Power Minerals starts resource definition drilling at Rincon salar within Salta lithium project
Drilling is designed to boost current resources at the Salta project beyond 239,000t of contained lithium carbonate.
Diversified explorer Power Minerals (ASX: PNN) has commenced resource definition drilling at the Rincon salar within the Salta lithium project in Argentina.
Drilling is designed to deliver a significant upgrade to Salta’s existing global resource which sits at 239,000 tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent grading 313 milligrams per litre of lithium.
The program will comprise three diamond core holes for a total of 500 metres and aims to confirm results from previous drilling in 2017.
It will also test for deeper potential lithium resources in the northern part of the licence area.
Drilling will form a key input to a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) currently underway at Rincon and due for completion by end June.
Keen to commence
Power managing director Mena Habib said the company was keen to commence the Rincon program.
“Rincon is our most advanced salar and hosts Salta’s highest-grade lithium and an existing JORC mineral resource,” he said.
“We are aiming to expand this resource and the results will feed into the PEA currently being undertaken at Rincon.”
Mr Habib said drilling had been completed at the Incahuasi salar and a maiden JORC resource estimate is currently being compiled for that prospect.
Resource drilling campaign
Power’s ongoing resource drilling campaign is targeting the Incahuasi, Rincon and Pocitos salares at the Salta project.
The campaign is designed to expand the project’s existing JORC mineral resource to support future development plans.
Drilling at Incahuasi delivered consistent lithium grades and strong brine density results.
A maiden resource estimate will aim to contribute significant volumes to the project’s existing resource inventory.
Once drilling is completed at Rincon, the rig will move to the Pocitos salar, which is the final target in the campaign.
Lithium triangle location
The Salta project is strategically located in northwest Argentina’s Salta province and is part of the world’s leading lithium-brine region known as the lithium triangle.
The project consists of five salares (or salt lakes) within seven mining leases over a total area of 147.07 square kilometres.
The Rincon salar is adjacent to Rincon Mining Ltd, which was recently acquired by Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) for US$825 million.
Mr Habib said Power was focused on the accelerated exploration and development of Salta in order to drive shareholder value.