St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has confirmed the presence of lithium-bearing pegmatites from surface up to 220 metres in its maiden 2022 drill campaign at the Mt Alexander Lithium Project in West Australia.
The first batch of laboratory assays from the reconnaissance drilling has returned anomalous lithium values in every pegmatite tested with a number of intersections of greater than 1% lithium oxide and intervals of anomalous lithium up to 14 metres thick.
Notably, the assays also contain elevated values for tantalum, caesium and rubidium, providing further evidence of the fertility of the pegmatites for lithium mineralisation.
Looking ahead, an expanded reverse circulation (RC) drill campaign is currently underway at the project with 20,000 metres of exploration drilling expected in the first half of this year and additional RC and diamond drilling to be scheduled throughout 2023.
Important exploration milestone
St George executive chairman John Prineas said: “I am pleased to report that the St George team is on the ground at Mt Alexander and has kicked off the 2023 drill program, in line with our promise to shareholders.
"This expanded drill program is built on the maiden campaign we undertook in late 2022 and which is now delivering the first batch of highly encouraging assays.
“Those initial results from the 2022 program demonstrate that the lithium-mineralised pegmatite outcrops identified from rock chip sampling continue below the surface with mineralisation open at depth.
“This is an important exploration milestone for Mt Alexander and provides strong encouragement for the potential of systematic exploration of the extensive pegmatites at Mt Alexander to delineate significant lithium mineralisation.
“We are excited to be ramping up our drill program which is designed as a step-out and discovery campaign of drilling across our 15-kilometre-long pegmatite corridor.
Maiden drill program
St George’s maiden drill program comprised primarily shallow RC holes testing a small part of the interpreted 15-kilometre-long and 5-kilometre-wide pegmatite corridor.
The program was designed to confirm the continuity and orientation of lithium-bearing outcrops below the surface at Mt Alexander.
Several drill holes intersected more than one pegmatite, indicating the likely presence of multiple stacked pegmatite units.
Further drilling will be designed to investigate if these pegmatites potentially merge at deeper levels or are otherwise associated with a larger pegmatite body down-dip.
Positive results from the 2022 drilling at the Jailbreak Prospect also provide confidence for a larger scale drill program to systematically test the extensive pegmatite system across the strike of St George’s landholding.
J1 Pegmatite cross section showing interpreted pegmatites at the Jailbreak Prospect.
Expanded drilling program
Drilling has resumed at Mt Alexander with a major expanded drill campaign that will for the first time systematically explore the extensive pegmatite system at Mt Alexander.
The program is designed to test multiple new target areas within the 15-kilometre-long pegmatite corridor as well as down dip and along strike from the 2022 drill holes completed at the Jailbreak Prospect.
New programs of work for drilling have been approved and include several areas not previously drilled for lithium, including the highly prospective contact adjacent to the Copperfield Granite, which is directly along strike from the significant lithium discoveries by Red Dirt Metals at its Mt Ida Project.
St George is well-funded and has the support of its strategic partners to expand drilling and ramp up exploration activities based on results.
Map of the Jailbreak Prospect map showing the location of the planned drill holes, the 2022 drilling and the target pegmatites.
Forward plan
With the funding support of the company’s newly announced strategic partners, St George has been able to aggressively expand the 2023 drill program.
In addition to the drilling underway, the following work programs are planned for 2023:
- assays for soil surveys at E29/962, which have the potential to identify a lithium signature in an area where pegmatites are not exposed due to cover;
- assays for completed rock chip sampling of pegmatites;
- further assays from the 2022 RC and diamond drilling programs; and
- further field mapping and rock chip sampling, which are already underway.
Significant delays have been experienced with laboratory assay turnarounds and future laboratory arrangements are being reviewed with further assays expected this month.
Prineas adds: “The backing of our strategic partners – leading lithium-ion battery companies Shanghai Jayson, SVOLT Energy and Sunwoda Electronic – means we also have the flexibility to add to the Mt Alexander drill program with further RC and diamond holes as results warrant.
“Mt Alexander is an exciting lithium opportunity and just one of several highly prospective battery minerals projects in St George’s expanding pipeline.
“Investors can expect steady news flow over the coming months, with drilling updates and assay results from Mt Alexander to be released as available while we progress exploration activities at our other exciting projects across Western Australia.”