Key steps taken towards long-term sulphate of potash production hub after latest findings.

Analysis of the exploration programs at Lake Throssell have demonstrated a clear pathway to establishing a sizeable production hub. An outstanding maiden Inferred Mineral Resource of 14.2 metric tonnes (Mt) of drainable Sulphate of Potash (SOP) at 4,638 milligrams per litre (mg/L) potassium (K), (or 10.3kg/m3 SOP) has been estimated, as well as updated exploration targets for the tenements under application.

Trigg Mining Limited (ASX: TMG) were buoyed by the initial results, with the scale and grade of the resource strengthening the possibility of a multi-decade, sustainable SOP project to place the company at the forefront of the new generation SOP industry.

Managing Director Keren Paterson said, “This is a fantastic result for our shareholders which puts Trigg Mining front and centre of the new-generation SOP industry in WA.”

Paterson continued: “In addition to delivering a sizeable maiden Mineral Resource, we have also demonstrated the upside potential with an updated Exploration Target of 2.6-9.4 Mt of SOP, encompassing tenements to the north and the south which are awaiting grant.”

“Together with our Lake Rason Project, the company now has a total mineral inventory of more than 20Mt of SOP with substantial upside to expand on this even further.

“Importantly, the 14.2Mt of SOP we have defined in the central portion of the Lake Throssell project has the grade, scale and consistency to give us confidence that we have a commercial proposition on our hands.

“Combined with the project’s other key advantage – proximity to infrastructure including the new Outback Highway,– we believe we have an exceptional opportunity to build a significant new SOP production hub.

“Together with the work programs we have planned for the rest of this year, we see this maiden resource is the catalyst for what we hope will be a significant re-rating of Trigg Mining over the next 12 months.

“We are assembling a really experienced and credible team, we are already investing heavily in the project development timeline and we will shortly kick off a trenching program and field pump trials that will underpin an economic scoping study.”

Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate

The Mineral Resource estimate is based on approximately 5,720m of drilling, 62 particle size distribution samples (to determine porosity and yield), 18 core samples and an average drill spacing of 3.5km between traverses and 200 and 500m along traverses.

Lake Throssell investigation locations

346 brine samples were ascertained from the 5,720m of drilling and continues an intensive exploration in the area beginning in December 2019 including 16 land auger drill holes, 26 heli-supported rotary drill holes and gravity surveys.

A drainable brine volume has been determined, based on the amount of SOP that can be abstracted dependent upon the underlying porosity, permeability and specific yield of the deposit.

While the maiden Mineral Resource is 100% in the Inferred category, Paterson confirmed that Trigg Mining would look to boost confidence in the results with test pumping and additional aquifer property data to raise the mineral resource to Indicated.

“We will immediately start the next phase of work, which includes a program of trenching and pump testing aimed at converting a portion of the Inferred Mineral Resource to the higher confidence Indicated category,” she said.

A scoping study is planned for later this year.

Lake Throssell presents a number of opportunities for Trigg and in addition to the strong scale and brine characteristics of the region, there are numerous other competitive advantages including proximity to energy and transport infrastructure.

The company’s total Mineral Resource inventory now stands at more than 20Mt of drainable SOP, with substantial upside to expand further.

Updated exploration targets

Based on results of the exploration activities, the Exploration Target has been updated with strong potential to expand the Mineral Resource. The new Exploration Target, in addition to the Mineral Resource, has been defined as a range of 2.6-9.4Mt at 9.5-10.3kg/m3 potassium sulphate (K2SO4).

With a strike length of 36km of interpreted palaeovalley already explored, a further 34km has been designated for tenement applications, which are considered to host similar geology and brine characteristics.

The updated exploration target encompasses the granted tenement and the surrounding pending tenements which have been applied for. There has been no work completed on the pending tenements, however Trigg Mining anticipates these tenements will be granted.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Trigg Mining 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.