Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) has completed resource drilling at Grants deposit within the wholly-owned Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory with intersections of up to 37 metres of spodumene pegmatite.
High-grade lithium assays from the only hole received to date are in line with resource grade and width with results of 17 metres at 1.51% lithium oxide from 295 metres and 6.6 metres at 1.37% from 268.4 metres.
The Grants resource is the first spodumene pegmatite deposit Core plans to mine in the development schedule of the Finniss Lithium Project.
Drilling to "add more tonnes"
Core’s managing director Stephen Biggins said: “Core’s 2020 lithium resource drilling at Grants has now been successfully completed in line with our plans.
“The company’s targeted drilling at Grants is expected to be successful in adding more tonnes at a pretty decent lithium grade.
“Importantly, this drilling will enable Core to be able to convert a high proportion of the inferred resource at Grants to indicated and reserves and add further increases to the life of mine at Finniss.
“We are aiming to complete geological and geotechnical logging of the recently drilled core samples and receive most of the remaining drill assays in January.
“Core will then announce a new resource at Grants in due course as we lead into the DFS update and look to ramp-up lithium exploration and resource growth drilling in the first half of 2021.”
Resource infill and expansion
Core has been undertaking a program of resource infill and expansion at Grants during the last two months.
Three drill rigs - one reverse circulation (RC) and two diamond - have been operating at the Grants ore body to a maximum downhole depth of 342.5 metres.
Most of the drill holes intersected over 20 metres of pegmatite, which correlates well with Core’s existing resource model at Grants and is expected to result in the high conversion of inferred mineral resource to the indicated category.
New indicated resources at Grants are expected to positively contribute to increasing the bankable life of mine (LOM) in Core’s updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) in 2021.
Geological and geotechnical logging
Drilling achieving excellent core recovery throughout, with a majority of the planned targets intersected as planned.
Geological and geotechnical logging of drill core is underway with further drill assays to be received in January 2021 ahead of an updated resource estimate.