Alchemy Resources discovers new pegmatite bodies at Karonie lithium project
Assays from rock chip and soil sampling by Alchemy Resources (ASX: ALY) have confirmed the presence of surface lithium mineralisation at the company’s Karonie project, located 110km east of Kalgoorlie.
What the company describes as “ground truthing” of new gravity targets has discovered new pegmatite bodies with lepidolite and spodumene outcropping at surface.
Alchemy notes that this ground has never been previously explored for lithium in spite of favourable geology.
In addition, no drilling has ever been conducted in the area where the 12 rock chip samples pointed to the lepidolite and spodumene mineralisation
Karonie lies just 8km from the Manna lithium discovery owned by Global Lithium (ASX: GL1), where the existing resource estimate stands at 32.7 million tonnes at 1.0% lithium oxide.
‘A huge pegmatite system’
The assay results from rock chips returned assays that included 2,723 parts per million lithium oxide, 167 ppm caesium, 2,930 ppm rubidium and 62.8 ppm tantalum pentoxide.
Chief executive officer James Wilson said this development will be added to the company’s regional exploration plans for 2023.
“This is clearly a huge pegmatite system with outcropping lithium mineral confirmed for the first time.”
“The area remains open to the west and south within our 100% owned tenure and is completely untested by drilling,” he added.
Regional soil sampling and historic hole mapping have also developed new pegmatite and geochemical targets to test.
Drill planning well advanced
The newly discovered pegmatite sits 2.5km north of the reverse circulation drill hole completed last November at the Hickory target which intersected spodumene.
The area is at the southern end of a high priority gravity target which extends 2.5km toward the Pecan prospect where outcropping pegmatites have been mapped.
Multiple-element soil sampling conducted by Alchemy between 2018 and 2020 highlighted multiple areas of low-level lithium anomalism.
Follow-up soil sampling conducted this year have revealed a 12km by 6km zone of large-scale anomalies, with a second area of 3.5km by 3.5km showing similar anomalies.
A heritage area clearance survey has been completed and drill planning is well advanced, the company stated.