Green Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:GT1) says the new Blue Bear discovery at its flagship Seymour Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada, is the first in 50 years.
The discovery, roughly 500 metres south-east of the Aubry Complex on the Pye West Limb, bears a similar strike and geometry to the large lithium deposit and sits within the same current mine permitting and baseline study boundary.
Pegmatite bedrock
The company found the new target almost by chance.
During drill site preparation, the dozer cleared an access track and pad for the diamond rig, exposing a small area, about one square metre, of bedrock beneath a thin layer of glacial till.
The team quickly identified the bedrock as spodumene-bearing pegmatite and this was subsequently confirmed by the Bruker–Raman Spectrometer.
GT1 hypothesises that the two deposits may be associated and potentially connected at depth, forming a larger mineralising system which GT1 plans to test as soon as possible with step-out drilling.
New discovery located under thin cover of glacial till.
Delineation drilling in progress
The company quickly started delineation diamond drilling at the new discovery, starting with shallow scissor holes to determine strike and dip of the LCT pegmatite.
Initial indications are showing the pegmatite is striking north-northwest with an apparent dip direction of east-northeast, dipping 10-30 degrees.
Of the 14 holes drilled to date, all have intersected pegmatite and 12 have intersected significant pegmatite intersections.
Six channel samples have returned assays including:
- 12.4 metres @ 2.38% lithium dioxide (Li2O);
- 14.2 metres @ 1.17% Li2O (including 11.5 metres @ 1.52% Li2O);
- 13.9 metres @ 1.53% Li2O from 13.8 metres (including 8.8 metres @ 2.27% Li2O); and
- 14.4 metres @ 1.30% Li2O from 21.1 metres (including 10.8 metres @ 1.72% Li2O).
The first hole was drilled in an easterly direction from the pad where the initial outcrop was uncovered and returned 7.1 metres of weathered pegmatite.
GT1 continues to work with the diamond drill and channel sampling to delineate the Blue Bear deposit down dip and along strike, while a second diamond rig has been deployed for sterilisation drilling at the Seymour plant site.
Testament to team’s abilities
“This is the first discovery at Seymour in over 50 years,” CEO Luke Cox said. “To find a spodumene-bearing pegmatite under cover using classic geological and modern geophysical and geochemical techniques is testament to the abilities of the GT1 technical team and our exploration modelling.”
“We will now drive hard to rapidly delineate the scale of this new discovery, as well as testing further new targets in this area of North Seymour. This is expected to culminate in an updated mineral resource estimate for the Seymour Project in coming months.
“We also continue to rapidly progress preliminary economic assessment work on a development of Seymour, with scheduled completion in Q1 2023.”
Further target pipeline
The new discovery validates GT1’s exploration model for target generation at Seymour – in particular the ability to find non-outcropping pegmatites beneath glacial till.
The refined target set now offers numerous similar targets in the broader northern Seymour Project area, including along the same Pye West Limb where Blue Bear discovery is situated.
Exploration drilling programs are planned to progressively test this new target pipeline at Seymour over the next 12 months.