Mining

Nova Minerals reports further high-grade lithium results at Snow Lake project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Snow Lake Resources NASDAQ LITM Nova Minerals ASX NVA Crown Pillar Manitoba TBL Resource lithium

Recent laboratory analysis of Thompson Brothers lithium suggests it is amenable to producing a quality raw material for the battery industry.

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Exploration company Snow Lake Lithium, which Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) has a substantial strategic holding in, has intercepted further high-grade lithium across four separate pegmatite dykes at its northern Manitoba project.

The intercepts are believed to have confirmed the growth of near-surface targets at the Sherritt Gordon (SGP) and Grass Rivers (GRP) pegmatites and validated resource expansion across the property.

Best results were 1.84% lithium oxide over 6.32m at SGP; 1.36% lithium oxide over 17.97m from 429.5m down hole at Snow Lake; and 1.50% lithium oxide over 7m at BYP.

Snow Lake’s wider Thompson Brothers project now contains four identified dykes with high-grade lithium intercepts above 1%, with indications that the pegmatite system may continue much deeper on the project than initially anticipated.

Future drilling is expected to test the possible depth extensions of the TBL dyke.

GRP composition

The GRP dykes crosscut plutonic intrusive rocks of monzonite composition, exhibiting medium-to-coarse grained Plagioclase crystals within a fine-to-medium grained mafic groundmass.

Albitic to potassic feldspars occur frequently within the rock.

The groundmass consists of amphiboles and occasional biotite and garnet has been observed in small clusters within rare melanocratic groundmass.

The mineralogy of the GRP is believed to be typical for lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes, and comprises potassic feldspars, quartz, muscovite and to a lesser extent biotite, tourmaline, rare garnets and very rare beryl.

The lithium-bearing mineral is spodumene which varies considerably in grain size and distribution within the dykes.

First drill tests

Earlier this week, Snow Lake reported results from the first drill tests at GRP dyke, which defined mineralised widths of between 5m and 6m including intercepting high-grade spodumene material from the third drill hole.

That hole returned an assay of 3.35% lithium oxide over a width of 3m.

Thompson Brothers is northwest of Winnipeg and is believed to be suitably located to supply existing and planned battery plants in the US, including in Nevada, Michigan, Tennessee and Ohio.

Snow Lake said it plays a role in the US Government’s policy to develop an end-to-end domestic supply chain within the country, aided by $23.6 billion in loans from the Department of Energy.