Following a year of building out the foundations of a highly prospective exploration portfolio, St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has provided an update on its portfolio of lithium and battery metals projects in Western Australia.
“Our work in 2023 has delivered a number of important project milestones and – looking forward – laid the platform for strong growth in 2024," said St George Mining executive chair John Prineas.
"We thank our shareholders for their support as we worked hard to establish these exciting growth foundations.
“The projects and funding are in place to enable us to pursue significant shareholder wealth creation through exploration success.
"As we sign off on a busy year, we look forward to launching the fully funded 2024 exploration push across our projects and reporting results to shareholders.”
Mt Alexander Project
At the company’s Mt Alexander Project (75% St George; 25% IGO Ltd), soil sampling, pegmatite field mapping and outcrop sampling have been completed over a previously untested area.
Assays are pending for soil samples and rock chip samples, with final results expected by mid-January 2024. Those results will allow for drill targeting to be completed for the 2024 drill program that is set to commence in February.
Prineas said: “Our drilling at Mt Alexander has confirmed the presence of high-grade lithium as well as very thick pegmatites up to 121 metres thick. These results point to the potential for a large lithium-bearing pegmatite mineral system.
"With only a fraction of the +16-kilometre exposure to the regional LCT corridor on our tenure tested by drilling, the exploration upside at Mt Alexander is significant.
“The exploration and M&A activity around our Mt Alexander Project cannot be ignored.
“Active lithium exploration is also underway at the neighbouring Mt Bevan Project – a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting, Legacy Iron and Hawthorn Resources, and at the nearby Mt Ida Project (14.6 million tonnes at 1.2% lithium oxide) of Delta Lithium where Mineral Resources has emerged as the controlling shareholder.
“Our ongoing, systematic exploration is delivering new targets at Mt Alexander for what is becoming a highly anticipated 2024 drill program.”
Destiny Project
At the Destiny Project, St George plans to commence a drill program in January to follow up rare earth elements (REE) and lithium targets.
This will involve further drilling at the high-grade total rare earth oxide (TREO) discovery at Destiny, where thick, near-surface, clay-hosted REE were intersected, with grades up to 5,125ppm TREO and 1,199ppm magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO).
The program will also include the maiden drilling of lithium targets, including an area along strike from Neometals’ Spargos Project where spodumene occurrences have been reported.
“Our strategy over the past year has also seen us build out our portfolio of highly prospective, underexplored projects in Western Australia. The new Destiny Project and the Lithium Star package of projects have substantially expanded the company’s pipeline of exploration opportunities,” said Prineas.
“Our high-grade rare earths discovery at Destiny, which we announced just weeks ago, was an outstanding early achievement that we will build on in 2024 with follow-up drilling and exploration.
“In addition, numerous targets for potential lithium-bearing pegmatites are being defined across the large +3,000 sq km Destiny landholding – setting the stage for a maiden lithium drilling campaign in early 2024.
Lithium Star
At Lithium Star work is ramping up with support from the world’s leading lithium-ion battery maker, Amperex Technology Ltd which has invested $3 million in Lithium Star Pty Ltd and completed a site visit of selected Lithium Star projects earlier this month.
Exploration at priority Lithium Star projects is being accelerated with pre-drilling field work underway ahead of the maiden drill program next year.
“The acquisition of the Lithium Star projects was an exciting development in 2023," Prineas said. "We were delighted that Amperex Technology (ATL) – the world leader in lithium-ion batteries – recognised the potential of these projects and invested $3 million for an initial 10% stake in Lithium Star.
“We had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from ATL in Perth earlier this month. A ramp-up of exploration – including maiden drill programs – is planned for the Lithium Star projects in 2024. We are excited about unlocking the potential at these unexplored and underexplored projects.
“Our vision to create shareholder wealth through exploration of high-quality projects was also recognised by Shanghai Jayson – another global battery player – which increased its shareholding in St George following a further investment of $3 million.”