KEY POINTS
- MetalsGrove is wasting no time with a surface sample collection run and mapping fieldwork at the Upper Coondina lithium project
- An airborne survey will follow the now-complete sampling campaign later this month, with drilling on the horizon
- Some 2,500 surface soil samples have been dispatched to laboratories; outcropping pegmatites common on-site
MetalsGrove (ASX:MGA) is heading towards the end of its surface mapping campaign at the Upper Coondina lithium project in WA, where the company recently collected over 2,500 soil samples now dispatched to assay laboratories in Perth.
A lot of those samples came from soils around numerous outcropping pegmatite systems on-site the Upper Coondina acreage; the company has not disclosed if it collected any rock chips on the side.
Pegmatite mineralisation is strongly coincident with lithium, generally either as spodumene or lepidolite.
Earlier EM survey informs sampling
Many other targets were also identified from an earlier airborne survey. The soil sampling campaign kicked off in early August orientated around the Coondina NW target; which straddles the southern border of the acreage.
Across the entire Upper Coondina play, no serious lithium exploration has been carried out in the area. Prior surface sampling has returned a number of highly anomalous lithium assays.
Those assays were broken down into parts per million (ppm) reads, which likely on their own would not cause too much interest. But the consistent evidence of lithium mineralisation on site at surface suggests shallow deposits of thick mineralisation may occur in the area.
Possible connection to larger system
The company is hopeful the pegmatite system at Upper Coondina is attached to that of the nearby Archer deposit, managed by Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1).
MetalsGrove will move ahead with another airborne survey to see what magnetic imagery further highlights underground.
Following that, and the successful completion of a heritage survey, the sample and survey data will allow MetalsGrove to launch the drills at Upper Coondina.
Refining drill targets
“The field crew is now undertaking detailed surface mapping…this will play an important role in refining the priority drill targets within Upper Coondina,” MetalsGrove MD Sean Sivasamy said.
“This will also provide further detail on the outcropping pegmatite mineralisation.”
“The company continues to accelerate our initial work programs across our critical metals portfolios in WA and the NT as we move closer towards maiden drilling later this year.”
Article Courtesy of Market Index
