Green Technology Metals to expand 10.3Mt lithium resource with fresh drilling

GT1 is digging deeper for a larger resource at its Seymour lithium project in Ontario
A new 3,000 metre downdip diamond drilling operation is underway
The company plans to ultimately bring the project to production

Special Report: Lithium explorer and developer Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) has kicked off extensional drilling at its flagship Seymour project in Ontario.

Green Technology Metals’ big plans for its Ontario lithium resource just got even bigger.

GT1 has just kicked off an extensional, 3,000m, five-hole drilling campaign at its 10.1Mt Seymour lithium project north of the industrial hub of Thunder Bay, where the company is planning to construct a downstream processing hub.

The aim is to test the potential for a significant underground resource expansion.

Seymour covers some 151.4km2 of 100% GT1-owned ground and, comprised of its North and South Aubry deposits, has an existing Mineral Resource Estimate of 10.3Mt at 1.03% Li2O (comprised of 6.1Mt at 1.25% Li2O Indicated and 4.2 Mt at 0.7% Li2O Inferred).

The company has another Ontario project in addition to Seymour, called Root. All up, the company has lithium resources of 24.9Mt.

Expanding downdip

Now underway, the company’s five-hole, 3,000m drill campaign is specifically exploring the deeper extensions of Seymour’s North Aubry deposit.

The aim is to extend the mine life of the Seymour Project by increasing the North Aubry resource downdip and enhance the economics of the proposed Seymour mine.

This drilling is expected to continue until sometime in July.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) — Source: GT1

Bringing Seymour to production

As drilling gets underway, GT1 is evaluating its strategy for ultimately bringing the Seymour project to production.

Initial optimisation work has now been completed, which the company says includes the integration of open pit and underground mining for lower cost, capex and greater flexibility in its overall production strategy.

Three specific approaches are being evaluated across various pit shell designs and underground. These include:

Option 1 – a two-stage open pit development with a small underground component.

Option 2 – a three-stage open pit development with a small underground component.

Option 3 – a single-stage open pit development with a large underground component.

GT1’s initial findings are that all options are technically viable.

Targeting project optimisation and a bigger resource

“Based on feedback from Canadian operators and our ongoing efforts to optimise project capex and operational costs, we are evaluating a combination of both open cut and underground development strategy,” GT1 executive director Cameron Henry says.

“Preliminary findings suggest that this approach will enhance the project’s economics, extend the mine life and give greater development flexibility to incorporate additional feed from our potential new deposits.

Once this latest drilling is done and dusted, an updated Mineral Resource will be released which will include the extension and infill drilling, incorporated into an optimised Preliminary Economic Assessment, which is being targeted for a December release.

This article was developed in collaboration with Green Technology Metals, 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.