Askari pegs new Pilbara lithium ground

Askari Metals has snapped up over 1700 square kilometres of potentially prospective lithium ground in Western Australia‘s Pilbara region. The company has lodged a series of exploration licence applications that will see it step up its hunt for coveted battery metals such as lithium in an area known for housing some of the world’s largest lithium deposits.

The company says its new project, the Yarrie lithium project, is potentially harbouring lithium, tin and tantalum mineralisation hosted in hard-rock lithium bearing pegmatites.

The ASX-listed explorer’s new pick up enjoys a solid mineral address, with several world-class lithium deposits on its doorstep, namely Pilbara Minerals’ massive Pilgangoora lithium project and Mineral Resources’ Wodgina project.

The region's prospectivity is also underlined by Kalamazoo Resources nearby Marble Bar lithium project, where the company recently kicked off a frenzy of exploration.

The bustling neighbourhood is rounded out by Global Lithium Resources’ Archer lithium deposit that lies just 30km away. Recent work at Archer points to an over 10 million tonne resource grading 1 per cent lithium oxide.

According to Askari, the lithium-bearing pegmatites found at Pilgangoora and Wodgina have been largely concentrated within mafic sequences in contact with granitic intrusions and the company says it has strong evidence that this type of mineralisation could be present on its new Yarrie ground.

It will now run an exploration play at Yarrie that will see it tick off a comprehensive data review and a satellite imagery program ahead of soil and rock chip sampling. The latter will be aimed at defining the area’s outcropping pegmatites, that to-date, are yet to be drill tested.

Askari Metals Executive Director, Gino D'Anna said:“The Pilbara Region in Western Australia hosts some of the world’s largest and highest grade hard-rock lithium projects and has developed a reputation for being the leading jurisdiction for hard-rock lithium exploration, development and production. We are confident that Askari Metals has the right projects and the right team ready to make a discovery in the heart of the eastern Pilbara lithium hotspot.”

Askari’s latest acquisition has seen the traditionally copper and gold focused explorer wade further into the bubbling battery metal space, and even a sniff of lithium from the sampling of pegmatites at its new project could turn a few market heads. Wodgina and Pilgangoora have led the lithium charge in WA and Askari could not hope for a better region to hunt for lithium.

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