South is where graphite mineralisation at Lacroma Central appears to get thicker and richer so south is where the drill rig will now operate. Pic: via Getty Images.
Mining
Infill drilling at Lacroma Central, part of the flagship Campoona project, show the graphite hits getting thicker and higher grade to the south.
Campoona in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has a resource of 8.55Mt grading 9% total graphitic carbon (TGC) on a granted mining lease.
It stands out from many other graphite resources in the world as it is readily converted into high purity spherical graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries.
iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) also holds approved multipurpose licences for processing infrastructure and groundwater extraction, which will be of great benefit for any future operations.
Drilling underway at its Lacroma and Sugarloaf prospects is aimed at increasing resources at the project – potentially by many times over if the drill results returned to date are any indication.
Initial drilling at Lacroma Central had confirmed that the underlying >6km airborne electromagnetic anomaly is caused by a significant graphite mineralised system, returning intersections such as 91m at 6% TGC from 4m and 76m at 7.1% TGC from 19m.
Drilling also confirmed that mineralisation extends north by over 500m, though the real prizes look to be found to the east of the northern extension and south of the drilled section.
ITM’s infill holes, drilled to fill in gaps at Lacroma Central in order to gain complete coverage before moving to drill the 1km southern extension of the resource area, have further demonstrated that mineralisation increases in grade and thickness from north to south.
It also demonstrates that mineralisation projects to surface in the west of the resource area, a finding that has been confirmed by the excavation of shallow drill sumps exposing graphite bearing mineralisation less than 30-40cm below a thin veneer of sand.
Drill plan of Lacroma Central resource drilling area with latest significant assay results. Pic: Supplied (ITM).
Notable results from the infill drilling include:
“The latest drilling results from the Lacroma graphite prospect have demonstrated that graphite mineralisation increases in thickness and grade to the south of the prospect and comes to surface in the west,” managing director Mike Schwarz said.
“The drilling program continues to deliver significant results with over 70 holes of the resource drilling program completed to date.”
ITM has now completed over 70 holes in five east-west traverses in the northern part of the Lacroma Central resource drilling area.
The drill rig has now moved south to test the incredibly intriguing southern extension of mineralisation.
Drilling is expected to continue for the next 2-3 months to test the full potential of the resource area.
This article was developed in collaboration with iTech 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.
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