St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) has obtained further highly encouraging results from lithium exploration at its Mt Alexander Project in Western Australia’s Goldfields, including early indications that the maiden drill programme has intersected lithium- bearing pegmatites below surface.
Exploration is in full swing at Mt Alexander and we are delighted with the positive results being delivered by our team in the field,” Executive Chairman, John Prineas, said.
“Exciting news is starting to emerge from our first-ever lithium drill programme at the Jailbreak Prospect which – though still at an early stage – has already confirmed the near-surface continuity of lithium-bearing pegmatites.
“The latest assays for rock chip samples have delivered our highest-grade lithium values at Jailbreak, providing further validation of the potential for pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation at Mt Alexander. Significantly, the high-grade assays now extend across five pegmatites mapped across a broad area.
“The drilling programme will increase in scope next week with diamond drilling scheduled to commence alongside the ongoing RC campaign.
“With drilling of both our nickel and lithium targets at Mt Alexander, the next few weeks will be a very productive end to the year for St George and we look forward to reporting more results to shareholders as they come to hand.”
Maiden lithium drilling
Surface mapping and rock-chip sampling have identified numerous lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops at the Jailbreak Prospect. The drill programme now underway will test several models to provide an understanding of the continuity of the pegmatites below surface, including their geometry and grade.
Our interpretation is that the pegmatites dip to the north. Drilling of the first pegmatite outcrop – which is 20m thick at surface – confirmed the orientation.
Drill hole MARC153 intersected 13m of pegmatite from 14m downhole depth and is interpreted to have drilled orthogonal into the pegmatite. Assay results are pending.
nitial drill holes have been successful in intersecting pegmatites at depth within Jailbreak.
So far, ten RC holes have been completed for a total of 945m. Two pegmatites have been intersected below surface with a maximum intercept of 13m in hole MARC153. All pegmatites intersected to date have confirmed visual lithium-bearing minerals by St George geologists. The first batch of samples from RC drilling has been sent to the laboratory to confirm grades.
Based on the rapidly evolving interpretation of the geology of Jailbreak, two target areas have been identified as the focus for ongoing drilling:
1. A 1.7km section of a north-south trending ultramafic sequence hosting stacked pegmatite dykes; and
2. More than 3km of an east-west structural corridor extending eastwards to the Copperfield Granite source rocks.
Expanding project area with high-grade lithium bearing pegmatites
Laboratory assays for the second batch of rock chip samples from pegmatite outcrops comprised 42 samples, with 13 samples returning lithium values of more than 1% Li2O.
More than 100 samples have been submitted for assay with results pending.
The latest rock chip assays have significantly expanded the area with pegmatite outcrop that has been confirmed as lithium-bearing. The significant width and extent of the area of outcropping pegmatites suggests the potential for a large lithium mineral system with multiple deposits.