.59% Li2O from 3m down-hole (Drill-hole MF23-197)
- 13.3m @1.07% Li2O from 11.3m down-hole (Drill-hole MF23-199)
- 6.25m @1.37% Li2O from 182.5m down-hole (Drill-hole SZ23-011)
- 19.1m @ 1.35% Li2O from 229.6m down-hole, within a broader intercept of 27.55m @ 0.99% Li2O from 222.25m down-hole (Drill-hole MF23-191)
- Immediate drill priorities are in-fill and extensional drilling at Mavis Lake, which will underpin a future resource upgrade in both category and total tonnage
The results confirm the presence of thick, high-grade lithium mineralisation throughout the Mavis Lake Main Zone, supporting the potential to upgrade the current Inferred Mineral Resource (8.0Mt at 1.07% Li2O – refer ASX Release, 5 May 2023).
The Main Zone results validate the decision to extend the winter drill program and in-fill the Main Zone in order to confirm internal modelling. The South Zone results validate the Company’s approach to continue to test adjacent areas around the Main Zone, where there are multiple mapped, spodumene-bearing outcrops yet to be drill tested. Significant assay results are shown in Table 1, and full Exploration Results are provided in Appendix 1.
Main Zone Highlights
Significant lithium mineralisation occurs near surface, located centrally with the Main Zone, as confirmed from the following drill holes:
- MF23-191 with 19.1m @ 1.35% Li2O from 229.6m down-hole, within a broader intercept of 27.55m @ 0.99% Li2O from 222.25m down-hole,
- MF23-197 with 10.65m at 1.59% Li2O from 3m down-hole,
- MF23-198 with 7.65m at 1.57% Li2O from 3.1m down-hole, and
- MF23-199 with 11.3m at 1.07% Li2O from 13.3m downhole.
Thick, high-grade, near-surface mineralisation is expected to add tonnage to a future resource upgrade while also providing immediate benefits to pit-shell design and mine planning efforts which are ongoing in support of continued development activities. Drill hole MF23-191, which returned 27.55m at 0.99% Li2O from 222.25m, indicates that the Main Zone remains open at depth.
South Zone Highlights
The South Zone area continues to show potential for significant lithium mineralisation with consistent high-grade zones up to 2.26% Li2O being intercepted. The assay results provide additional likely tonnage for a future resource upgrade, with further drilling planned for CY2023 H2 to continue to test the full potential of the South Zone.
Table 1 – Significant Assay Results from MF23-191 to MF23-206 and SZ23-011 to SZ23-039
Spring/Summer Drill Program
Following the release of the Company’s maiden JORC Code 2012 compliant MRE for the Mavis Lake Project in May 2023, the Company has expanded its drilling and exploration strategy to encompass three clear objectives: Resource category upgrade, Resource growth and Exploratory drilling.
- Category Upgrade will focus principally on in-fill drilling at the Main Zone, seeking to ensure that a high proportion of the future Resource is upgraded from Inferred to Indicated. Planned drill holes will continue to in-fill at 50m drill hole spacing across the current Resource mineralised ore shapes. In-fill drilling will also test mineralised zones for extensional/resource expansion potential.
- Resource Growth is anticipated to be achieved immediately through extensional drilling of the Main Zone Priority targets including drill testing of “Pegmatite 9” – a mapped, spodumene- bearing pegmatite that has not been drill tested to date.
- Exploratory Drilling will be undertaken across the Mavis Lake Project Area, testing multiple as yet undrilled targets. Further targets (situated between the Mavis Lake Main Zone and the Gullwing prospect) have been identified, and field work is continuing to build up a detailed picture of the true scale and size potential of Mavis Lake.
Critical Resources Managing Director Alex Cheeseman said:
“These high-quality drill results provide a clear picture of the significant upside potential at Mavis Lake. These assays were received after the cut-off for our maiden 8Mt Mineral Resource Estimate delivered in May – and they clearly set the scene for the next chapter of growth at Mavis Lake. They include a series of thick, shallow, high-grade intercepts which both in-fill key parts of Mavis Lake Main Zone while also highlighting the exciting growth potential laterally and at depth.”
“As we gear up for the next pivotal phase of drilling at Mavis Lake, these results put the Company on a strong growth trajectory as we work to unlock the full potential of the asset. We have outlined a three-pronged approach based on upgrading the category of the existing MRE, targeting immediate growth in the ‘near-mine’ environment and commencing exploration across the broader Mavis Lake Project Area, where we see clear potential for significant new discoveries.”
“We see clear potential to deliver material resource growth at the Mavis Lake Project, offering the opportunity to build into the largest single-site JORC Code compliant Mineral Resource base for lithium in Ontario.”
This article includes content from Critical 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.
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.
