Gold Mountain sampling lights up Brazilian lithium trail

Gold Mountain has revealed encouraging anomalous lithium results from a stream sediment sampling program carried out at its Campo Formoso project in Brazil.

The company says six strongly and nine moderately anomalous samples were returned from an area overlying a granite body considered to be of similar age and setting to Solis Minerals’ prospective Jaguar pegmatite to the north.

Management interpreted the results from the Campo Formoso program in terms of an anomalous suite of lithium pegmatite minerals and other economic minerals after previous exploration threw up some tungsten. It says its interest was particularly piqued by anomalies clustered towards the south at the contact zone between two granite phases.

Mappable quartz veining and other structural features confirmed a northerly trend.

An anomaly near in the north-east corner of the tenement group was also considered of interest, displaying similar drainage and structural features.  Most of the anomalous stream sediment samples were collected from cleared areas, with fewer environmental constraints.

The company, which is now planning detailed mapping, has defined catchment areas for each of the anomalous samples and potential structural controls have been identified at several of the anomalies. Soil sampling is scheduled to kick off after the wet season to avoid severe leaching of the lithium.

Applications for environmental licensing and drilling will subsequently be lodged once soil anomalism and/or lithium pegmatites have been sufficiently defined.

The Campo Formoso tenement group lies within the emergent lithium pegmatite region of Juremal in the State of Bahia in north-eastern Brazil. The tenements are about 70km south of the village of Juremal, where Gold Mountain also holds a cluster of nearby tenements.

It has found many pegmatites and weathered spodumene float on the tenements.

The company is targeting the contact zone between two major phases of granite emplacement that are separated by mappable quartz veining. The structural and magmatic zone extends 40km south to the spodumene-bearing Jaguar pegmatite.

Exploration at Campo Formoso, a further 30 km towards the south, is targeting the trend.

The granite at Campo Formoso is believed to be similar in age to the granite adjacent to the Jaguar pegmatite. Gold Mountain has concluded that extensive hydrothermal alteration at the contact zone is associated with emplacement of quartz-rich pegmatites along northerly and easterly-trending shear zones.

Gold Mountain has acquired 250,000 hectares of leases in Brazil, giving it the biggest footprint of any Australian explorer in the region. It has further collaborated with a joint venture (JV) partner, private company Mars, which will contribute further ground.

The company now has a 75 per cent holding in 12 lithium projects in its hunt  for both hard rock pegmatite and lower-grade brine deposits. It recently diversified its exploration strategy, notably in the eastern Brazil lithium belt that is prospective for rare earths, copper and gold.

Gold Mountain also retains its Wabag gold-copper project in Papua New Guinea and has applied for additional exploration leases in both of the countries where it is operating.

The company certainly has a lot of ground to cover – but it is in the right neighbourhood.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au