Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZS, OTC:AZRMF) continues to confirm the potential of its Andover Project to help satisfy the growing global demand for critical minerals by delivering extensive thick, high-grade lithium intersections in early diamond drilling at Target Area 3 (TA3).
Assay results received to date from this drilling confirm that extensive and high-grade Li2O mineralisation is present in multiple pegmatites over 500 metres of strike in the AP0003/AP0004 pegmatite.
This correlates with previously reported visually significant quantities of spodumene within the pegmatites.
Thick, high-grade results
Results include:
- 37 metres at 1.22% Li2O from 22.8 metres in ANDD0285;
- 66.9 metres at 1.18% from 41 metres in ANDD0289;
- 36.6 metres at 1.16% from 15.5 metres in ANDD0292;
- 65.4 metres at 1.11% from 29 metres in ANDD0293; and
- 34.9 metres at 1.57% from 41.1 metres in ANDD0294.
Azure’s managing director Tony Rovira said: “We’re very pleased that our initial drilling at TA3 has delivered such strong results, with numerous broad, high-grade lithium intersections returned from pegmatites extending over hundreds of metres of strike length.
“Encouragingly, the early visual identification of substantial quantities of spodumene in the drill core has been validated by corresponding high-grade lithium assays returned from those same intervals."
Andover Lithium Project showing pegmatite outcrops and target areas.
Encouraging observations
The company also continues to observe significant spodumene mineralisation in the AP0003/AP0004 pegmatite over more than 1,000 metres of strike and 450 metres of down-dip extent, providing encouragement as it awaits assay results.
These include:
- ANDD0303 intersected 91.6 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 82.5 metres within a 93-metre-wide pegmatite;
- ANDD0306 intersected 59 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 57.3 metres within a 62.9-metre-wide pegmatite;
- ANDD0316 intersected 36 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 181.3 metres within a 38.8-metre-wide pegmatite;
- ANDD0322 intersected 49.9 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 256.8 metres within a 65.8-metre-wide pegmatite; and
- ANDD0312 intersected 47.2 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 35.4 metres within a 54-metre-wide pegmatite.
A growing system
“Drilling is continuing with many holes intersecting visible spodumene and expanding the known extents of the mineralised system to well over one kilometre in strike length, auguring well for additional mineralised intersections to be reported in the near future,” Rovira said.
“These results justify TA3’s early status as one of Azure’s highest-ranked lithium targets at Andover.
“The continual delivery of the substantial results we’ve seen over the past six months from both Target Areas 1 and 3 strongly supports our exploration target and confirms that Andover is a lithium project of global significance.”
Further promise
Azure has also confirmed lithium mineralisation in the AP0005 pegmatite over a strike of more than 300 metres with results of:
- 14.2 metres at 1.03% Li2O from 144.1 metres in ANDD0285; and
- 6.9 metres at 1.48% from 102.4 metres in ANDD0292.
There have also been high percentages of spodumene mineralisation observed in drill core from the AP0001 and AP0002 pegmatites with assays pending.
The Andover pegmatite swarm extends over an area of 9 kilometres (east-west) and up to 5 kilometres (north-south) comprising hundreds of outcropping pegmatites with many containing high lithium grades identified from widespread surface sampling and confirmed by extensive drilling.
Ongoing drilling
To date, 33 diamond core holes have been completed for 7,258 metres at TA3 within an overall total for the Andover Lithium Project of 125 diamond core holes for 38,346 metres, 91 RC holes for 17,238 metres, 36 RC pre-collars for 7,718 metres and 25 diamond core tails for 5,351 metres.
Five diamond rigs continue to test the AP0001-0005 pegmatites in Target Area 3 focused on strike extensional drilling to define the maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE).
One RC rig and three diamond rigs are also drilling in Target Area 1 with a combination of exploration and infill drilling continuing to grow and define the AP0011 mineralised pegmatite to MRE status.