New Lithium and Tin targets identified at Trident Project in NSW

KEY POINTS:

• A recent review by TSC of geochemical and historical sample data has highlighted new lithium and tin targets at TSC’s 100% owned Trident Project in NSW
• Historical geochemical sampling results within the tenement area include the following encouraging rock chip samples¹:
  • Triumph Mine: 63% Li2O
  • Lady Don Mine: 45% Li2O
  • Trident Mine: 88% Li2O
  • Sceptre Mine: 56% Li2O
  • Esams No.2 Mine: 05% Li2O
• Historical drill hole RC10ME011 returned grades of up to 1m @ 0.46% Sn and 3m @ 0.35% Sn within a pegmatite²
• Minimal systematic exploration has been carried out within the tenement for LCT pegmatites or pathfinder elements
• Lithium carbonate and spodumene prices are at three-year highs, due largely to an upsurge in electric vehicle sales and depleting stocks of the battery input material
• A broad geochemical sampling program is currently being planned and will be initiated within the next few weeks ahead of planned drill testing of high-priority targets which will be taking place over the coming months

 

Commenting on the upcoming exploration plans for Trident, CEO Simon Phillips said:

 

From the outset, TSC’s geological team has been focused on compiling and interpreting all available historical data on the highly prospective Trident Project in NSW. Trident is located to the North of our IOCG-prospective Midas Project in a highly prospective region of Broken Hill.

This recent work follows up the encouraging historical lithium and tin occurrences already identified across a large portion of the Trident Project.  As a result, we will initiate a wide geochemical soil testing program with the aim of drill testing several of these priority targets over the coming months.

TSC is extremely encouraged by these latest results in what is a very buoyant lithium market, and we are looking forward to getting our targeted work program underway in NSW.”

 

Figure 1: Looking SSW at the Triumph Pegmatite (source Dukovic, 2017¹)

 

Twenty Seven Co. Limited (ASX: TSC) (“TSC” or “the Company”) is pleased to report that TSC’s geological team has identified several new lithium and tin occurrences within the Company’s 100% owned Trident Project in NSW that warrant follow-up exploration.

Over recent weeks, TSC’s technical team has been compiling historical geochemical data from the NSW MinView geological database over the Trident Project, which has led to the identification of these new lithium and tin targets. These anomalies have coincidental lithium, caesium and tantalum, with ± niobium, ± tin which suggest the presence of lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites (LCT pegmatites).

The LCT pegmatites in the Project area have been sampled by previous explorers and show that lithium occurs within amblygonite, and lesser spodumene which are both important minerals for lithium mining.  Historically, sporadic tin mining occurred in the Euriowie Tin Field from the 1880’s to 1970’s, leaving the area littered with evidence of old workings.

 

Local Geology and Mineralisation

 

Rocks of the Neoproterozoic Torrowangee Group including conglomerate, siltstone and sandstone dominate the southern half of the Trident Project. These rocks form the north-westerly trending Barrier Ranges. Rocks of the Willyama Supergroup including the Thackaringa Group, Allendale Metasediments from the Broken Hill Group and the Sundown Group dominate the central portion of the Trident Project, while rocks of the Paragon Group including the Cartwrights Creek Metasediments and Bijerkerno Metasediments dominate the northern part of Trident. Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic pegmatites intrude the Willyama Supergroup rocks throughout the tenement.

Figure 2: Trident geology map showing locations of lithium targets

 

As mentioned previously, the Trident Project is littered with historical workings.  The below table outlines some of the more prominent workings:

Mine	Information	LPD Rock Chips3
Triumph Mine	Operated as a mine circa 1888. Mapping and geochemical sampling activities from the 1980s. Workings consisted of numerous pits and costeans targeting pegmatites that vary from 1m to 5m in width. Historic records show amblygonite occurrences of 30t – 40t.	Up to 7.63% Li2O
Lady Don Mine	Mining leases from 1884 to the mid-1970s. At least 500t of ore mined from shallow pits, shafts and adits. Reports of folded pegmatite from 2m and up to 20m wide.	Up to 4.45% Li2O
Trident Mine	Mining leases held over the area from 1884 to the early 1980s. Recent geological mapping, rock chip and stream sediment sampling. Goldrim Mining Australia Limited carried out exploration focussed on tantalite and tin. Government mapping indicates pegmatite up to 60m wide and 300m long.	Up to 3.88% Li2O
Sceptre Mine	Mining leases held over the area from 1884 to the mid-1970s. The mine was operated for tin, amblygonite and beryl. Ore body was reported to extend approximately 230m with a maximum central width of 40m. The historic mine consists of numerous pits and shafts.	Up to 1.56% Li2O
Esams No.2 Mine	Numerous pits and adits at the northern end of documented pegmatite extending approximately 200m with a variable width of 0.5m to 5m. Pegmatite body consists of several lenses and may contain echelon boudinage.	Up to 1.05% Li2O

 

Next Steps

 

TSCs next steps set to be undertaken over the coming months include:

• Undertake rock chip sampling over prospective pegmatites within Trident and subsequently visit the Perseus tenement,
• Commence drilling key anomalies at the Rover Project in WA, and
• Commence geochemical sampling along the Edale shear at Rover.

References

1. Dukovic, T. (2017) Annual Report for EL8468 for the Period 22 September 2016 to September 2017. Unpublished Report Mica Exploration Areas Pty Ltd, GSNSW Report GS2018_0298_RE0010150_ALL.EL8468 Annual Exploration Report 2017.
2. Hill, Q., Tedman-Jones C., Donohue, J. (2011). Third Annual Report for the period ending 6 November 2010 EL6936. Unpublished Report from Carpentaria Exploration Ltd, GSNSW Report GS2011_0385_RE0000910_ALL.3rd Annual Report EL6936 Euriowie 2010 Carpentaria.
3. Lepidico (ASX: LPD 2016)

 

Regional Geology

 

Trident is in the north-eastern part of the Broken Hill Block within the Curnamona Craton, an ovoid-shaped craton of Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic rocks of the Willyama Supergroup (1720-1640Ma) which hosts the Broken Hill stratabound lead-zinc-silver deposits and numerous small metalliferous occurrences. The Willyama Supergroup in the Broken Hill and Euriowie Blocks comprises aluminous metasedimentary gneisses, plus locally abundant albite-rich rocks, lesser quartzo-feldspathic gneisses, minor but widespread basic gneisses, substantial bodies of deformed pegmatite and leucocratic quartzo-feldspathic rocks, and very minor iron, manganese and zinc-rich rocks. The supergroup is interpreted to be deposited in an epicontinental basin within a continental rift zone. The Neoproterozoic Adelaidean sequence unconformably overlies the Willyama Supergroup and can be correlated with the more extensive Adelaidean in South Australia. Rocks of the Torrowangee Group consist of conglomerates including glacial diamictites, siltstone, sandstone, shale and dolomite, equivalent to the Umberatana Group (Stevens 1998). The Willyama Supergroup hosts mineralisation found in the Broken Hill region. Stratiform and stratabound lead‐zinc‐silver ± tungsten deposits occur in the Broken Hill Group (more specifically the Purnamoota Subgroup). These include the Broken Hill orebodies, which occur in the Hores Gneiss at the top of the sequence. Within the Thackaringa Group, stratiform cobaltiferous pyrite, and iron‐copper sulphides associated with quartz‐magnetite, occur in the Himalaya Formation, and minor Broken Hill‐type lead‐zinc mineralisation occurs in the Cues Formation (Willis I L, 1983).

 

Figure 3: Location of TSCs Broken Hill tenements specifically the Trident tenement which is prospective for lithium, towards the north of the tenure

 

Competent Person’s Statement

 

The information in this report relates to historical mineral exploration results and is based on work reviewed and compiled by Mr. Stephen F Pearson, a Competent Person and Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Pearson is a beneficiary of a trust which is a shareholder of TSC. Mr. Pearson is a Senior Geologist for GEKO-Co Pty Ltd and contracted to the Company as Exploration Manager and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr. Pearson consents to the inclusion in this report of the information in the form and context in which it appears. The Australian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

• the Exploration Results have not been reported in accordance with the JORC Code 2012;
• a Competent Person has not done sufficient work to disclose the exploration work in accordance with JORC 2012;
• it is possible that following further evaluation and/or exploration work that the confidence in the prior reported Exploration Results may be reduced when reported under JORC Code 2012;
• nothing has come to the attention of the acquirer that causes it to question that accuracy or reliability of the former owners Exploration Results, but
• the acquirer has not independently validated the former owners Exploration Results and therefore is not to be regarded as reporting, adopting or endorsing those results.