Kairos kicks off Pilbara lithium hunt

Kairos Minerals is set to begin drilling at its Lucky Stump prospect where spodumene pegmatite samples grading up to 1.9 per cent lithium oxide were discovered near the company’s Mt York project in the Pilbara.

The 16-hole RC drilling campaign is planned to cover 2400m and target multiple spodumene pegmatites that form part of a larger swarm at Mt York only 4km south of Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum mine.

The drill program will test to a depth of 150m over the entire Lucky Sump prospect with first holes planned to be drilled within a week.

The target area is appropriately named after five spodumene pegmatite samples were discovered at the end of June as earth-moving equipment was digging a sump as part of a gold drilling program at Kairos’ Mt York gold project about 100km south-east of Port Hedland.

Another notable sample recorded 1.56 per cent lithium oxide in addition to a splash of anomalous rubidium, caesium, beryllium and tantalum mineralisation speckled across each of the five samples bagged.

Kairos Minerals Managing Director, Dr Peter Turner said: “This drilling program has potential to create significant value for Kairos shareholders and will be conducted in parallel with our major, extensional drilling program for gold at the neighbouring 1.1 million-ounce Mt York gold deposit”

Just last month Kairos recorded a significant increase to the mineral resource at its Mt York gold project that now boasts a 1.1 million ounce asset base up about 26 per cent from previous projections.

The flagship project now boasts a 28.01 million tonne resource running 1.23 grams per tonne gold up from a 2020 figure of 20.9 million tonne at 1.30 g/t gold for 873,500 ounces.

The updated resource includes results from the company’s Main Hill, The Gap, Breccia Hill, Gossan Hill, Iron Stirrup and Old Faithful deposits.

However, the recent pegmatite discovery in addition to its close proximity to Pilgangoora has sparked excitement in the company over the site’s lithium potential.

Last October, Pilbara Minerals upgraded its proved and probable ore reserves at Pilgangoora to 162 million tonnes, grading 1.2 per cent lithium oxide, 100 parts per million tantalum pentoxide and 1.0 per cent ferric oxide and is now considered one of the biggest hard rock lithium deposits in the world.

Kairos has also identified the company’s wholly owned Lalla Rookh project to the north-east of Mt York where it has uncovered extensive lithium-caesium-tantalum targets prospective for lithium mineralisation.

A previous pegmatite rock chip sampling program at the tenure coughed up 0.57 per cent lithium oxide and anomalous pathfinder elements generally associated with LCT pegmatites including rubidium, caesium and beryllium.

Whilst Mt York continues to prove a successful gold operation for Kairos, the lithium results from its upcoming RC program could well decide the company’s next steps in the Pilbara.

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