Everest Metals has kick-started its latest 40-hole, 1000m drilling campaign at its Mt Edon LCT project, 5km from Paynes Find in Western Australia’s Mid West region, as it chases recently-observed underground pegmatites.
Management says its latest deep-round penetration radar (DGPR) survey work lit up a host of geophysical pegmatite targets, which it now plans to go after in addition to other previously identified lithium, caesium and tantalum pegmatite structures.
The company last month completed its DGPR survey over 21 line kilometres and interpretation of the results shows 133 pegmatite-like anomalies prospective for lithium-tantalum and rare earths mineralisation that extends to depths greater than 50m. The DGPR survey added more than 100 pegmatite targets to the company’s previously-reported 30 surface-mapped outcrops.
Everest Metals chief operating officer Simon Phillips said: “EMC continues to systematically work through its exploration program at Mt Edon, which has culminated in the commencement of this 1,000- metre drilling program, designed to test the best targets for Lithium mineralisation.”
The company bought the Mt Edon mining lease in October last year. The lease was previously worked for tantalum from manganotantalite and alluvial deposits from 1969 to 1974.
Management considers the lease highly-prospective for a suite of valuable critical metals including tantalum, caesium, lithium, rubidium and rare earths, in addition to containing the Mt Edon pegmatite field.
Several large irregular-shaped felsic pegmatites were mapped in early March as intrusions into the Paynes Find Greenstone Belt rocks.
The pegmatites appear to be folded sills dipping in variable directions and angles connected at depth, indicating sill and dyke structures. The pegmatites occur as a folded sill appearing as dykes due to outcrop on fold noses.
Management believes the prospective pegmatites are related to the nearby granite source rock and occur in a north-east striking band, some 1.2km long and 350m wide.
Clusters of pegmatites and layered anomalies are considered by the company to occur along a north-east trending structure that may have controlled pegmatite emplacement in the region. Dyke-like DGPR pegmatite anomalies trending north-easterly and paralleling regional structures are prioritised for drilling because data review suggests they show a threefold increase in mineralisation over the sills.
With the hard work done to find the targets, Everest will be keen to see if the drill bit can indeed add the sausage to the sizzle.
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By Steve Kaless
