Aruma Resources intersects high-grade lithium and rubidium at Mt Deans
Recent drilling at Aruma Resources’ WA project has delivered 12 intersections grading at over 1.5% lithium-rubidium.
Gold and lithium explorer Aruma Resources (ASX: AAJ) has announced further high-grade lithium-rubidium intercepts from its recently drilled Mt Deans project in south-eastern Western Australia.
The company today revealed results from the final batches of assays from a 21-hole, 1,409-metre second phase drilling program at Mt Deans, as well as results from seven re-assayed historical holes drilled by Tantalum Australia two decades ago.
Adding to the high-grade lepidolite-rubidium micas reported in November from the initial two holes, the remaining 19 reverse circulation holes have yielded successful results including 12 intersections grading at higher than 1.5% lithium-rubidium.
Highlights spanning multiple holes include: 8m at 1.89% lithium-rubidium from a depth of 26m; 6m at 1.52% from 12m; 1m at 2.63% from 23m; and 5m at 1.98% from 4m.
Aruma also noted the high potassium values of up to 3.6%, with significant caesium (up to 0.6%) and tin-tantalum (600 parts per million and 700ppm).
Drilling confirms and extends high-grade mineralisation
The drilling has confirmed and extended the lithium and high-grade rubidium intersected in multiple pegmatites in the company’s first phase of drilling in the central part of the area and a subsequent rock chip sampling program completed early in 2022.
According to Aruma, the suggested distribution of the lithium-rubidium in two micas may potentially deliver benefits in concentrating the elements in a mining operation, as they could be amenable to relatively simple and cheap flotation methods.
The company said it may look to identify micaceous pegmatites with high-grade lithium-rubidium-caesium-potassium ore, which conceptually may potentially be capable of being concentrated using simple froth flotation/gravity circuits to produce a saleable lithium-potassium concentrate, with valuable rubidium and caesium by-products with possible tin and tantalum gravity concentrates.
Mt Deans project
The Mt Deans lithium-rubidium project is located 10km south of Norseman in the ‘lithium corridor’ of south-eastern WA.
It is interpreted to sit within the same host rocks and structures as the significant nearby Mt Marion (Mineral Resources, ASX: MIN), Bald Hill (Lithco/Alita Resources) and Buldania (Liontown Resources, ASX: LTR)lithium projects.