With a $4.7 million government grant and a site for its proposed battery anode material manufacturing plant secured, International Graphite Ltd (ASX:IG6) is building on its existing graphite resource with more high-grade graphite hits from Mason Bay prospect at the Springdale Graphite Project.
The company hit graphite intersections up to 25.9% total graphitic carbon (TGC) in results from 24 reverse circulation (RC) holes at Mason Bay, some 2 kilometres east of the existing Springdale resource.
Springdale’s mineral resource estimate (MRE) sits at 15.6 million tonnes at 6% TGC, with plenty of potential to grow those numbers with fresh, high-grade drilling results from Mason Bay.
Resource update expected in July
“The latest assay results from Mason Bay continue to excite us. It’s clear that the more we drill following the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) image the more graphite we can expect to find,” International Graphite managing director and CEO Andrew Worland said.
“This is our fourth discovery at Springdale. Assays for the balance of the resource and exploration drilling program are due to be received by mid-July with a new resource estimate to be published soon after.”
IG6 has now drilled a total of 5,056 metres at Mason Bay, reaching an average hole depth of 84 metres.
Some 21 RC results are still pending from Mason Bay, which represents the fourth graphite discovery at Springdale as one of seven targets identified in AEM surveying.
Highly amendable to micronising
“As reported in February 2023, flotation tests on sample composites from Mason Bay produced high-grade graphite concentrate at excellent recoveries with ‘fines’ size highly amendable to micronising,” Worland continued.
“We expect future drilling will continue adding to the Springdale resource base. Areas comparable in size to the existing identified mineral resource remain to be investigated.
“The continued exploration success at Springdale gives us great confidence that sufficient mineral resource will be available across our tenement package to host a long-life mine and support our integrated mine-to-market graphite operation in Western Australia.”
Overall, International Graphite has drilled some 20,000 metres at Springdale since June 2022, including 12 diamond and 261 RC infill and exploration holes.
Standout results from this latest round of drilling include:
- 11 metres at 11.7% TGC from 57 metres downhole including 1-metre at 23.0% from 63 metres downhole;
- 9 metres at 5.0% TGC from 42 metres including 1-metre at 21.3% from 43 metres;
- 24 metres at 7.2% TGC from 72 metres;
- 23 metres at 8.7% TGC from 77 metres;
- 12 metres at 12.6% TGC from 41 metres including 1-metre at 20.7% from 43 metres;
- 9 metres at 10.3% TGC from 43 metres;
- 6 metres at 20.7% TGC from 14 metres including 4 metres at 25.9% from 15 metres;
- 11 metres at 18% TGC from 28 metres including 4 metres at 23.9% from 29 metres;
- 7 metres at 9.4% TGC from 12 metres;
- 18 metres at 6.6% TGC from 34 metres; and
- 25 metres at 11.4% TGC from 68 metres.
Springdale Graphite Project map with AEM survey results, resource areas and new targets.
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