Prospect extends lithium footprint at Zimbabwe Step Aside Project

Prospect Resources has extended the lithium footprint at the Step Aside lithium project in Zimbabwe after generating ‘significant extensional’ intersections of high-grade lithium mineralisation across multiple targeted pegmatites.

The Stage 2 diamond drilling targeted 5 visible pegmatite outcrops, with 4 returning robust intersections including:

6.28m at 1.09% Li₂O from 67.52m including 1.14m at 2.63% Li₂O from 70.55m (Pegmatite E);
5.96m at 1.08% Li₂O from 100.27m (Pegmatite D); and
5.96m at 1.02% Li₂O from 57.27m (Pegmatite B).

The largest deposit defined to date, Pegmatite D, is now interpreted to strike over at least 160m and is open to the south and down dip.

Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC) says results from Pegmatite B and E are “highly encouraging” with excellent widths and grades, including significant thickening at depth for Pegmatite B.

Stage 3 drilling to commence this quarter

The company plans to kick off Stage 3 drilling this quarter with the aim to target strike and depth extensions of the defined lithium mineralisation and scout drill key soil anomalies, further south of the existing drilling.

“The Stage 2 drilling results at Step Aside, combined with the highly prospective geochemical soil anomalies returned to the south, demonstrate the significant additional potential underlying this project,” Prospect’s MD Sam Hosack said.

“We look forward to targeting further extensional and blind lithium mineralisation targets with the Stage 3 program, the design of which is well advanced with drilling expected to commence in the next six weeks.

“Our core targets remain unchanged at Step Aside – seeking the potential widening and coalescence along strike as well as rapid growth in defined mineralised footprint at strong tenor, and delineation of a JORC-reportable Mineral Resource estimate that reflects such attractive lithium deposition.”

Project potential backed by Arcadia drilling

Notably, the project is just 8km north of the Arcadia Lithium Project in Zimbabwe, which was discovered by the company and holds a Mineral Resource estimate of 72.7 million tonnes grading 1.02% Li₂O.

The Arcadia asset was sold to Huayou Cobalt by Prospect in mid-2022 for approximately US$422 million cash.

Prospect believes that the results from Stage 2, in addition to the generation of potential southerly extensions to the deposits at Pegmatite B, D and F from the lithium-in-soil geochemical sampling work, indicates that spodumene mineralisation defined to date could extend much further both along strike and down dip.

“Observations made previously by Prospect while drilling at Arcadia show that several parallel narrow pegmatites can coalesce into thicker pegmatites down dip, indicating the potential that parallel pegmatites outcropping at Step Aside could join to form a more comprehensive, lithium mineralised pegmatite system at depth,” the company said.

This article was developed in collaboration with Prospect Resources Limited, 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.