Ora Banda flies the lithium banner at its Flag prospect

A three-hole lithium focused exploration program at the Federal Flag prospect, about 10km south of the Davyhurst processing plant, has intersected over 11m of spodumene at 1.28% Li2O.

Although the Federal Flag site holds two historical gold open pits linked by north-south trending gold mineralisation, several pegmatites were intersected in recent resource drilling.

The three-hole program has tested and confirmed the presence of these LCT pegmatites (which are blind to the surface with a thin veneer of transported cover), their broad strike and dip orientation along with the presence of spodumene.

Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) says observations in core suggest that the pegmatites pre-date the later gold mineralisation and further work is required to identify the extent of this LCT pegmatite swarm.

First hole targeting lithium hits spodumene

“The fact that we have intersected high grade spodumene in the first hole targeting lithium prospectivity is both a testament to the excellent work completed by the geology team and the outstanding potential of the entire tenement package,” OBM managing director Luke Creagh says.

“Whilst the first results are very encouraging, this is very early days in unlocking the lithium potential and we will continue to work this up with a small, focused team and disciplined drill programs.

Regional exploration

Another five areas – Barney, Waihi, Young Australian, Gila, and Siberia – have also been identified to host lithium bearing LCT pegmatite swarms of which Barney and Waihi prospects are highest priority for immediate follow-up based on current data.

Further regional exploration and progression of all identified lithium occurrences will be continued as part of OBM’s strategy to create value from investing in exploration.

“It is important to note that our lithium exploration will be conducted without compromising our gold focused exploration objectives of finding a second high-grade underground mine to complement Riverina Underground and drive further production growth and increased cashflows for the company,” Creagh adds.

This article was developed in collaboration with Ora Banda Mining, 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.