Hot on the heels of last week’s exploration target upgrade, Jindalee Resources Limited (ASX:JRL) has announced a maiden JORC 2012 compliant mineral resource estimate for its McDermitt Sedimentary Lithium Project, located in Oregon, USA.
The resource estimate has been calculated using a cut-off grade of 1,750 parts per million (ppm) lithium (Li), which is close to the upper end of the previous exploration target, indicating that the company appears to be more focused on grade than tonnes.
The inferred resource estimate tonnage of 150mt is at a grade of 1.1% Li2CO3. At this tonnage, the deposit is a mid-tonnage sedimentary lithium deposit, larger than Noram Ventures’ Zeus Project but smaller than Plateau Energy Metals’ Falchani deposit (Figure 1, horizontal axis).
In terms of grade, McDermitt currently lies in the middle of the grade curve, above Hawkstone Mining’s Big Sandy Project and below Falachani (Figure 1, vertical axis). Based on both the tonnage and grade, the contained Li2CO3.is currently in the mid-range compared to its peer group and is of a similar size to the Shavazsay deposit located in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Figure 1, data point size).
Compared to the exploration target, announced last week, this mineral resource estimate is within the range that we would have expected, based on the high cut-off grade. In addition to the resource, there is an exploration target range of 180-330mt at a grade range of 1,800-2,200ppm Li; this is exclusive of the resource estimate.
The lower end of this range has been shown in figure one as a grey halo and the upper end as a black halo. Based on the lower end of the range, the exploration target and resource estimate would be 69% larger than the current resource estimate on a contained Li2CO3 basis. Using the upper end of the range, the exploration target and resource estimate would be 244% larger than the current resource estimate and larger than both Falanchi and Ioneers’ Rhyolite Ridge Project.
Jindalee is planning future drill programs to increase the density of information across the claim area and expand the mineral resource estimate and potential increase the category of the resource estimate. Alongside this additional metallurgical test work will be undertaken and the company will be reviewing options and timelines for early-stage permitting.
