We’re about to find just out how prospective Summit Minerals’ Phillips River project really is

Special Report: Critical minerals explorer Summit Minerals has just completed a project-wide geochemical soil sampling for lithium and other elements at its Phillips River project in southwest WA, with high priority targets to be defined for exploration early next year.

Summit Minerals’ (ASX:SUM) 45km2 Phillips River project is just 2.5km southeast of Bulletin Resources’ (ASX:BNR) Phillips South lithium discovery and its Ravensthorpe lithium project – where rock chips returned Li2O grades of up to an impressive 7.04% – as well as Allkem’s (ASX:AKE) Mt Cattlin lithium mine and processing plant 20km to the north.

Super-sized soil sampling program

A whopping 727 soil samples and 13 rock chips were collected as part of an ultrafine soils program. Rock chips were taken where outcropping rocks showed anomalies that have now been sent to the lab for analysis.

SUM CEO Gower He says the team are delighted to have commissioned and completed a comprehensive soil sampling program at Phillips River after weather delays.

“The recent exploration success of BNR, coupled with the existing lithium resources in the area, has highlighted the prospectivity of the region for multiple commodities, including a suite of critical minerals and lithium,” He says.

Summit Minerals (ASX:SUM) — Soil and rock chip samples taken across the Phillips River project. Source: SUM

High-priority targets to be drilled in 2024

SUM plans to reference the results against baseline geology and geophysical data, including several features delineated in the recent high-resolution magnetic and infrared imagery.

The company anticipates the generation of any gold and battery mineral targets and trends will be drill-tested during the 2024 field season.

“We anticipate that the program will help identify high-priority targets and trends suitable for drill testing during 2024,” He says.

“We look forward to updating the market on our results which are expected in the new year, which in turn will guide future exploration at the project.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Summit 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.