Assays confirm wide high-grade lithium at Core Exploration’s Bynoe project

Assay results have confirmed Core Exploration (ASX: CXO) has intersected wide high-grade lithium at its BP33 pegmatite, part of its recently acquired Bynoe project, in the Northern Territory project.

Better results from the exploration program included 54m grading 1.42% lithium from 101m, and 46m grading 1.51% lithium from 66m.

“The acquisition of the Bynoe lithium project is delivering immediate results for Core,” Core managing director Stephen Biggins said.

The assays also confirm mineralisation is open along strike and thicker than anticipated at depth.

“Given the success of this recent drilling, we now intend to undertake additional drilling at BP33 with the aim of determining the full extent of BP33 and adding to Core’s lithium resources in the Northern Territory,” Mr Biggins said.

“We will also be testing an alternate geometrical/structural scenario may exist more broadly to the northern end of BP33 which has the potential to significantly increase the potential scale of BP33,” Mr Biggins added.

According to the Core, the lithium intersections are “some of the widest spodumene intersections ever drilled in the Northern Territory.”

In mid-September, Core secured the Bynoe lithium project from Liontown Resources. Bynoe is adjacent to Core’s flagship Finniss project and contains extensions to the BP33 pegmatite.

The projects which encompass about 500 square kilometres are about 70km from Darwin by sealed road. Mr Biggins claims the company plans to take advantage of the logistics to truck its ore to Darwin Port and ship it to China.

In March this year, Core executed an agreement with Darwin Port to potentially export up to 1 million tonnes per annum of direct shipping ore (DSO) or up to 250,000tpa of concentrates.

Additionally, an offtake agreement with China’s Ya Hua International Investment and Development company is due to be announced by the end of this month.

Under the proposed arrangement, Ya Hua will purchase Core’s Finniss unconcentrated DSO ore. Core is fast-tracking project development to create an open pit operation at the Grants deposit which has a resource of 1.8 million tonnes grading 1.5% lithium. A mining lease permit for Grants has been submitted and is awaiting approval.

Core’s share price was up more than 13% at A$0.091 in early morning trade.