Latin Resources notches 241% lift in Colina lithium resource, project much larger than expected

Latin Resources (ASX: LRS) has reported a 241% boost in resources at its Colina deposit in Brazil, which now stands at 45.2 million tonnes at 1.34% lithium oxide.

That includes a measured and indicated 30.2Mt at 1.4% lithium oxide, with the previous mineral resource estimate having stood at 13.25Mt.

The upgraded resource of 45Mt represents a lithium carbonate equivalent of 1,477,700 tonnes.

Latin Resources states that the Colina deposit is expanding into a much larger than expected exploration project.

Aggressive drilling campaign continuing

Colina is located close to the town of Salinas in eastern Brazil and is operating in the same region as Toronto Venture Exchange-listed Sigma Lithium (TSX-V: SGML) which began producing in April and by next month will reach full-scale output of 104,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate.

Eight rigs are continuing to work at Colina, testing extensions and new regional targets, part of what the company describes as an aggressive drilling campaign of 65,000m this year.

The Colina deposit footprint strike length is now more than 2km, with the deposit open at depth and along strike to the southwest.

Resource upgrade ‘significant’

Managing director Chris Gale said this significantly upgraded resource, and the potential value of strengthening lithium prices, will provide solid inputs into the company’s upcoming preliminary economic assessment.

“The increase in both size and grade reflects our early confidence in the prospective nature of our tenure in Brazil to potentially produce a Tier 1 lithium deposit,” he said.

“Our eight rigs will remain busy with this program through to the end of the year.”

The drilling program has been testing what the company terms “significant” pegmatite swarms, down dip and extending of the previous mineral resource estimate.

This program so far has produced a database of 135 diamond drill holes for 39,033m of drill core.

“This represents an exceptionally high discovery rate of more than 1 million tonnes of resource per 1,000m of drilling,” the company stated.