NAE has is chasing lookalikes of the Wodgina and Pilgangoora pegmatite monsters at Quartz Hill. Pic: Getty Images
New Age Exploration to target Wodgina and Pilgangoora style LCT pegmatites at Quartz Hill
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- A completed cultural heritage survey paves the way for exploration at New Age Exploration’s Quartz Hill project in the Central Pilbara
- NAE is targeting LCT pegmatites similar to other spodumene-rich Pilbara deposits
- A third phase of soil samples wraps up at Brahman; ~2,500 samples now pending assay
Special Report: The completion of its key cultural heritage survey has paved the way for future drilling at New Age Exploration’s Quartz Hill in the Pilbara, where it has identified pegmatites similar in style to those hosting some of the world’s biggest lithium mines.
New Age Exploration’s (ASX:NAE) Central Pilbara projects are in the Mallina – Whim Creek basin of the Pilbara Craton, close to Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) Wodgina and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) Pilgangoora lithium mining operations.
The company’s ~1,893km2 tenement package, which includes a combination of granted exploration licences and exploration licence applications, is also within the same region as Azure Minerals’ (ASX:AZS) Andover discovery, the subject of a $3.52 per share bid from Chilean lithium giant SQM, and major investment from three of WA’s most iconic mining billionaires, Gina Rinehart, Chris Ellison and Mark Creasy.
The Central Pilbara projects cover the Brahman, Bullock Well, Droughtmaster and Quartz Hill projects where multiple high priority LCT (lithium, caesium, tantalum) pegmatite targets have been previously identified for follow-up drilling using Labwest’s UltraFine+ methodology.
A total of ∼2,500 samples have been collected since September across Bullock Well, Quartz Hill and Brahman and have been submitted for assay in addition to the ~1,000 samples collected in the phase one soil sampling program.
‘Robust stream of targets’
With a cultural heritage survey wrapped up with the Kariyarra Aboriginal Corporation, NAE has now established the project timetable and secured the necessary clearances to facilitate a substantial expansion of the LCT-focused exploration program at the Quartz Hill.
The primary objective is to begin drilling at the high-priority targets that are similar to Wodgina, Pilgangoora and Andover, and test below target areas of lithium anomalism detected in soil samples.
“We now have a firm timeline to an imminent drill program at Quartz Hill, focusing on the evaluation of our initial set of high priority LCT targets which is very exciting,” NAE executive director Joshua Wellisch says.
“The completion of our UltraFine+ Geochemical soil sampling, along with pending assay results, is set to provide us with a robust stream of targets in the weeks and months ahead, which is a highly promising development.”
What else is happening?
NAE is also entering the third phase of soil sampling program at Brahman, which is adjacent to the tenure held by Golden State Minerals (ASX:GSM) where they have discovered lithium at the Nomad prospect.
Soil samples will be geochemically analysed using Labwest’s UltraFine+ methodology.
This article was developed in collaboration with New Age Exploration, 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.
