Pioneer Resources Releases Sinclair Caesium Zone Mineral Resource Estimate

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) released a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Sinclair Caesium Zone, located within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Pioneer Dome lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) project in Western Australia.

The Mineral Resource Estimate is 10,500 tonnes of the caesium ore – pollucite – with a grade of 17.1 per cent caesium oxide (Cs2O).

Pioneer Resources completed a program of 22 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes (PDRC088- PDRC109) in January, drilled along strike both north and south of the Sinclair Caesium Zone to test for evidence of further caesium mineralisation.

The company claimed to have intersected “high-value caesium mineral pollucite” at an extension to the Sinclair Zone, taking the mineralised strike length to 70 metres.

Pioneer said geochemical vectors for pollucite were also indicated in the drill information, leading it to declare the Sinclair Caesium Zone to be one of a number of caesium and lithium targets for investigation going forward.

High-grade caesium drill intersections from the January 2017 drilling included:

PDRC090
1 metre at 12.3 per cent caesium oxide (Cs2O) from 48m;

PDRC093
2m at 10.4 per cent Cs2O from 49m; and

PDRC094
3m at 11.5 per cent Cs2O from 49m.

“The Mineral Resource Estimate is a significant step toward the company realising the value of the Sinclair Caesium Zone, which was discovered in September 2016,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Preliminary metallurgy is looking very positive, with a simple process identified that can produce the very high-value, high-density caesium formate brine for use in the Oil and Gas industry.”

Pioneer Resources indicated it is preparing to collect a bulk sample of pollucite for larger scale comminution and metallurgical test work by way of an adit.

Preparation for this work includes a mine design, environmental studies and a safety management plan.

The company has identified other priority exploration targets for caesium and lithium via drilling and soil geochemistry.

Pioneer Resources’ next round of drilling is planned to resume in the June quarter of 2017 with specific holes drilling for geotechnical studies.

Website: www.pioresources.com.au