Sampling delineates Donnybrook-Bridgetown Shear Zone for Greenbushes South partners Galan Lithium and Lithium Australia
Mapping at Greenbushes South has identified the same geological structure within the project that is found at the nearby world class Greenbushes open pit spodumene mine.
A series of positive assays from sampling and mapping work at the Greenbushes South lithium project in Western Australia have delineated the Donnybrook-Bridgetown Shear Zone for joint venture partners Galan Lithium (ASX: GLN) and Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT).
Results from the 425 soil samples and 14 rock chips collected found pathfinder element concentrations such as arsenic and antimony, indicating prospective targets near the trace of the mineralising zone.
When combined with historical data in the area, the elements indicate strong potential for pegmatite targets within Galan’s pending applications to the north.
Other pathfinder elements such as tin and rubidium showed a broad lag (transported) signal east of the shear zone.
Airborne geophysics survey
In addition to soil sampling and mapping work, a geophysical survey was recently completed.
This comprised 7,622km of airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysics above all of Galan’s tenements and at the mapped location of the shear zone, which is primarily associated with syntectonic emplacement of lithium-bearing pegmatites at the Greenbushes mine to the north.
The airborne geophysical survey data is now in the processing phase, after which the raw information will be handed to Southern Geoscience Consultants to interpret results for potential lithium targets.
Increasing prospectivity
Galan managing director JP Vargas de la Vega was pleased with the increasing prospectivity of the Greenbushes South project.
“We are encouraged with these soil sample results which continue to indicate that tracing elements within the Donnybrook zone may host lithium pegmatites similar to the Greenbushes mine bordering the north of our tenements,” he said.
“The results will formulate our next exploration phase when we will be able to generate and prioritise specific exploration targets in the area.”
Conservation management plan
Galan has submitted the final revision of its Conservation Management Plan for proposed exploration activities on its pending applications.
It has also submitted a new CMP for its wholly-owned pending tenement in the Donnelly State Forest.
Exploration within the tenement has been the focus for pegmatite-derived mineralisation, notably tin and tantalum, since the early 1900s.
More recent exploration has targeted base metal mineralisation and lithium-tin-tantalum pegmatites.
A re-interpretation of historical geophysical data acquired by Galan indicates that the Donnybrook-Bridgetown Shear Zone extends into Galan’s tenements and may be responsible for the emplacement of pegmatites.