BMG Resources is again cranking the drillbit, with a 36-hole air-core (AC) drill program to home in on multiple, high-quality lithium and gold targets at its Bullabulling project where anomalous lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites were identified in its maiden reconnaissance program.
The company says fieldwork and geochemical analysis previously outlined lithium-bearing pegmatites, some of which have not been drill-tested, within a 4km corridor. Assays from the first program at the project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region came back at greater than 1 per cent lithium oxide.
Additional gold occurrences were also recorded in its 100 per cent-owned areas within the major Coolgardie lithium and gold province.
The initial campaign highlighted anomalous lithium pegmatites at BMG’s Ubini prospect, with 3m grading 0.31 per cent lithium oxide from 12m, in addition to others that combine to suggest a bigger fractionated pegmatite system. The system, which could host an economically-significant accumulation, includes minerals such as tantalite, cassiterite and spodumene.
The current program will test the potential for stronger mineralisation along strike and down dip, in addition to its areal extent within known drill-tested prospects and those which have not yet seen the drillbit.
The stratigraphic distribution of the intrusive pegmatites will also be investigated as they remain enigmatic in the western areas with only a sub-crop presence.
The company’s Poolman’s Wealth prospect is a drill target for gold and lithium after research revealed historic accumulations of pegmatites with gold lodes. That type of association is known to occur in several other pegmatite fields in the Eastern Goldfields.
BMG Resources managing director Bruce McCracken said: “The Company’s initial drill program confirmed lithium-bearing pegmatites in the Bullabulling tenements that warrant further drill testing. In addition, a number of pegmatites showing potential for lithium mineralisation have been identified in the same area for first-pass drilling. With a large strategically located footprint of around 185 square kilometres of Coolgardie ground, BMG’s Bullabulling Project presents an outstanding early-stage exploration opportunity.”
The company’s portfolio also boasts its flagship Abercromby gold resource in the Wiluna region, which has a maiden mineral resource of 518,000 ounces at its Capital prospect. Metallurgy has confirmed a free-milling ore amenable to traditional carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing, with excellent recoveries of up to 95 percent.
The development candidate will soon be subjected to further drilling in a bid to upgrade resource estimates, expand continuity of mineralisation and to refine anomalous gold zones to the south.
The allure of both lithium and gold is most compelling in the emerging province as BMG approaches a mid-September drill program completion date at Bullabulling. Stay tuned for the assay results to follow.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Gary Kjellgren
