Eclipse Metals reports maiden lithium concentrations from sampling at historic Greenland prospects
Eclipse Metals is the first company to evaluate Ivittuut in Greenland for its lithium potential.
Recent grab sampling at Eclipse Metals’ (ASX: EPM) historic Ivigtût and Grønnedal-Ika prospects in southwest Greenland has returned elevated concentrations of up to 430 parts per million (ppm) lithium oxide.
The results mark the first lithium results ever for the multi-commodity project, which was previously mined for cryolite at Ivigtût.
Anomalous lithium concentrations at Ivigtût are known to be associated with cryolithionite (a rare lithium-bearing fluoride mineral first discovered at Ivigtût in the 1900s), jarlite, muscovite, biotite and zinnwaldite.
Polymetallic prospects
Executive chairman Carl Popal said the new lithium results highlight the polymetallic nature of Ivigtût and the adjacent Grønnedal-Ika carbonatite complex.
“While cryolithionite was known to exist at Ivigtût, previous operators had no interest in lithium and therefore did not assay for it,” he said.
“The recognition of highly anomalous lithium is an exciting step in our work and provides us with a greater understanding of the complex, multi-commodity mineralisation at this historic mine.”
Mr Popal said the results also offer the potential for defining rare earth elements (REE), precious and base metals and industrial mineral resources in what is believed to be a highly mineralised area.
He said further work would be needed to determine which minerals carry the anomalous lithium identified in an aplite dyke cutting the Grønnedal-Ika carbonatite complex.
Cryolithionite content
Cryolithionite at Ivigtût is known to occur as crystals measuring up to 19 centimetres long, in massive cryolite and siderite-cryolite, cryolite veins and fluorite-cryolite breccia.
In addition to Ivigtût, the mineral has also been reported from the Gasberg’s topaz-cryolite mine in Russia and Zapot pegmatite near Hawthorne in the US state of Nevada.
Around 268 cryolite samples taken from the Ivigtût mine in the mid-1980s showed lithium concentrations ranging from 78 to 153ppm.
Jarlite was also present at between 400ppm and 800ppm lithium, as was muscovite (111-315ppm), biotite (5812ppm) and zinnwaldite (16,710ppm).
Mr Popal said while the latest results were encouraging, a more systematic sampling approach and drilling program would be required to better constrain the lithium potential at Ivigtût.