Following diamond drilling commencing in May at Core Lithium Ltd’s BP33 deposit, which is part of the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory, assays are starting to be received by the company.
Geological logging has confirmed that spodumene bearing pegmatite extends at depth to the south with indications that thickness, and grade may improve with depth. Although the main and southern bodies are currently modelled as separate entities, the location of the drilling also provides support that they are likely continuous.
A total of three deep diamond drill holes have intersected the main BP33 mineralisation at depths of up to 470m below surface. A further five diamond holes have intersected variable thicknesses of mineralised pegmatite associated with the southern BP33 body at depths below any previous drilling and up to 420m below surface.
The true thicknesses of the intersections are approximately two thirds of those shown (i.e. downhole intersection of 67m equals true thickness of approximately 45m). The continuity in grade and thickness displayed, together with the position of the intersections outside or on the boundary of the current Mineral Resource envelope, is expected to result in an increase in the Mineral Resource estimate for BP33.
Core Chairman Greg English commented: “The BP33 orebody appears to be getting better at depth with 66.88m @ 1.78 Li2O, an outstanding result. We are in the middle of our largest ever drill campaign and these latest results more than justify our decision to expand our exploration efforts.
“BP33 south is open at depth with the Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) survey identifying additional targets at the deposit. The timing of these outstanding results could not have been better, with the final mining approval for BP33 expected in the coming weeks.
“These new world-class lithium drilling results reflect the confidence Core has in delivering significant resource growth from Finniss that will add to our life of mine and our capacity to materially increase lithium production from northern Australia in the future to keep up with rapidly growing global demand.”