Soil sampling has given Aurumin Limited the belief it could have lithium in its Mt Palmer project that straddles Western Australia’s town of Southern Cross. Analysis of elements associated with the battery metal lit up multiple targets, including some coincident with historical pegmatite intercepts of up to 50m that had previously only been tested for gold.
The findings come from a broad-spaced soil sampling program completed in a 25 square kilometre area of the southern portion of the project. The company says its boots are already traversing the same area, collecting further infill samples and performing geological reconnaissance.
Owing to its elemental characteristics, the lightest metal of them all – lithium – cannot be detected by the commonly-used portable exploration technique of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Unable to establish a direct reading of lithium abundance, Aurumin has employed Portable Spectral Services and its proprietary method ‘The Lithium Index’ to conclude Mt Palmer’s prospectivity.
Interestingly, the technique uses detectable elements that correlate to lithium-caesium-tantalum enriched pegmatites to evaluate the fertility of rocks.
All samples from the first phase have been dispatched to the lab for full analysis, with results expected to return within eight weeks. The more thorough lab analysis will reveal readings on a whole suite of elements including gold and lithium along with its associates.
A pegmatite is a geological term for a rock with an abnormally large and coarse interlocking crystal structure. Notably, pegmatites are highly sought after when found to be enriched with lithium.
Aurumin notes some of the generated targets coincide with historically logged pegmatite in drilling and where outcropping pegmatites have been observed. Encouragingly, those previously encountered were never assayed for lithium, leaving plenty of potential on the table for the explorer.
The company says it has identified flatter lying pegmatites in Mt Palmer, analogous to those 65km south at Mt Holland. Notably, both sightings occur within the same regional greenstone belt running north-south from Southern Cross down to Forrestania.
The Mt Holland project contains the Earl Grey lithium deposit standing tall at a whopping 189 million tonnes grading 1.5 per cent lithium oxide.
The impressive deposit was discovered in 2016 by the previously ASX-listed Kidman Resources and since 2019 has been held by a joint venture between the Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers and Chilean lithium giant Sociedad Química y Minera.
Aurumin believes its new targets are in a ‘Goldilocks Zone’ as they are between one and four kilometres from the contact of granite and greenstones. It suggests the Zone is considered the most favourable geological setting for lithium enriched pegmatites.
The explorer draws other geological similarities between the two projects; however, greater clarity will require a drill and assay. Management says it is planning to wheel in the rig and get drilling as soon as it has the necessary permits in hand.
Traditionally, Mt Palmer is a gold project, reportedly having produced about 158,000 ounces of gold at a respectable grade of 15.9 grams per tonne gold to the time of 1944.
However, considering the parabolic price rise in lithium over recent years, Aurumin is leaving no stone unturned.
The International Monetary Fund has suggested a fast energy transition towards net-zero could require a staggering 40-fold increase in the consumption of lithium for electric cars.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
