Zenith Minerals to commence drilling at Waratah Well lithium-tantalum project
Zenith Minerals chief executive officer Mick Clifford said the small and low cost drilling program would help the company understand Waratah Well’s lithium potential.
Junior explorer Zenith Minerals (ASX: ZNC) has secured a drilling contractor to test a large-scale lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite target at its wholly-owned Waratah Well project in Western Australia.
The project acreage features extensive outcropping, highly-fractionated, prospective LCT pegmatite dykes with very high-grade tantalum (up to 1221 parts per million tantalum pentoxide) and local high-grade lithium (up to 2.09% lithium oxide) extending over a large surface area.
A program of seven initial wide-spaced, 200 metre deep reverse circulation drill holes is scheduled to commence next month and last a fortnight with assay results expected in the new year.
The key target of blind lithium spodumene mineralisation beneath tantalum-bearing dykes at Waratah Well is a similar geological architecture to that of Liontown Resources’ (ASX: LTR) Kathleen Valley lithium-tantalum project in the eastern goldfields region, where relatively narrow surface pegmatite dykes merge at depth to form a thick, flat-lying, lithium-spodumene-rich sill.
Lithium-tantalum potential
The Waratah Well project has been subject to recent re-assessment for its potential to host lithium-tantalum mineralisation.
Chief executive officer Mick Clifford said drilling would target conceptual deeper lithium (spodumene) pegmatites below the surface of a lithium-tantalum-rich pegmatite dyke swarm.
“This small, low-cost program will help us to understand Waratah’s value and potential,” he said.
“If the conceptual target is confirmed, we will then decide on the most appropriate way forward for the project.”
While Waratah Well is not a core component of Zenith’s base and precious metals strategy, the company recognises the importance of lithium as a core piece of a greener electrical energy future.
“Tantalum has many everyday applications and remains in high demand,” Mr Clifford said.
“This project has many strategic positives and our [total] ownership gives us ultimate flexibility as to its future.”