Lithium stars align for Aurumin in WA

After completing a second phase of soil sampling, Aurumin Limited is gearing up for a reverse circulation drilling program in search of lithium at its Mt Palmer project in Western Australia.

The campaign is set to start next week and will feature up to 1500 metres of drilling into targets where pegmatites of up to 50m in width have been intercepted in historical exploration.

In March, Aurumin collected 350 soil samples in a broad spaced –100m by 400m – manner across a 25 square kilometre area in the southern portion of its Mt Palmer tenements.

Now the explorer has completed a second phase in the same area, increasing the sample density and bringing its collection of samples to 750.

It says the additional infill sampling has firmed up the initial targets identified, with surface anomalism coinciding with historically-drilled pegmatites. Importantly, the intercepted pegmatites were never assayed for lithium.

To start with, Aurumin is lining up two targets at its Vickers Find South prospect, notably the eastern target displays the most intense geochemical anomaly and comes with a 53m pegmatite intersection. The western target features a 43m pegmatite intersection and smeared anomalism.

The explorer is also eyeing a second phase of drilling to go after additional areas of interest lit up by the soil samples.

Interestingly, as lithium cannot be detected in the field with portable X-ray fluorescent analysers, Aurumin assessed detectable elements that correlate with lithium mineralisation to home in on its drill targets before submitting its soil samples to the lab for full analysis.

The more thorough lab analysis will reveal readings on a suite of elements, including gold and lithium with results expected in 6-8 weeks.

Aurumin Limited Managing Director, Brad Valiukas said: “We are eagerly awaiting the full soil sample results from the assay lab, but there are a lot of positive indicators both at Mt Palmer and in comparison to other projects in the region.”

“This first programme will drill through the pegmatite package and help define the geology, using the XRF results and historical logs as an initial guide.”

In terms of the surrounding lithium potential, Aurumin has been dealt it in spades. Only 65km to the south is the Earl Grey lithium deposit, discovered in 2016 by the previously ASX-listed Kidman Resources. Impressively, Earl Grey stands at a whopping 189 million tonnes grading 1.5 per cent lithium oxide.

Aurumin says Mt Palmer and Earl Grey are in the Southern Cross-Forrestania greenstone belt and curiously are located nearby significant gold deposits.

The company also says both are similarly located in the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ – between 1km and 4km from the contact of granite and greenstones.

Whilst the ‘nearology’ and similarities might raise a few eyebrows, it’s still early days as the pegmatites are yet to be confirmed as lithium-rich.

Traditionally, Mt Palmer is a gold project, reportedly having produced about 158,000 ounces at a respectable grade of 15.9 grams per tonne to the time of 1944.

However, considering the price of battery-grade lithium is up 436 per cent in the past 12 months, Aurumin is sure to be happy pulling either metal out of its ground.

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