Askari maps out priority zones in WA lithium hunt

Battery and gold-focused explorer Askari Metals has underlined 11 compelling target zones at its Yarrie lithium project, about 50km north-east of Marble Bar in WA, after completing phase 1 of its exploration program. The company drew up the list after analysing 129 rock and 238 rock stream- samples bagged in May.

Management has earmarked five of the 11 areas as high priority based on the ground's underlying geology, sample anomalism and structural characteristics. It plans to expedite permits for several areas to accelerate assessments.

The 360-plus samples were collected across nine of Yarrie’s tenements, with multiple pegmatites mapped.

Askari says its newly defined targets were heavily based on anomalous hits of the pathfinder minerals caesium and tantalum that were speckled across its recently acquired stream sediment, soil and rock samples.

Caesium and tantalum are commonly found together with lithium in “LCT”-type pegmatites - strong global sources of the battery mineral.

Talison Lithium’s Greenbushes open-pit mine in WA is possibly one of the most famous examples of the strength of LCT-type pegmatites, with the asset ranked among the largest hard-rock lithium sources in the world. Production at the mine is currently about 1.95 million tonnes of lithium spodumene per year.

According to Askari, its targets are analogous to previously acquired hyperspectral survey data and its geological models

The company says its new target zones take in a number of geological structures that are comparable to other lithium assets in the eastern Pilbara – and there are a few.

Global Lithium Resources’ Archer lithium project is about 30km north of Yarrie and boasts a 10 million tonne-plus resource going 1 per cent lithium oxide.

The battery metals precinct also houses Kalamazoo Resources’ Marble Bar lithium project – an operation that recently received the tick of approval from Chilean-based mega-producer, Sociedad Química y Minera after buying in via a joint venture agreement.

Askari is now looking to launch soil auger and shallow air-core programs across each of the five priority target zones. Management says auger sampling in particular has proved to be a vital tool in vectoring in on lithium in the eastern Pilbara.

A few years ago, a Geoscience Australia-led study found WA controlled most of the nation’s lithium assets, laying claim to more than 90 per cent.

Recent projections by the International Energy Agency suggest that by 2040 lithium demand could be up to about 50 times that of current levels, painting a lucrative picture for companies such as Askari.

In what also bodes well for the project, electric vehicle behemoth Tesla recently posted global Q2 production figures of more than 258,00 units despite pandemic-led interruptions to manufacturing.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au