Mineral Commodities (ASX:MRC) has defined a maiden resource of 1.78 million tonnes grading 22 per cent total graphitic carbon, or 397,000 tonnes of contained graphite, for its underground Trælen mine on the island of Senja, Norway.

The company claims the resource, which forms part of the broader Skaland project, is the highest grade of any operating graphite mine in the world and is based on previous data, with mineralisation remaining open both up and down dip.

It plans to start drilling next quarter that will target new mineralised zones. An updated resource and ore reserve estimate will be released after the program is completed.

 

Mineral Commodities acquired the Skaland project in October 2019 and embarked on a re-logging, re-sampling and re-assaying of drill core to build a 3D block model of the deposit within the Trælen mine.

No previous JORC resource estimates have been defined for either the Skaland or Trælen deposits.

Meanwhile, Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) has also calculated a maiden resource, for its Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project in Argentina’s Catamarca province, that exceeded its expectations for grade, size and level of impurities.

The Pata Pila and Rana de Sal tenements are estimated to host 1.08 million tonnes at 946 milligrams per litre (mg/l), increasing Galan’s total resource by 158 per cent to 1.77 million tonnes grading 837mg/l.

Hombre Muerto West covers an area of 3,843 hectares and is adjacent to Livent Corporation, Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) and POSCO’s Sal de Vida projects.