Metalicity has acquired a highly prospective lithium project in Queensland, where previous exploration work includes high grade rock chip samples.
Metalicity’s (ASX:MCT) new Mt Surprise lithium project sits 57km northeast of its namesake town, and is sparsely explored despite a historic rock chip sample which returned 3.55% lithium oxide, 125 parts per million tantalum, 0.25% caesium and 1.26% rubidium.
Work by previous explorers at Mt Surprise has largely focused on other commodities but suggested that high grade lithium occurs at the contact between granite and volcanic rocks on the project.
Metalicity CEO Justin Barton said the acquisition was an exciting step for the company.
“We are incredibly pleased to have been able to secure this exciting tenure, which is significantly underexplored with previous company exploration in the area mainly focused on gold and tin,” he said.
“This is an exciting venture forward for the company in the rapidly emerging battery materials sector where demand for lithium continues to soar.
“Previous assays and field work undertaken on the tenure, although only in its infancy, shows very encouraging signs for the prospectivity of this ground with results of up to 3.5% lithium.
“We are looking forward to undertaking further work at the earliest possible opportunity to create value for shareholders and also to continue to look at other projects that might make sense for the company.”
The project was acquired in exchange for $100,000 worth of Metalicity shares at an issue price of 0.3c, subject to three months of escrow and $16,770 in reimbursement for a tenement application.
Location, location
The Mt Surprise project covers a large area and sits around 165km from Cairns and 57km from Mt Surprise, meaning it is well serviced by existing infrastructure and easy to access.
The company said the project’s geology leant itself to lithium mineralisation, with granites in the area clearly fertile for the production of highly sought-after lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites.
It is also considered prospective for other deposit styles, such as rhyolite-hosted deposits, given the presence of similar host rocks within a volcanic caldera setting, which similar to Ioneer’s (ASX:INR) Rhyolite Ridge lithium deposit in the US.
Reconnaissance rock sampling conducted by Monax Mining in May 2016 from an area identified as the Gingerella site returned the 3.55% LiO2 assay.
Minimal follow-up work was carried out.
Metalicity said it intended to immediately undertake a thorough field review at Mt Surprise, including detailed mapping and collection of rock chip samples targeting new pegmatites and potential lithium mineralisation.
A number of unspecified dykes have been interpreted on the ground by the Geological Survey of Queensland and will be investigated for pegmatities.
Metalicity said while bedrock exposures in the area were known to be sparse, powerful low detection limit multi-element soil sampling techniques could be used to investigate more comprehensively for mineralisation.
It’s a good time to be exploring for lithium, with the price of the key battery metal component backed to continue rising due to insatiable demand from the electric vehicle sector.
Metalicity is also exploring for gold at the McTavish project in the hot Kookynie district of Western Australia.
This article was developed in collaboration with [Client Name], 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.