Aurumin Ltd (ASX:AUN) is preparing to set a diamond drill rig turning as it targets lithium-bearing pegmatites at the Mt Palmers Project in Western Australia, with four holes funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS).
The company will use up to $150,000 from an EIS agreement to cover direct drilling and mobilisation costs as it investigates geology believed to be similar to the Mt Holland lithium deposit just 65 kilometres to the south.
Mt Holland held 94.2 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 1.5% lithium as of December 2018, offering projected output of 45,254 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide over 47 years of estimated project life.
EIS grant "recognition of potential"
“Mt Palmer is prospective for lithium mineralisation and shows great potential, remaining unfinished business for the company since we announced results from orientation drilling in June last year,” Aurumin managing director Brad Valiukas said.
“We are excited to be drilling these holes and look forward to the results. We will complete this drilling before the team moves to Sandstone.
“The EIS funding is a competitive process and excellent recognition of the lithium potential at Mt Palmer and the work completed to date.”
The four diamond holes will be drilled to a total combined depth of about 1,000 metres, about 250 metres each, to test for broad, flat-lying pegmatite formations.
Pegmatites are crystalline structures formed in cooling lava, a type of igneous rock prospective for lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) mineralisation, which is often rich in lithium oxide.
Aurumin can claim up to 50% of direct drilling and mobilisation costs (capped at $150,000) through the EIS, a Western Australian State Government initiative operated through the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
The scheme aims to encourage exploration in Western Australia for the long-term sustainability of the state’s resources sector.