Charger Metals NL (ASX: CHR) has obtained high-grade lithium intersections from 14 of the 17 holes drilled in a maiden drill programme at the Medcalf Spodumene Discovery within the company’s Lake Johnston Lithium Prospect in the Yilgarn province of Western Australia.
“The first very encouraging drilling results are now to hand and drilling is continuing to intersect similar multiple-sheet pegmatites within a plunging, 100m-wide, structural zone,” Managing Director, David Crook, said.
“The drill holes reported here confirm high grade lithium from surface down to a vertical depth of 210m, and the ongoing drill programme is expanding the extent of the spodumene-pegmatites along the strike direction and at progressively greater depths.”
The Medcalf Spodumene Discovery represents a swarm of anastomosing to tabular pegmatites hosted in sheared mafic amphibolite.
Medcalf spodumene-pegmatites are members of the lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite family (albite-spodumene type).
Spodumene, which is clearly observed in many outcrops and supported by laboratory analyses, is the preferred mineral for the commercial production of lithium, a component of modern lithium batteries.
The current drilling programme saw 17 RC holes drilled during late 2022, and up to a further 23 holes to be drilled during January and February 2023.
The Medcalf Prospect is also being prepared for a programme of core drilling later this year, which can test for mineralization at a depth greater than the current RC drilling rig’s capability.
Spodumene-pegmatites have been intersected on all sections drilled to date. Individual units have a down-hole width of up to 13m (allowing up to 2.0m of contiguous internal waste), have a strike direction of north-west and dip at approximately -40° towards the south-west.
Thicker pegmatites are recorded on the north-western-most drill section indicating a possible north-westerly plunge to the mineralization.
The Lake Johnston Lithium Project is located 450km east of Perth, Western Australia. Charger recently announced the acquisition the minority interest to move from a 70% to 100% interest in this Project.
Lithium prospects occur within a 50km long corridor along the southern and western margin of the Lake Johnston granite batholith. Key prospects include the advancing Medcalf Spodumene Discovery and much of the Mount Day LCT pegmatite field, prospective for lithium and tantalum minerals.
The Lake Johnston Lithium Project has attracted considerable interest due to its proximity to the large Earl Grey Lithium Project under development by Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd (manager of a joint venture between subsidiaries of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. and Wesfarmers Limited) located approximately 70km west of the Lake Johnston Project. Mt Holland is understood to be one of the largest undeveloped hard-rock lithium projects in Australia with Ore Reserves for the Earl Grey Deposit estimated at 189Mt at 1.5% Li2O8.
For further information please visit: https://chargermetals.com.au/
