Red Mountain Mining stakes 88 new claims at Mustang lithium project
Red Mountain Mining (ASX: RMX) has staked an additional 88 mining claims north of its current tenure at the wholly-owned Mustang lithium project in Nevada.
The claims cover 7.35 square kilometres and are prospective for claystone-hosted lithium within the hydrologically-closed Monte Cristo Valley in Esmeralda County.
The company now has a total 228 claims at Mustang over 19.06 sq km.
The new claims allow Red Mountain to further test the lithium potential around the project area to start building a lithium resource.
Phase 1 campaign
Staking followed a maiden Phase 1 drilling campaign at Mustang which confirmed high-grade lithium-bearing claystones intersected at or near surface.
The strike distance of lithium mineralisation has reached 1,500 metres to date, with intercepts remaining open to the north and north-west.
The company has completed further surface sampling north of the Phase 1 drillholes, with results to be fast-tracked to determine Phase 2 targets.
Samples have been sent to American Assay Laboratories with results expected within four weeks.
High-grade lithium claystone
Last month, Red Mountain reported high-grade lithium claystone in 80% of drillholes completed as part of the Mustang Phase 1 campaign which finished in June.
Two extra holes were added to the original program for a total completion of 10 holes with a view to gaining a better understanding of the project geology.
Mineralisation was reported in eight of the holes, with seven of them hitting thick and consistent lithium from or near surface.
The intercepts remain open to the north and north-west, and provide ample confidence for the company to proceed with the Phase 2 program.
Lithic surface sampling
At the start of this month, Red Mountain more high-grade results from reconnaissance lithium surface sampling at the Lithic project, also in Nevada.
Ten out of 29 samples returned grades of over 1,000 parts per million lithium and were considered highly anomalous given the high mobility of lithium in the weathered surficial environment.
The company said it planned to generate maiden drill targets for a fully-funded exploration program at Lithic.