First assays from a maiden drill campaign at New Dawn show lithium mineralisation across all holes drilled to date. Pic supplied: (TOR)
New Dawn drill results show ‘multiple stacked pegmatites at depth’ next to Bald Hill lithium mine
Mining
share
- Grades of up to 2.79% Li2O confirmed in multiple intercepts at Torque Metals New Dawn project, 600m from the Bald Hill lithium mine in WA
- Deeper drilling shows stacked pegmatite zones, indicating New Dawn’s potential for scale
- RC rig mobilised to focus on thick pegmatite systems for another 20 holes over 4000m
Assays from all four diamond drill holes have confirmed spodumene, grading up to 2.79% Li2O, at shallow depths of less than 90m at the central lode area of Torque Metals’ New Dawn lithium-tantalum project in WA’s Goldfields region.
Lithium, gold and nickel-focused explorer Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has exploded back onto the scene after acquiring its Penzance tenements in the Tier-1 WA Goldfields mining district.
The company’s current focus is on its New Dawn lithium-tantalum project, 600m along strike from the established Bald Hill mine.
New Dawn lithium consists of two mining licences that were historically explored for tantalum, which culminated in a resource of 1.04Mt @ 160ppm Ta2O5 down to 30m below surface.
Torque says lithium exploration was largely ignored, with the asset never assayed for lithium itself.
Yet early exploration conducted by Torque in August identified multiple outcropping pegmatites and rock chip samples grading up to an eye-watering 6% Li2O.
“Stacked pegmatite zones”
Lithium has been confirmed in multiple pegmatite intercepts from an inaugural diamond drilling campaign at New Dawn with a peak individual grade of 2.79% Li2O and best intersection of 3.57m @ 1.25% Li2O from 26.73m inside a larger 8m @ 0.71% Li2O.
Drilling was initially confined to the Central Lode area of the project close to the historic pit and confirmed strong lithium mineralisation in addition to historically defined tantalum.
While assays are back from the first four holes, all seven drilled to date intersected shallow, spodumene-rich pegmatite intervals up to 10.10m thick in the first 50m down hole.
Importantly, three deeper holes in the central and eastern lodes intersected multiple stacked pegmatite intervals at depth. Torque is awaiting results expected later this month to confirm grades.
The Central Lode remains open to the north and south and is interpreted to continue at an oblique angle with depth.
“Assays from the initial four shallow drill holes at the central lode area successfully confirmed we have near-surface spodumene mineralisation at New Dawn and, pleasingly, the deeper drilling also revealed we have stacked pegmatite zones, demonstrating potential for scale,” MD Cristian Moreno says.
“All seven holes intersected a number of shallow spodumene enriched pegmatite intervals, some up to 10.19 metres thick within the first 50 metres depth.
“Of those, the three deeper holes located north and east of the central lode confirmed the presence of deeper pegmatite intersections, potentially expanding the project’s mineralised boundaries and demonstrating strong continuity of the logged pegmatites both along strike and down dip.
“Having confirmed the presence of spodumene-rich bearing pegmatites and multiple deep pegmatite intersections, Torque is continuing its due diligence drilling effort at New Dawn, switching predominantly to RC, with 4 RC holes per each diamond hole for another 4000m in the second stage.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Torque Metals, 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.
