Leeuwin Metals Ltd (ASX:LM1) is making progress with activities across its Canadian and Australian critical metals projects with a maiden drilling program at the Cross Lake Lithium Project in Canada as the primary focus.
Leeuwin managing director Christopher Piggott said: “We are excited with the progress we have made across the portfolio in our first year being listed.
"This is highlighted by the advancement at the Cross Lake Lithium Project, where we have identified a significant lithium occurrence, defining 4.7 kilometres of strike of lithium-rich pegmatites and sampled multiple +20-metre-wide zones of lithium in historical drilling.
“With the drill permit application pending, we look forward to commencing our maiden drill program at Cross Lake in the coming months, where there is significant potential for the company to define a large-scale lithium project.
“Leeuwin is well placed to advance exploration activities with a strong cash balance and a focused team executing the exploration programs in Canada and Western Australia.”
Cross Lake Project
Work has been progressing with planning underway for the maiden drill program at Leeuwin’s 100%-owned Cross Lake Lithium Project in Manitoba, Canada. The drill permit is now well advanced, drill contractors have been engaged and the design of the drill program is complete.
Results from recent channel sampling and resampling of historical drill core identified multiple spodumene-bearing pegmatites, revealing a significant large-scale high-grade system at Cross Lake.
Drilling is expected to commence in the coming months with Leeuwin to initially focus on a 2,500-metre phase-1 program aimed at testing multiple high-grade spodumene-bearing pegmatites — the first time in more than 40 years that the pegmatite field will be tested.
This initial drilling will focus on the historical intercepts which identified a 700-metre by 300-metre area of pegmatites. Leeuwin is planning to test the shallow mineralisation and down dip extents of the system with hole depths planned between 50 metres to 200 metres.
Phase 1 drill plan at the Cross Lake Lithium Project.
Drilling will follow up on historical sampled drill results, including:
- 24.96 metres at 1.09% lithium oxide (Li2O) from 6 metres and 9.79 metres at 1.18% from 75.55 metres;
- 20.59 metres at 1.23% Li2O from 29.87 metres
- 5.14 metres at 1.75% Li2O from 20.77 metres and 14.18 metres at 1.66% from 53 metres.
- 8.29 metres at 1.13% Li2O from 31.69 metres and 15.12 metres at 1.40% from 73.6 metres, including 11.8 metres at 1.63% from 76.2 metres.
Leeuwin says there remains exceptional exploration potential within the broader 4.7-kilometre trend. The pending drill permit application covers additional drilling within this strike extent.
Planned activities for the 2024 summer season will enable further detailed work within this trend, targeting significant results already obtained. This includes mapping and geochemical sampling to underscore the exploration potential offered by Cross Lake.
Regional exploration is also being planned for the Canadian summer months within the +2,000 square kilometre tenure with regional geology interpreted to extend 40 kilometres ]east of the Cross Lake area. The company expects to begin field mapping, sampling and spectral analysis in the middle of the year.
William Lake Nickel Project
A review of the work completed in 2023 at the William Lake Nickel Project — a large-scale nickel project in Manitoba — is underway. The results from this review will help guide the next phase at William Lake.
There remains significant potential for additional nickel and platinum group elements (PGE) mineralisation within the project. Leeuwin is reviewing historical data and looking for additional PGE opportunities within the historical drill core and database.
Western Australia
Leeuwin commenced field activities in early 2024 comprising reconnaissance field inspections and sampling on exploration ground in the Goldfields and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia.
Results of soil sampling have returned an encouraging 9.5-kilometre rare earth elements (REE) soil anomaly in the Gascoyne.
The company continues to monitor open ground in the Gascoyne and recently applied for additional tenure along strike of the current licences that it holds in the Gascoyne region.
Fieldwork occurred in the March quarter of 2024, following up on the multi-line soil anomaly with mapping and surface sampling; assays are pending.