Future Battery Minerals finds promising lithium targets for near-future drilling

Future Battery Minerals says soil sampling has returned promising drill targets at its Miriam project
The project is in WA’s Goldfields, next to flagship Kangaroo Hills project
FBM plans to drill Miriam in the first half of 2025

Special Report: Future Battery Minerals has received assay results for the recent soil sampling program at its Miriam lithium project in WA, and plans to drill at the promising project in H1 2025.

The company consolidated its strategic position in WA’s Goldfields region earlier this year with the acquisition of an 85% interest in the Miriam lithium project.

Immediately north of Future Battery Minerals’ (ASX:FBM) flagship Kangaroo Hills lithium asset, the Miriam project hosts high-grade spodumene-bearing pegmatites where rock chip samples returned up to 2.0% Li2O.

Both the Kangaroo Hills and Miriam areas have attractive near-surface, shallow dipping, thick, spodumene bearing lithium pegmatites.

In fact, geochemical soil sampling previously undertaken by Corazon Mining (ASX:CZN) had also revealed a primary target of a ~1.6km strike length, with a second trend spanning ~600m.

Now, the company says assays from its recent soil sampling program have flagged a 750m-long lithium anomaly, extending it by around 450m.

The results also identified a further four new anomalous lithium zones, overlapping and coincident with established geophysical targets – and delivering a suite of new high-potential targets for future drilling.

New targets point to discovery potential

The projects continue to hold significant upside potential for new discoveries and resource growth, located in one of the premier mining regions in the world and proximal to existing infrastructure including the operating hard rock lithium mine, Mount Marion.

“Our recent wide-spaced extensional soil sampling program at Miriam is an example of cost-effective exploration, allowing us to both systematically assess the potential of this tenure and concurrently expand the number of priority targets for drill testing,” FBM managing director and CEO Nick Rathjen said.

“The geochemistry in combination with geophysics, enhances the definition of our search area for valuable shallow subsurface mineralised pegmatites.

“Importantly, these targets, point to the regional scale potential for new discoveries in addition to the significant lithium we have at the Kangaroo Hills project.

“The results from this program, which covered the mid-section of our Miriam tenure, are extremely encouraging.

“The substantial extension of one existing soil anomaly, coupled with the identification of four new nearby targets demonstrating robust lithium anomalism, is a strong outcome.

“It is also important to note that these newly identified areas of lithium soil anomalism overlap with our recently generated geophysical targets, providing layers to the targets and further enhancing the overall attractiveness of these areas for prompt drill testing.”

First drilling planned for H1 2025

FBM has scheduled ground gravity geophysical surveys to commence at Miriam over the coming month. This low-cost survey work can greatly improve drill hole targeting, particularly regarding planned drill hole depth and direction, further de-risking initial exploration drilling activities.

Preparations are also underway for the initial drill program at Miriam, scheduled for H1 2025, with the plan to target the +1.5km soil anomaly at the southern end of the Miriam tenure, which correlates with both spodumene outcrops and key geophysical targets.

“We continue to advance Miriam in a disciplined and pragmatic manner, with anticipation building in the lead up to our initial RC drill program in H1 2025,” Rathjen said.

“With a healthy cash balance to fund future work programs, we continue to exercise a systematic but energetic approach to exploration of this exciting tenure.”

The company notes it’s well funded to pursue future exploration programs and growth opportunities across its highly prospective project portfolio, with A$4.7m cash and zero debt at 30 September 2024.

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.