Power Minerals generates ‘highly encouraging’ visual results in first drill hole at Incahuasi salar
Power Minerals plans to release a maiden resource for the Incahuasi salar in the March quarter of next year.
Power Minerals (ASX: PNN) has completed what it describes as a “highly encouraging” drill hole of the current mineral resource campaign at its Salta lithium brine project in northwest Argentina.
This was the first diamond hole of the campaign and was completed to a 400m depth at the Incahuasi salar.
Drilling encountered multiple lithium brine aquifers of “significant thickness”.
A highlight intersection comprised 191m of thick sandy gravel hosting brine with visual medium-to-high drainable porosity from 138m.
From surface a 52m halite unit was hit containing saturated brine with visual medium-to-high drainable porosity.
Power executive director Mena Habib said the company was “very excited” by the “encouraging visual results” from the first hole of its resource program at Incahuasi.
“Additional drilling at Incahuasi is designed to deliver a maiden JORC mineral resource for lithium at this salar, while upcoming drilling at the Pocitos and Rincon salares aims to deliver a substantial increase to the current mineral resource at the project.”
“Obtaining a large inventory of high-quality lithium brine represents a key step in the development pathway for the project,” Mr Habib added.
Next steps at Salta lithium brine project
Power will undertake brine sampling to determine density and indicative aquifer flow rate.
Samples will be sent for laboratory analysis to determine lithium content and drainable porosity.
The company will drill up to two more holes at Incahuasi, then move to drilling at the Pocitos and Rincon salares within the project.
All drill results will feed into a resource, including maiden estimates for Incahuasi and Pocitos, which are anticipated in the March quarter next year.
Salta has a current resource of 239,000 tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent.
Power wholly-owns its Salta project which comprises seven mining leases covering 147.07 square kilometres.
The project hosts five salares and is adjacent to Ganfeng Lithium’s ground and a project Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) acquired for US$825 million.
Power is evaluating direct lithium extraction technology for processing the Salta brine under a memorandum of understanding with China’s Sunresin.