Solis Minerals acquires new exploration licences at Borborema lithium project

Solis Minerals (ASX: SLM) has acquired 22 exploration licences across 248 square kilometres at the Borborema lithium project in northeastern Brazil.

The new areas are greenfield sites which have seen limited systematic exploration for lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) bearing pegmatites.

The structural geological setting is believed to be similar to the Colina deposit owned by Solis’ largest shareholder Latin Resources’ (ASX: LRS) which features large granitic intrusives located proximal to meta sedimentary-volcanic sequences.

The licences are located within the states of Rio Grande Do Norte and Paraiba, close to major regional centres such as Natal and Recife, which have adequate infrastructure and services.

Solis is set to deploy a team for reconnaissance and field mapping to design initial geochemical sampling program and generate targets for drilling.

Highly prospective region

Solis chief executive officer Jason Cubitt said the company is pleased to secure ground in a highly prospective region.

“Brazil is fast becoming a Tier 1 destination for hard rock lithium explorers and producers the value to be generated is significant as we build a portfolio of prospective lithium ground to complement our copper exploration assets in Peru,” he said.

“Brazil is still very much in its infancy with lithium exploration and offers a junior explorer such as Solis an exceptional opportunity to discover a material asset.”

Mineralised occurrences

The Borborema pegmatite province has historically been reported to host several mineralised occurrences and artisanal works producing beryllium, niobium-tantalum, lithium, tin, quartz, feldspar and gems.

Past mining has indicated the area is endowed with LCT-bearing pegmatite systems.

The most prospective potential host units consist predominantly of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks (schist, gneiss and quartzites) from the Serido Formation, located close to the large granitoids from the G3 suite, which is the main intrusive system in the province and potentially the source of any emplaced pegmatite bodies.

Solis’ new licence areas have been selected to be close to, or straddle, the contact zone between these granitic intrusives and surrounding metavolcanic sequences and the area referred to as the “Goldilocks Zone”.

Mr Cubitt said the company had completed the initial compilation of available historical geological data and is set to launch a follow-up field program aimed at generating near-term drill targets.