AVZ Minerals Confirms Carriere de l’Este Potential
THE DRILL SERGEANT: AVZ Minerals (ASX: AVZ) reported new results from Mineral Resource drilling of the company’s Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The latest assay results come from four new, widely spaced ‘step-out’ holes drilled at Carriere de l’Este, located on section lines 200m and 400m NNE along strike from the initial 2017 drill holes.
The company said the new holes have identified additional high-grade spodumene rich zones for future infill resource estimation drill programs.
The Carriere de l’Este pegmatite deposit is now confirmed at 1.2 kilometres long and remains open at both ends and down dip.
High-grade intersections from recent drilling include:
12.05 metres at 2.41 per cent lithium and 735ppm tin;
21.09m ta 2.1 per cent lithium and 943ppm tin; and
16m at 2.49 per cent lithium and 571ppm tin.
“The assay results from these four new holes show highly encouraging mineralisation 400 metres closer to the historical Carriere de l’Este open pit; as well as a more complex geology with intrusions of aplitic pegmatite and dolerite possibly along late-stage faults,” AVZ Minerals managing director Nigel Ferguson said in the company’s ASX announcement.
“The holes were deliberately widely spaced to try and help track the location of the high-grade zones mapped further to the southwest along this massive deposit and to that extent, the drilling has been successful.
“This information will be used to plan focussed infill drilling for the high-grade zones, with a closer pattern required in order to generate near surface Indicated or Measured Resources for possible conversion to reserves, prior to the commissioning of the new processing plant.
“The possible delineation of high-grade future reserves has the potential to initially feed higher grade ore to the plant, providing increased SC6 production volumes from the start of operations.
“This new information has allowed the location of the hanging wall contact to be expanded in areas of poor outcrop, which will help with the efficient targeting of future resource drilling of the overall Carriere de l’Este deposit.
“The drill data has also confirmed the presence of sub-cropping spodumene mineralisation to 1.2 kilometres long at average pegmatite widths of up to 200 metres in places, confirming this deposit as a likely rival to Roche Dure.
“Additionally, drill planning is well advanced on both eluvial laterite hosted tin deposits and the historical F2 and F4 alluvial tin deposits identified from the review of historical tin exploration carried out in the 1980s with drilling expected to commence soon.
“Despite future tin production accounting for only a small percentage of the project’s overall revenue, a strengthening tin and tantalum price continues to justify some exploration expenditure to gain information on the potential scale of these deposits which may sustain a separate placer tin mining business on the concession.”
TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE
Email: admin@avzminerals.com.au