With the Lithium boom well and truly captivating the market right now, Neometals have kicked the ball out of the park with a 160% upgrade to their Lithium resource at the Mt Marion project near Coolgardie.
After analysing a recent round of drilling results that encountered some spectacular numbers, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants have upgraded the Mt Marion Resource from 23.24m tonnes grading 1.39% Lithium to a globally significant 60.5m tonnes grading 1.36% Lithium with Iron credits grading 1.09% Fe.
This represents an increase of 160% to the size of the resource with 26m tonnes of the new resource estimate already sitting at indicated status.
The latest resource estimate was kicked along by some amazing drilling results which included a 186 metre intersection grading 1.82% Lithium, 139m @ 1.69% and a 92m intersection grading 1.54% Lithium or Li2O.
As good as this resource upgrade is, the company says there is still more to come, possibly as soon as the end of the month with 4 drill rigs still turning on site in what has been a $4m drilling campaign.
At 60m tonnes of resource, Neometals will have the third biggest Lithium resource in the world today when they commence production next quarter.
The largest Lithium hard rock resource also resides in W.A at Greenbushes which now has 118m tonnes of resource with the second largest deposit, also W.A based, belonging to Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project at 80m tonnes.
Based on current estimates however, Neometals may end up being the second largest annual producer or Lithium in the world after Greenbushes with an expected initial output of some 400 000 tonnes a year which is already fully contracted to the Chinese.
A total of 852 holes have been drilled at Mt Marion to-date for 67 000 metres.
Whilst Western Mining starting drilling at Mt Marion back in the 1970’s, 99% of all drilling at the project has been undertaken by Neometals with 47 000 metres of drilling added during the last two years alone.
Neometals are also about to pass another major milestone with the much anticipated delivery of their feasibility study into downstream processing expected within days.
The market is rapidly catching on to the fact that whilst Lithium mining can be very profitable, owning your own downstream processing plant can be uber profitable.
The problem for wanna be downstream processors is getting supply and Neometals have that in spades by cleverly inserting a clause into their off-take agreement with the Chinese to claw back 50% of production after 3 years should they choose to do so.
All eyes will be on Neometals in the next week or so to see just how profitable Lithium down stream processing is likely to be as they release their feasibility study into their proprietary downstream process.
By Matt Birney
