Early results from Patriot’s Wickenburg lithium project in Arizona have the team flying into an upcoming drill program. Pic via Getty Images
Patriot detects significant Lithium anomalism at Wickenburg
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Selective spodumene samples have returned grades of up to 5.88% Li2O at Patriot Lithium’s Wickenburg project in Arizona and the explorer is getting ready to get the drills out.
35 rock chip samples were collected at Wickenburg as part of the company’s Phase 1 geochemical survey, including three spodumene samples that were taken from weathered pegmatite in the historic Dove pegmatite mine.
All three selective spodumene samples were assayed at ALS Vancouver, with results ranging from 3.72%-5.88% Li2O with the highest value originating from the least weathered and the lowest value from the most weathered spodumene sample.
The significance of the samples is that weathered spodumene is often known to lose significant amounts of lithium content.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the presence of spodumene at both the southern and northernmost outcrops of the Dove West pegmatite, suggesting the pegmatite could be mineralised along much, or all, of its mapped strike length of ~440m. The adjacent Dove East pegmatite trend, yet to be studied in more detail, is a lookalike with broadly similar mineralogy and strike length.
The bulk of the other rock chip samples collected along the Dove, Mammoth and Vulture pegmatite trends within Wickenburg were assayed for multi-element analysis and returned anomalous lithium, caesium, tantalum, beryllium, rubidium and niobium.
Further, assays from the Company’s maiden soil sampling program (1,159 samples collected in total) define significant lithium and associated multi-element anomalisms over the project including:
- a ~450m long and up to 70m wide zone of anomalism over the Dove West pegmatite
- a ~410m long and up to 30m wide zone of lithium anomalism over the Dove East pegmatite
- a ~400m long and up to 100m wide zone of anomalism over the Mammoth pegmatite.
Emboldened by the results, Patriot Lithium (ASX: PAT) has conducting further mapping of the prospective LCT pegmatite swarm at Wickenburg, expanding the priority exploration area to ~2km by 2km and has also staked an additional 148 new lode mining claims at Wickenburg to cover newly identified pegmatites as well as those mapped by the Arizona Geological Survey.
Patriot chief Nicholas Vickery said it was encouraging to see positive signs from early exploration activities on the Wickenburg project.
“The pegmatite trends identified during the previous reconnaissance work have now been verified by these excellent rock chip and soil sampling results,” Vickery said.
“Our consistent strategy has been to discover high-grade hard rock lithium deposits, through modern and systematic exploration techniques, and the Wickenburg project has started strongly.
“We look forward to following these promising results with drilling, which is due to commence imminently.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Patriot Lithium, 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.
