The Burmeister exploration target indicates that the deposit has the scale, grade and geometry to be a standalone lithium mining operation. Pic: Getty Images
Mining
Special Report: TG Metals has outlined the potential of the Burmeister deposit at its Lake Johnston project in WA to be a standalone operation after defining an exploration target of 15.6Mt to 20.1Mt grading 0.97% to 1.19% Li2O.
Burmeister was the subject of a drilling campaign carried out in October last year with subsequent drilling returning grades of up to 3.09% Li2O.
Further work carried out by TG Metals (ASX:TG6) over the Lake Johnston lithium-nickel-gold project has since defined lithium trends over a strike of ~8km and identified four drill targets, some of which are larger and higher grade then Burmeister.
And the company isn’t alone in thinking that there’s more to be found.
Since the discovery of Burmeister, the broader Lake Johnston district has seen a distinct increase in interest from junior companies such as Torque Metals (ASX:TOR), Charger Metals (ASX:CHR) and Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) as well as major players like Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO).
TG6 has now defined an exploration target of between 15.6Mt and 20.1Mt grading from 0.97% Li2O to 1.19% Li2O at Burmeister, an indicator that it has the right size, grade and right geometry for a potential standalone hard rock lithium mining and processing operation.
To top it off, the deposit is just the first of several high tenor lithium soil anomalies to be drill tested at Lake Johnston with success likely to spark another flurry of activity in the broader district.
“The work done by our external consultants based on existing drilling has delivered a high quality, robust exploration target at Burmeister,” chief executive officer David Selfe said.
“It is shaping up to be a potential top 10 hard rock lithium deposit in Australia. Burmeister is a standout for various reasons, one being the distinctive mineralogy of the pegmatites, which have a consistent lithium grade and spodumene content.
“It is our view that this will be born-out in our first metallurgical results, which are expected later in the current quarter. The conceptual pit optimisation work tends towards taking in all the currently defined mineralisation which opens the scope for drilling for extensions down dip.”
TG6 is working towards restarting drilling at Lake Johnston later this month with Program of Work approvals for infill drilling at Burmeister and maiden drilling at Jaegermeister expected before that.
Priority will be given to drilling Jaegermeister targets whilst the drilling at Burmeister will also be completed as new areas of Jaegermeister are being prepared for drilling. The Company maintains a flexible approach to drilling and has allowed for expansion in each area in the event of the discovery of new lithium mineralisation.
Metallurgical testwork is also underway on diamond drill core from Burmeister to determine which concentration methods are best suited to the unique high spodumene mineralogy of its ore and the proportions applicable to each technique.
This article was developed in collaboration with TG Metals, 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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