Ioneer Ltd (ASX:INR, OTC:GSCCF, NASDAQ:IONR) is making steady progress on the Rhyolite Ridge Project in Nevada, US, having recently completed 53 drill holes over the southern extent of the lithium-boron deposit.
The company is also anticipating the publication of the draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for Rhyolite Ridge in the coming weeks, as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and cooperating agencies have completed their review.
Post-publication there will be a routine 45-day public comment period during which the BLM will hold public meetings – comments will be considered where appropriate and incorporated into a final environmental impact study to be released ahead of a Record of Decision (ROD).
53 new assays pending
Ioneer undertook a drilling program outside the current 360-million-tonne resource area, which includes 157 million tonnes of high-boron lithium, 128 million tonnes of low-boron lithium and 77 million tonnes of clay-rich lithium.
The drilling was designed to provide geotechnical information necessary for the project’s evaluation under the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Of the 53 holes, encouraging mineralised sedimentary strata was intersected in 49 holes, extending the deposit a further kilometre to the south and southeast.
Assays from the 53 new drill holes covering the southern extension of the deposit are expected during April and May.
The company also collected samples for geochemical analysis and metallurgical testing, with results also expected in the next two months ahead of updates to the mineral resource and ore reserve estimates at Rhyolite Ridge.