AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) is set to restart diamond drilling at the Manono Lithium and Tin Project as it looks to significantly increase lithium resources and reserves at Roche Dure.
It will also start a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Manono, targeting eluvial and alluvial tin and tantalum deposits to start shortly with drill pattern designs complete and drilling equipment en-route to site.
Diamond drilling at Roche Dura
AVZ will undertake a 15,000-metre drilling program at the Roche Dure extension, targeting ore to a minimum of 200 metres in depth.
The campaign at Roche Dure is focused on areas identified as highly prospective, which were inaccessible at the time of the last round of resource drilling but remained open at depth and along strike.
AVZ hopes to extend the knowledge of the orebody by approximately another 800 metres from section 7600mN to 8,400mN.
There will be 48 drillholes for a total of 14,905 metres. These will intersect the Roche Dure orebody to an average depth of about 200 metres below ground level which will require an updated JORC2012 compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) to be generated once assay results are received.
Locations of planned drillholes versus existing holes at Roche Dure.
Following that, the geotechnical information gathered during the drilling program will be applied to extend the current open pit mine design to the north-east over any new mineral resources identified during the program.
The company will publish updated mineable reserves based on the new open pit mine design and prevailing lithium price projections.
Drilling underpins future plans
“Given the imperatives around sourcing battery minerals for the global green-energy transition and in line with our February 2022 announcement of funding of a drilling program as part of our Early Works Program, I am pleased to confirm that drilling has recommenced at Roche Dure,” AVZ managing director Nigel Ferguson said.
“Drilling at the north-east end of the known orebody, in areas previously inaccessible due to surface water, is aimed at significantly increasing the known lithium-rich ore resources in this area.
“This will underpin our future plans to extend the stated mine life at Manono, should this drilling campaign prove to be successful.
“The company’s confidence in the Manono Project and continuing lithium-ion battery demand provides a significant opportunity to further increase the known reserves at Roche Dure, which is designed to add long term value for our shareholders and underpin the project’s credentials as the largest global undeveloped hard rock lithium deposit.
“Following the generation of an exploration target for the historical eluvial and alluvial tin deposits north of the pegmatites at Manono, consultants and drilling companies have been contracted to delineate a selection of prospective deposits for an RC drilling campaign to investigate the robustness of the mineralisation and extent of the buried palaeochannels, with a view to possibly generating a maiden mineral resource estimate from this first round of drilling.”
Note, AVZ is currently in voluntary suspension and has been actively engaged with the highest levels of the government with respect to the grant of the mining licence and an update regarding its exploration rights for the Manono Project. It is waiting for a grant of the Permit d’Exploitation (mining licence) and an update regarding exploration rights for its flagship Manono Lithium and Tin Project.