A prospecting programme at Metals Australia Ltd (ASX: MLS) 100%-owned Lac Rainy Graphite Project, located in Quebec, Canada, has been highly successful in identifying and outlining additional zones of high-grade graphite mineralisation.
The prospecting program was carried out using the technical team and field geologists of Magnor Exploration Inc.
Together with Magnor, Metals Australia has identified several new zones of graphite mineralisation, including a south-east and north-west extension of the high-grade Carheil Graphitic Trend where diamond drilling was previously undertaken (known as the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend).
Metals Australia Director, Gino D’Anna, said that as a result of new discoveries, the total strike length of the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend has now been expanded to approximately 4km.
In addition to mapping and sampling the recently discovered NW and SE strike extensions of the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend, the company has also identified, mapped and sampled a previously undiscovered parallel high-grade graphite zone to the west of the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend, known as the West Carheil Graphitic Trend.
Multiple samples were collected along the strike length of the West Carheil Graphitic Trend with assay results identifying several high-grade graphite occurrences. Importantly, the samples collected are outside of the area drilled and channel sampled.
The strike length of the recently discovered West Carheil Graphitic Trend is approximately 900m (minimum) and remains open in both directions.
Mr D’Anna said this highlights the potential for significant additional high-grade tonnage to be discovered through further exploration and diamond drilling.
We are particularly encouraged by the results of the prospecting programme,” Mr D’Anna said.
“The delineation of the south- east and north-west extensions of the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend underpins the potential size and scale of the Lac Rainy project and highlights the significant exploration upside that exists.
“The exploration completed throughout 2018 and 2019 continues to demonstrate the pedigree of this project, which hosts high-grade graphite mineralisation starting at surface and encountered across significant widths.
“The identification of the West Carheil Graphitic Trend has demonstrated that the full scale of this project is yet to be identified. Our Lac Rainy project covers in excess of 4,600Ha and we have only just started to scratch the surface.
“We continue to be busy building on the success of the prospecting program and are currently advancing the planning and permitting for the next stage of exploration at Lac Rainy.”
Mr D’Anna said JORC (2012) Mineral Resource estimates are progressing nearer to completion, and the advanced metallurgical and mineralogical test work with SGS is ongoing.
“The company is navigating challenging times in the graphite sector and the junior resource industry generally, however, Lac Rainy is an outstanding project with high-grade graphite mineralisation at surface, located within a jurisdiction that provides a safe operating environment and first-class infrastructure to benefit our project.”