BP33 offers up NT’s largest lithium intersection for Core Exploration
Diamond drill rig at BP33, part of Core Exploration’s Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.
BP33 has continued to offer up “outstanding” lithium intersections for Core Exploration (ASX: CXO), after the company pulled out the Northern Territory’s widest lithium drill intersection found to-date.
The record intersection was taken from BP33, which is part of Core’s flagship Finniss project.
Assaying at 75m wide and grading 1.68% lithium, the intersection included two higher grade intervals of 55m at 1.97% lithium and 23m at 2.07% lithium.
Additionally, the drill ended in high-grade spodumene, with the last metre of the hole grading 2.41% lithium.
“We continue to be very encouraged with how BP33 is evolving and expect it has potential to add considerable mine life to our Finniss project,” Core managing director Stephan Biggins said.
“The results reported today are amongst the best spodumene intersections in Australia, and greatly increase our confidence that Core’s Finniss project near Darwin has potential to become a long life and high-margin lithium operation,” Mr Biggins added.
Core believes the high-grade spodumene pegmatite body at BP33 remains open along strike to the south toward the BP32 and BP32W prospects.
This latest result adds to previous drill results at BP33 where 36m was intersected grading 1.61% lithium, with a 14m interval comprising 2.05% lithium. A 49m intersection was also returned and graded 1.02% lithium, as well as 62m grading 1.24% lithium, and 54m grading 1.42% lithium.
Finniss project
A resource for BP33 is anticipated next month, with the nearby Grants deposit possessing a current resource of 1.8 million tonnes grading 1.5% lithium. An upgraded resource for Grants is also imminent.
Core is targeting production from Finniss in late 2019 and has already clinched an offtake agreement for Grants.
The agreement was executed with China-based Ya Hua International Investment and Development late last year and allows for the China-based company to purchase 1mt of direct shipping ore (DSO) from Grants.
This is more than 50% of the initial planned production from Grants.
Core is evaluating whether to process the ore further to produce a lithium concentrate and the agreement with Ya Hua can be changed reflect a lithium concentrate instead.
As part of the company’s strategy to bring the project online by the end of 2019, Core has locked-in an agreement with the nearby Darwin Port giving it the capacity to ship either 1mt of DSO or 250,000tpa of lithium concentrate.
Shares in Core ended trade at A$0.064 – up 1.59%.