Astute Metals NL (ASX: ASE) (“ASE”, “Astute” or “the Firm”) is happy to advise that just lately accomplished geological mapping and rock chip sampling on the 100%-owned Purple Mountain Lithium Challenge in Nevada, USA has recognized a brand new zone of lithium bearing clay-rich rocks (proven because the Darkish inexperienced ‘Unit J’ in Figures 1-3) with lithium grades of as much as 2,100ppm lithium.
Key Highlights
- Detailed geological mapping accomplished by consulting skilled Professor Phillip Gans of the College of California Santa Barbara.
- Mapping identifies two precedence clay-rich and lithium- internet hosting rock items at Purple Mountain.
- Extra rock-chip sampling inside ‘Unit J’ identifies a broad zone of mineralisation grading as much as 2,100ppm Li.
- Mapped as essentially the most clay-rich rock sort. ‘Unit J’ has solely been examined by one drill gap, indicating glorious upside.
- Steady ‘Unit O’ trending roughly north-south via challenge will underpin the upcoming Exploration Goal.
Unit J is a claystone and siltstone dominated rock sort positioned within the west of the Purple Mountain Challenge space which was recognized as a part of detailed geological mapping undertaken by marketing consultant geologist Professor Phillip Gans of the College of California Santa Barbara. Professor Gans recognized Unit J as essentially the most clay-rich rock unit on the Challenge and advisable a focused sampling marketing campaign to determine the presence of lithium mineralisation. Subsequently a complete of 38 sub-crop and outcrop samples had been taken over an space of 800 x 500m of Unit J (Determine 1), with glorious assay outcomes returned from 13 samples grading 1,000ppm lithium or larger. The sampling revealed excellent exploration potential on this beforehand unsampled a part of the challenge.
The mapping additionally recognized two precedence rock items for future drill focusing on – Unit O and the beforehand talked about Unit J. Unit O (proven in pale inexperienced in Figures 1-3) is dominated by silt and sandstone with clay-rich horizons, is interpreted to be steady over a 7.8km extent throughout the Challenge, and has been examined by 12 of the 13 holes drilled thus far, every of which has intersected robust lithium mineralisation7.
The continual nature of Unit O will underpin a maiden Exploration Goal for the Challenge and inform the drill focusing on technique for the primary half of 2025, because the Firm advances towards a Maiden Mineral Useful resource Estimate within the second half.
Astute Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, stated:
“With the recommendation of skilled unbiased consultants, we’re persevering with to systematically progress the Purple Mountain Challenge. The identification of a brand new high-grade lithium-bearing unit will increase the challenge’s potential, whereas the improved geological understanding permits the calculation of an Exploration Goal, in addition to contributes to de-risking of the upcoming drilling marketing campaign, paving the way in which for a maiden Mineral Useful resource Estimate within the second half of 2025”
Determine 1. Mapped geology and rock chip lithium geochemistry with crimson field indicating new lithium zone in Unit J.
Background
Positioned in central-eastern Nevada (Determine 4), adjoining to the Grand Military of the Republic Freeway (Route 6), which hyperlinks the regional mining cities of Ely and Tonopah. the Purple Mountain Challenge was staked by Astute in August 2023.
The Challenge space has broad mapped tertiary lacustrine (lake) sedimentary rocks identified regionally because the Horse Camp Formation2. Elsewhere within the state of Nevada, equal rocks host giant lithium deposits (see Determine 4) resembling Lithium Americas’ (NYSE: LAC) 62.1Mt LCE Thacker Go Challenge2 and American Lithium (TSX.V: LI) 9.79Mt LCE TLC Lithium Challenge3.
Astute has accomplished substantial floor sampling campaigns at Purple Mountain, which point out widespread lithium anomalism in soils and confirmed lithium mineralisation in bedrock with some distinctive grades of as much as 4,150ppm Li1,6 (Figures 1 and three).
A complete of 13 RC and diamond drill holes have been drilled on the challenge for a mixed 1,944.72m. Each campaigns had been extremely profitable with robust lithium mineralisation intersected in each gap drilled7.
Scoping leachability testwork on mineralised materials from Purple Mountain signifies excessive leachability of lithium of as much as 98%, various with temperature, acid power and leaching length8.
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