Mineral exploration company, Twenty Seven Co has launched a geochemical sampling program to follow up on recently identified high-grade lithium occurrences at its 100 per cent owned Trident project near Broken Hill in New South Wales. A review of historical geochemical and sample data recently returned multiple lithium pegmatite showings at the project, including a cracking 7.63 per cent lithium oxide.
Trident hosts a plethora of historical tin workings which can be traced back to the late 1800s. Lithium and tin often occur together in the same pegmatite systems, however, past exploration at the project didn’t focus on lithium pegmatites or pathfinder elements which could be used to uncover lithium mineralisation.
Twenty Seven Co’s review of historical geochemical and sampling data from the New South Wales government’s MinView geological database was designed to evaluate the previously overlooked lithium potential at Trident.
The company has now identified three separate lithium anomalies in the northern part of the Trident tenure. The largest target spans about 3km, with two other areas further to the south stretching for more than 1km each. None of the targets have been previously drill-tested.
Other new sample results from the areas of interest include 4.45 per cent lithium oxide, 3.88 per cent lithium oxide, 1.56 per cent lithium oxide and 1.05 per cent lithium oxide.
The review of historical works also identified a drill hole that returned a 3m interval going 0.35 per cent tin hosted within pegmatite.
Twenty Seven Co Chief Executive Officer, Simon Phillips said: “We are delighted to have our team on the ground at Trident and we are looking forward to investigating several high priority lithium and tin targets with this initial sampling program. This program has been specifically designed to define anomalous lithium, caesium and tantalum pegmatites, along with associated pathfinder elements, within these target areas.
Minimal historical work has been completed across this project, so this sampling program will significantly add to the geological knowledge of the greater tenement package.”
The systematic sampling program will be coupled with geological mapping of the target lithium anomalies at Trident and the program is anticipated to take two weeks to complete. A thorough review of publicly available data for the project, including geophysical surveys, has also commenced.
The company believes the target anomalies could host lithium, caesium and tantalum pegmatites after identifying the presence of all three metals via the recent review of historical data.
Lithium, caesium and tantalum pegmatites are known to host significant lithium deposits around the world, including the Greenbushes mine some 250 kilometres south of Perth in Western Australia.
Owned and managed by private company, Talison Lithium, Greenbushes is regarded as the longest continuously operated mining area in Western Australia. Tin mining first commenced at the project in the late 1800s with tantalum production following in the 1940s. Lithium mining from several open pits continues today after it began in the 1980s.
Twenty Seven Co could creep onto a few radars if the junior explorer can convert the high-grade lithium sniffs identified at Trident so far into a pegmatite hosted lithium resource of its own.
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