Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM) plans to begin a stage-2 diamond drilling program next month at Mary Valley Manganese Project in Queensland designed to extend high-grade mineralisation intersected during initial exploration drilling in 2018.
Permits to drill second phase diamond drilling are in place and a program of work has been formalised with the primary target being the historically mined Amamoor district.
The company has engaged personnel to supervise the drilling program in conjunction with technical direction from the board.
Drilling to begin in September
Eclipse has a preferred contractor with the appropriate drilling rig and experience in the area who has advised availability to begin the drilling program during September 2020.
Executive chairman Carl Popal said: “As demand for clean energy and energy storage, catalytic application and sensor application material increases, Eclipse is better positioned to develop its DSO manganese project, containing metallurgically acceptable mineralisation characteristics for near-term commercial development for the battery, ferroalloy and high tensile steel industries.
"At Amamoor, 19,630 tonnes at 51% manganese was extracted and said to have been used in manufacturing alkaline manganese batteries pre-1960s."
Drill samples in 2018 returned assays ranging up to 62% manganese oxide in parallel dipping formations, which are open along strike in both directions and at depth.
It is planned to drill several additional holes to depths of up to 60 metres to test these extensions with a view to establishing the extent of this mineralisation and an initial high-grade minable resource.
"Potential for sizeable lodes"
Popal said: "Eclipse’s technical evaluation in two limited areas of the Mary Valley project area indicated near-surface the potential for sizeable lodes of high-grade manganese mineralisation.
"First stage shallow drilling produced high-grade results including 3.2 metres at 59.8% MnO from a depth of 8.8 metres in steeply-dipping high-grade lenses.
"The second stage drilling program is targeted to delineate extensions of these lenses and to test other mineralised outcrop areas with an aim of developing the potential for a high-grade manganese resource."
Positive metallurgical results
"Our positive metallurgical results have affirmed that mineralisation is amenable to beneficiation with acceptable low phosphorous in concentrates. A smelter grade concentrate was produced from bulk samples," Popal said.
"Overall the results to date have increased the potential for manganese production from Mary Valley.”
Historical production
The Mary Valley Manganese Project is in the Gympie district of southeast Queensland.
The largest mine on EPM17938 was at Amamoor No.1 Manganese deposit with the nearest shipping port from the area near Brisbane, around 130 kilometres to the south.
Amamoor, on tenement EPM17938, is around 6 kilometres to the west of the small town of Amamoor about 20 kilometres south from Gympie, a major regional town with an operating railway line.
The most significant site of manganese mineralisation within the project area is the historical Amamoor Manganese Mine, which had historical production of 19,630 tonnes at 51% manganese.
Mining at this mine occurred in four phases - 1920 to 1926; 1937 and 1938; 1950 to 1954, 1958 and 1959.