The discovery of historic diamond core and cuttings from the Paradox lithium project in Utah has sped up the timeline for the JORC resource upgrade for an Aussie-listed miner in the US.
Retained by the Utah Core Research Centre (UCRC), Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) says the discovery of the diamond core and cutting will deliver a significant time and cost saving in upgrading the existing exploration target at Paradox into indicated and inferred resources.
This means a quicker turnaround time for the delivery of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) and the proposed commencement of production at Paradox.
Geophysical logs indicate high porosity zones
This diamond drill core is from previous oil and gas exploration drilling conducted in the Paradox Lithium Project area, which targeted the Mississippian Units.
Most importantly, the diamond core shows fracturing and “vuggs” – cavities, voids, or large pores in the host rocks – throughout the limestone and dolomite units, which demonstrates the high porosity required for the storage of brine and confirms ASN’s geophysical logs and porosity calculation.
In some of the well files drilling tools have dropped in apparent cavernous porosity zones, resulting in a loss of circulation in the Leadville Formation, Mississippian Unit, indicating high porosity zones.
Getting down to work
Results of these tests will be used to calculate transitivity, permeability, and resistivity in these wells, which are not included in Anson’s ongoing resource expansion drilling program.
As a result of this work, the area around these wells may be upgraded from inferred to the indicated JORC resource category.
The historic drilling logs Anson has obtained from several wells in the same area will be combined with the logs from its exploration re-entry program and will be processed to update the original 3D geological model to further determine volume metrics.
This conceptual model will then be used to design a flow model for the brine and calculate the number of supply wells and piping network required to provide sufficient brine to feed the company’s planned lithium and bromine production facility at Paradox.
This article was developed in collaboration with Anson Resources, 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.
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