4A drill results have extended the Big Red prospect to the north. Pic via Getty Images
Future Battery Minerals expands lithium reach with Potoroo discovery
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- Lithium hits at Future Battery Minerals’ Kangaroo Hills project nearly doubles the strike length of the mineralized system to 900m
- Drilling includes best ever project intercept of 31m @ 1.13% Li2O from 86m
- New drill program to test northeast extension of Big Red pegmatite
Special Report: Drilling returns more thick, shallow, and high-grade lithium at Future Battery Minerals’ Big Red prospect, almost doubling the strike length of the Kangaroo Hills Lithium Project (KHLP) mineralised system to 900m.
Located in the lithium endowed goldfields of Western Australia only 17km’s south of Coolgardie, the Kangaroo Hills Lithium Project (KHLP) was discovered in late 2022, after regional exploration turned up high-grade spodumene within LCT pegmatites.
Further drilling programs over 2023 uncovered standout results of 29m @ 1.36% Li2O at the Big Red pegmatite , Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) is gearing up for further step out drilling at Kangaroo Hills during 2024.
Extending Big Red
15 holes for 2630m were completed as part of the KHLP 4A drill program focused on testing the northern continuity of the Big Red prospect (Big Red Extension target) and other high-potential targets.
Results have demonstrated the northern continuity of the Big Red pegmatite and shown the best intercepts from drilling to date:
- 31m @ 1.13% Li2O from 86m, including 20m @ 1.43% Li2O from 88m at hole KHRC166
- 12m @ 1.02% Li2O from 52m at hole KHRC164
A further 200m north of the Big Red Extension intercepts at the new ‘Potoroo’ pegmatites discovery, assays from step-out drilling returned intercepts of:
- 14m @ 1.04% Li2O from 108m from hole KHRC178
- 8m @ 0.51% Li2O from 155m from hole KHRC172
Importantly, the 4A drill results have extended the overall KHLP mineralised system a further 400m to the north for a total strike length of 900m.
Further extension potential
FBM says the thickest and most consistent grades of the Big Red pegmatite appear to be hosted within the ultramafic unit on the eastern side of the observed NE/SW fault.
That area coincidentally hosts the mineralised outcrops ~2km north at FBM’s recently acquired Miriam project, where 11 pegmatites have been discovered.
Between Big Red and Miriam, the northern part of the KHLP also offers several other high-potential regional resistivity anomaly targets including Western Grey, Quokka, Whiptail, Big Red West and Big Red North prospects.
FBM CEO Nick Rathjen says the company is excited with the results from Phase 4A drilling at Kangaroo Hills.
“The Big Red extension has been a walk-up growth target that we have patiently waited for permitting to drill and it’s satisfying to have this wait validated with the demonstrated extension of the thick, shallow, high-grade Big Red mineralisation to the north and achieving the best intercept to date at the project,” Rathjen says.
“The drilling of the Big Red Extension has also identified faulting that has altered our interpretation of Big Red’s geometry to the north.
“We believe that the larger Big Red pegmatite (inclusive of Big Red Extension) remains open to the north-east, rather than to the north/north-west coincident with the resistivity feature in this area.
“The resistivity may be highlighting shallower pegmatites in addition to Big Red, such as the newly discovered Potoroo, which will be investigated further in future drill programs.
“The newly discovered pegmatites at Potoroo are also highly significant. Not only do they extend the overall mineralised footprint of the KHLP, but they clearly represent further scale potential at the project.”
What’s next?
Follow-up up drilling in the northern area of the KHLP is set to commence this month, with the contracted RC rig scheduled to arrive on site within the next few weeks.
The Phase 4B program plan is for another 3000m of drilling, testing the interpreted northeast extension of Big Red.
This article was developed in collaboration with Future Battery Minerals, 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.
