Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLLL) has received high-grade results from drilling outside the resource area of the Core property, confirming upside potential of its lithium project in North Carolina, USA.
Final results from phase III drilling at Core have returned broad, high-grade intervals of up to 8.2 metres at 1.91% lithium oxide within a single pegmatite.
Piedmont’s president and CEO Keith Phillips said: “These results demonstrate the potential to expand the resource on our Core property, and we are optimistic that the Sunnyside and Central properties hold significant potential as well.
“Our scoping study demonstrated the strong economics of a 13-year project based on our current resource.
“We believe future drilling may extend the project life and enhance the project economics as well as the strategic value of this unique American resource.”
READ: Piedmont Lithium’s scoping study delivers compelling economics for integrated lithium project
The drilling campaign of 124 holes for 21,363 metres, consisted of infill drilling along the trends defined by the phase II program and exploratory drilling of targets with little or no prior drilling.
Assays from drilling of seven holes for 911 metres at the Sunnyside property are pending while initial drilling is underway at Central property with two of three holes completed.
Most holes outside resource
The latest results were received after the cut-off date and are not included in the maiden mineral resource estimate of 16.2 million tonnes at 1.12% lithium oxide.
One hole returned 15.8 metres of non-continuous cumulative thickness of mineralisation.
As well as the 8.2-metre intersection, it also included 3.2 metres at 1.25% lithium oxide and 2.8 metres at 1.05%.
Drill hole locations at the Core property.
Another hole returned 21.3 metres of non-continuous cumulative thickness of mineralisation across six dykes, including 6.0 metres at 1.31% and 7.45 metres at 1.04%.
13 metres at 1.06% lithium oxide
There was 18.5 metres of cumulative thickness in a third hole across three pegmatites, including 13.0 metres at 1.06% and 4.4 metres at 1.11%.
The 15 holes reported from the Core property were not used in the maiden mineral resource estimate and the majority occur outside of the resource boundary.
Consistent results
Twelve of the 15 encountered similar results consistent with the prior 109 holes reported for the phase III campaign.
All of the initial drilling at the Sunnyside and Central properties targeted spodumene pegmatite outcrop and sub-crop occurrences.
In addition, magnetometer and soil sampling surveys have been completed on both properties.
Results of both surveys are expected in the coming weeks and will aid in geologic interpretations and drill hole targeting.
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The company holds a 100% interest in the Piedmont project which is within the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (TSB) and along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines.
Historically, these mines provided most of the western world’s lithium between the 1950s and the 1990s.
The TSB has been described as one of the largest lithium provinces in the world and is about 25 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina.