First Lithium confirms depth and strike of African pegmatites ahead of maiden resource

FL1 confirms depth and strike continuity of pegmatites in Mali
Results come from company’s second series of drilling at the project
Company expects to release maiden resource for the project soon

Special Report: First Lithium’s second series of drilling at the Blakala project in Mali has confirmed significant depth and strike continuity of the eastern pegmatite at the project.

The project is one of only two Tier 1 priority lithium targets in Mali, the other being the giant 211Mt at 1.37% Li₂O Goulamina project – now owned by Ganfeng after Leo Lithium (ASX:LLL) transferred its management responsibility on looking to exit the asset.

The results for the second series diamond tails BRCD16 to BRCD21 drilled in the Eastern pegmatite, returned high grades from all holes covering circa 400m strike, including:

24m intersection at 1.53% Li₂O from 129.0m (BRCD21)
28.59m intersection at 1.51% Li₂O from 117.0m (BRCD19); and
9m intersection at 1.62% Li₂O from 117.0m (BRCD18).

Plus, results for the first series diamond hole BDFS46 confirmed the additional northern extension to the Eastern pegmatite, with an intersection of 12.27m at 1.65% Li₂O from 46.0m.

At the southern extension of the Main pegmatite, second series diamond tail BRCD25 returned an 8.34m intersection at 1.77% Li₂O from 137.0m – showing the depth continuity of the southern extension.

And at the Western pegmatite, second series diamond tails showed the depth and width of mineralisation, returning an 25.64m intersection at 1.68% Li₂O (from 137.0m (BRCD28) and a 15m intersection at 1.23% Li₂O from 96.0m (BRCD36).

All pegmatites open at depth

Notably for FL1, the results from the Eastern pegmatite holes are at vertical depth of between 60 to 120m, and clearly show the depth and strike extension (grade is continuous between 6 holes with a circa 400m strike) at the depth of the second series holes.

And the high Li₂O results from a significant intersection thickness (25.64m) from the second series hole on the Western pegmatite shows the significant depth potential of the Western pegmatite as well, with the intersection at circa 90 to 100m vertical depth.

These intersections all show the pegmatites are still open at depth, the company says.

“Completion of the analytical results is a milestone the company is very proud to achieve, next step is the maiden JORC for the project which is expected in the coming month,” First Lithium (ASX:FL1) managing director Venkat Padala said.

“This, along with license renewals also expected shortly, will provide a significant understanding of the scope and scale of this project, something all involved are excited to understand.”

This article was developed in collaboration with First Lithium, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.