St George scores a hit as drilling hits lithium-bearing pegmatites. Pic: bcreigh via Getty Images
Mining
Visual observation of drill chips from first drilling St George’s Jailbreak prospect has indicated that lithium-bearing pegmatite mineralisation there is not merely skin deep.
While surface rock chips had yielded some noteworthy results such as 3.25% Li2O, 225 parts per million (ppm) cesium oxide (Cs2O), 53ppm tantalum and 1.24% rubidium along with 1.89% Li2O, 180ppm Cs2O, 86ppm tantalum and 0.63% rubidium, they only really scratch the surface of what could be present.
So for St George Mining’s (ASX:SGQ) first drill program to intersect multiple intervals of pegmatite – up to 13m thick – from surface, which incidentally confirms near-surface continuity of the pegmatite outcrop from where the rock chips were taken, is a hugely positive sign.
And there is potentially more to come with the RC drilling being just the first phase of drilling to test six outcropping lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes at the prospect, which stretches out over licences E29/962 and E29/638 (IGO 25%).
Executive chairman John Prineas said the company was delighted with the positive results starting to emerge from its first-ever lithium drill program at the Jailbreak prospect that has already confirmed the near-surface continuity of lithium-bearing pegmatites.
“The latest assays for rock chip samples have delivered our highest-grade lithium values at Jailbreak, providing further validation of the potential for pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation at Mt Alexander,” he added.
“Significantly, the high-grade assays now extend across five pegmatites mapped across a broad area.
“The drilling programme will increase in scope next week with diamond drilling scheduled to commence alongside the ongoing RC campaign.
“With drilling of both our nickel and lithium targets at Mt Alexander, the next few weeks will be a very productive end to the year for St George and we look forward to reporting more results to shareholders as they come to hand.”
The current drill program is designed to test several models to provide the company with an understanding of the continuity of the pegmatites below surface, including their geometry and grade.
Besides confirming that pegmatites do indeed continue under the surface, this has already confirmed its interpretation that the pegmatites dip to the north.
All 10 reverse circulation holes drilled to date have intersected pegmatites at depth within the Jailbreak prospect with samples sent to the laboratory for assaying.
Meanwhile, rock chip sampling has returned assay values of more than 1% Li2O across five pegmatite dykes within a north-south zone extending up to 1.7km.
This not only confirms the prospectivity of the Jailbreak prospect but also expands its footprint.
Assays are also pending for more than 100 rock chips from pegmatite outcrops sampled across 15km of the pegmatite corridor parallel to the Copperfield Granite.
St George expects a diamond drill rig to arrive at Mt Alexander in the coming days to initially test for deeper extensions to the mineralised pegmatites at Jailbreak and assist with the geological interpretation of the evolving lithium targets.
The rig will also drill several holes to test high-priority nickel targets including strong EM conductors and the large seismic reflector located near the interpreted granite/greenstone contact south of the high-grade Cathedrals nickel-copper-PGE deposit.
This article was developed in collaboration with St George 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.
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