There are dozens of them – dozens! Up to 10 drill rigs are spinning from now to 2024 at Latin Resources’ lithium Colina deposit in Brazil in an effort to deliver a resource upgrade by the end of this year. Pic via Getty Images
Mining
Step-out drilling to the southwest of the Colina deposit, within the Salinas project in Brazil, has added significant strike extensions to the 45.2Mt resource with the discovery of a new pegmatite cluster.
Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) was a first mover into the red-hot Minas Gerais region of Brazil, where Sigma Lithium (TSXV:SGML) is enjoying tremendous success at the newly developed 766,000tpa Grota do Cirilo mine.
Next in line is Latin’s Colina project, where a 45.2Mt at 1.32% resource is looking ripe for a substantial upgrade after its massive – and ongoing – 65,000m drill program.
The release of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Colina at the end of September certainly didn’t disappoint, with robust economic figures including an after tax NPV of $3.6bn, an IRR of 132% and total life of mine revenue of $12.6b.
Latin believe the project could establish the company as the second largest spodumene concentrate producer in Brazil, and the world’s lowest cost spodumene concentrate producer when Colina gets into production in 2026.
Latin has been working hard to boost Colina resources with ongoing brownfields extension drilling, as well as greenfield exploration drilling in the company’s current 65,000m drill program.
The company today announced the discovery of a third pegmatite cluster.
While it is still early days with more drilling required to better define this developing pegmatite, LRS vice president of operations-Americas Tony Greenaway says the company is encouraged by this new discovery.
“It solidifies our interpretation that the Colina deposit is just one part of a much larger system,” he says.
Assays for 19 diamond holes have been received, with high-grade results continuing at the Colina SW extension, Colina Infill and Fog’s Block.
Some of these new results include:
14.7m at 1.48% Li2O from 157.6m (Colina SW extension);
13.8m at 1.69% Li2O from 204.5m (Colina SW extension);
19m at 1.73% Li2O from 293m (Colina infill); and
7.7m at 1.34% Li2O from 70.3m (Colina infill)
Results from Fog Block include 8.5m at 1.33% Li2O from 155.1m, including 3.8m at 1.76% from 159m and 8m at 1.08% Li2O from 230.4m.
“Our understanding of the regional potential of the Salinas lithium project grows with every new discovery we make,” Greenaway says.
“There’s now three well defined mineralisation systems and Colina, Colina Southwest and Fog’s Block, with potentially a fourth now emerging.”
Latin plans to increase its current 65,000m drill program will 10 diamond drill rigs operating beyond 2023 at Colina and Fogs Block through the entirety of 2024 as part of its strategy to increase tonnage and upgrade the confidence level in the current resource.
The company expects the resource, which will be delivered in Q4 2023, to expand significantly by implementing the additional drilling program.
This article was developed in collaboration with Latin 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.
