Pioneer Resources Hits Lithium Grade Heights at Pioneer Dome

/in /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) loudly announced assay results received from the most recent drilling program at the company’s 100 per cent-held Pioneer Dome lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) Pegmatite project, near Norseman in Western Australia.

Pioneer Resources said the program including 14 shallow reverse circulation (RC) drill holes (PDRC111-124, totalling 1002m) intersected the thickest, high-grade lithium alumina silicates, as well as the thickest lithium mica intersections recorded to date from the PEG008A prospect, located adjacent to the Sinclair Caesium Zone.

The company explained a further three diamond core holes, which intersected Sinclair Zone pollucite, have not been cut and assayed as they were drilled for geotechnical information.

Lithium Alumina Silicate (Spodumene and/or Petalite) Intersections included:

PDRC113
9m at 1.18 per cent lithium dioxide (Li2O) from 44m

PDRC114
19m at 1.77 per cent Li2O from 39m, including 10m at 2.34 per cent Li2O from 47m

PDRC115
17m at 1.48 per cent Li2O from 35m

PDRC116
20m at 2.48 per cent Li2O from 36m

PDRC118
7m at 1.67 per cent Li2O from 43m

PDRC119
13m at 0.97 per cent Li2O from 36m

PDRC122
11m at 1.34 per cent Li2O from 45m

PDRC123
6m at 1.50 per cent Li2O from 44m

Lithium Mica (Lepidolite) Intersections included:

PDRC112
31m at 2.54 per cent Li2O from 47m

PDRC118
9m at 2.44 per cent Li2O from 50m

PDRC121
8m at 2.48 per cent Li2O from 47m

PDRC123
6m at 2.34 per cent Li2O from 51m

Tantalum Intersections (>180ppm Ta2O5) in earlier and current drilling included:

PDRC091**
12m at 372ppm tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) from 55m

PDRC112
16m at 284ppm Ta2O5 from 58m

PDRC118
15m at 494ppm Ta2O5 from 50m

PDRC121
6m at 422ppm Ta2O5 from 47m

PDRCD069**
5.25m at 534ppm Ta2O5 from 53m

PDRCD072**
5.85m at 390ppm Ta2O5 from 52.15m

PDRCD075**
4.6m at 365ppm Ta2O5 from 56.4m

** Drilled in previous campaigns

Pioneer Resources’ declared priority is to expedite the commercialisation the Sinclair Caesium Zone, indicating its next step is the development of an exploration decline and extraction of a bulk sample of ‘direct shipping’ pollucite for metallurgical processing.

Pioneer claimed that drilling at the Pioneer Dome project has confirmed the discovery of a rare-metal lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite system.

“It is well documented that a range of elements, including lithium, caesium, tantalum, rubidium, tin and beryllium, form in distinct zones within the differentiated pegmatite body,” Pioneer Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The characteristics of PEG008A Pegmatite to date are those of an extreme distal pegmatite zone, which is characterised by the occurrence of pollucite, a globally significant and rare ore mineral of caesium. In this zone lithium may occur in micas (e.g. lepidolite) along with other exotic minerals.

“Spodumene tends to occur in greater abundance in more proximal pegmatite zones.”

The key caesium mineral is pollucite, which is very rare.

Prior to Pioneer’s discovery of the Sinclair Zone of the Pioneer Dome project, pollucite had been identified in commercial quantities in only two locations worldwide: the Bernic Lake Mine, Canada, and Bikita Mine, Zimbabwe, both of which have been substantially depleted by mining since the 1990s.

The main use of pollucite is in the manufacture of very high value caesium formate brines, used for high-pressure/high-temperature oil and gas drilling and exploration.

Caesium formate acts to stabilise rock formations, does not cause corrosion of drilling equipment and can enhance hydrocarbon recovery.

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioresources.com.au