Scorpion Minerals has started maiden drilling at its Pharos lithium project in WA. Pic via Getty Images
Scorpion Minerals starts drilling second WA lithium asset as maiden resource approaches
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- Maiden drilling has commenced at the Pharos project in the Murchison
- Scorpion Minerals managing dual exploration programs across its key WA lithium assets
- Maiden resource for Younami project expected early next year
Special Report: Scorpion Minerals has kicked off maiden lithium-focused drilling at its Pharos project in Western Australia’s Murchison district.
While one side of the business is focused on delivering a maiden resource for its key WA lithium asset – Youanmi – early next year, the other side of Scorpion Metals (ASX: SCN) has launched into a RC drilling program of up to 10 holes at Pharos, about 60km northwest of Cue.
Drilling will target outcropping LCT pegmatites at Poona East and Poona West where historical surface sampling returned values up to 2.99% @ Li2O.
Initial geological mapping by SCN confirmed extensive stacked LCT pegmatites at Poona, including individual pegmatites up to 1km long and surface exposures which suggest widths of 5-15m.
The company is also encouraged by what it described as “poorly targeted” RC drilling completed by previous explorers. Historical results include 9m @ 0.77% Li2O, 9m @ 0.29% Li2O and 3m @ 0.49% Li2O.
Pegmatites interpreted to dip north
Approximately 1,000m will be drilled in this maiden campaign to test the stratigraphy and structural orientation to aid future drilling planning.
Drilling is also set to test the hypothesis that the pegmatites at Poona dip north.
“Our previous exploration work within the area has confirmed multiple mineralised LCT pegmatite dykes at Poona East and West which will be the central focus of this round of drilling,” SCN chief executive Michael Fotios said.
“We will look to advance activities at Pharos as quickly as possible, as it presents a highly strategic and complementary asset in the SCN portfolio.”
Fully charged exploration across both projects
SCN plans to undertake follow-up RC drilling of existing targets, both down-dip and along strike, at Pharos through Q1 and Q2 next year, along with RC drilling of parallel pegmatites to determine their extent and composition.
Other upcoming exploration work includes follow-up geological mapping and rock chip sampling, auger soil geochemistry aimed at identifying additional pegmatites under shallow soil cover, and initial diamond drilling of existing targets at depth.
XRD and preliminary metallurgical test work is also expected.
Further infill and diamond drilling is also likely at the Youanmi lithium project where the company is “systematically” working towards converting its exploration target into a maiden resource.
SCN recently raised $3 million, with the bulk of those funds being tipped towards the 7.6-13.6Mt @ 1-1.4% Li2O mineralised trend at Youanmi.
This article was developed in collaboration with Scorpion Minerals, 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.
