Everest Metals Corporation Limited (ASX: EMC) (“EMC” or “the Company”)is pleased to advise that Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drilling has commenced at the Mt Edon LCT Project (M59/714) located 5km southwest of Paynes Find, in the Mid-West region of Western Australia.
The drilling campaign is designed to:
- Drill circa 40 RC drill holes for a total of circa 1,000m
- Focus on and test the recently identified multiple Deep Ground Penetration Radar (“DGPR”) geophysical pegmatite targets
- Follow up on previous geological mapping of Lithium, Caesium, and Tantalum (“LCT”) pegmatite structures
Commenting on Commencement of Drilling at the Mt Edon LCT Project, 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 commends the efforts of the Geological team for its thoroughness through this process, starting with the recognition of signature Lithium, Caesium, Rubidium and Tantalum to the recently finalised Deep Ground Penetration Radar Geophysical Survey, giving all stakeholders the highest possibility of exploration success.”
BACKGROUND
Mt Edon LCT Project sits on mining lease (M59/704) and covers the southern portion of the Paynes Find greenstone belt in the southern Murchison which hosts an extensive pegmatite field. There are several large irregular shaped felsic pegmatites which have intruded into the Paynes Find Greenstone Belt, a northeast trending sequence of mafic, ultramafic, and sedimentary rocks, with east-west structures cutting these metasediments. Pegmatites appear to be folded sills dipping in variable directions and angles and are connected at depth representing both sill and dyke structures. These prospective pegmatites have a northeast-southwest strike of up to 350m and occur along a 1.2km interval of the LCT Pegmatite corridor.
From the previously completed rock chip sampling program, up to 2.7% Lithium grades (Li2O), Tantalum grades up to 1046ppm (Ta2 O5), and Caesium grades of up to 5057ppm (Cs2O) were reported from sampling of pegmatite outcrops[1]. The Potassium / Rubidium (K/Rb) ratio of this sampling program reflects the degree of substitution of Rb for K in the mica’s crystal structure and most of the samples are indicative of highly to moderately fractionated pegmatites.
Figure 1: Planned drilling program at Mt Edon LCT Project
EMC funded a due diligence reconnaissance RC drilling program. A total of 507m of drilling was completed in late October 2022. The drilling was conducted from 8 drilling fence lines and included 24 shallow holes with an average depth of 21m. Assays returned encouraging results with elevated Rubidium (Rb) up to 3,670 ppm, Caesium (Cs) up to 354 ppm, Tantalum (Ta) up to 219 ppm, and Lithium (Li) up to 1220 ppm. The maiden drilling program determined the subsurface lithium-bearing potential of the Project area below the weathered zone and indicated that pegmatites have moderate to strong fractionation characteristics. Interpretation of results from the reconnaissance drilling program has confirmed the pegmatite samples are anomalous in terms of rare metals by a median factor of around 14 times higher than background host rock and suggest that there are several prospective targets for lithium-bearing pegmatites within the Project area[2].
The detail geological-structural mapping was carried out in early March 2023 over 192.4 hectares, an area of approximately 1.6km by 1.2km. The geological mapping successfully identified several previously unrecorded LCT pegmatite and quartz bearing veins in the mining lease[3]. Interpretation of mapping data combined with the re- interpretation of reconnaissance drilling data has provided a better understanding of thickness and lateral distribution of pegmatites.
Then, the DGPR geophysical survey at Mt Edon was carried out in early April 2023. 19 survey profiles at nominally 100m spacing and two extra feature profiles (50m) were surveyed along lines-oriented northwest-southeast (130°-310°) approximately perpendicular to the pegmatite trends that had been previously and recently mapped at surface and in total 21-line kilometres of DGPR survey was completed. A total of 133 pegmatite-like anomalies have been interpreted including 116 dykes and 17 sills, compared to approximately 30 mapped pegmatites by surface geological mapping. This represents a +300% increase in the number of new pegmatites identified by the DGPR survey, a staggering result given the relatively good outcrop. All anomalies have been evaluated and 35 of them ranked as priority 1 for drilling. The DGPR was successful in identifying subsurface interpreted continuation of outcropping pegmatites down to a depth of more than 50m. The survey could delineate the presence of potential blind pegmatites like targets at depth for follow up assessment[4].
[1] ASX: EMC announcement; Mt Edon Rock chip Sampling Indicates Fertile Well Developed Rare Element Pegmatite Structure, dated 24 October 2022
[2] ASX: EMC announcement; Drilling Results Highlight Extensive Well Developed Pegmatite Field, dated 13 January 2023.
[3] ASX: EMC announcement; Mt Edon Project Exploration Update, dated 29 March 2023.
[4] ASX: EMC announcement; Deep Ground Penetration Radar (DGPR) Geophysical Survey Successfully Identifies Previously Undiscovered Pegmatite Targets at Mt Edon Project, dated 1 May 2023
