Alderan Resources (ASX:AL8) will move forward with soil sampling to define lithium targets for drilling in Q3 2024 after unearthing lithium indicator minerals in Artisanal Mines at the Carai Project in Brazil.
The $5.53 million market capitalisation company says soil sampling will begin once stream sampling is completed in Q1 2024.
Alderan reports lithium and multi-element assays, including rare earth elements (REEs) are expected in March this year.
The sampling program is the first undertaken for lithium in these ‘highly prospective’ project areas in Minas Gerais’ productive Lithium Valley District.
Alderan states it is implementing various strategies to enable earlier drilling.
Alderan Resources Managing Director Scott Caithness says the company is ramping up the pace of the program at a ‘very exciting’ stage of exploration.
“Stream sampling of the Itambacuri project has been completed, we are midway through the Carai project area and rock sampling of pegmatites identified in Governador Valadares, Itambacuri and Carai during due diligence has been done.
The program has located beryl and tantalum mineralisation, both indicators of fertile intrusives with lithium potential, plus previously unknown artisanal workings at Carai. We are now ramping up the pace of the program through using a contract geological company to increase the number of sampling teams.
In parallel with the sampling, Alderan is establishing itself in Brazil with its local subsidiary now in place, recruiting underway for an in-country exploration manager and an outsourced administration, accounting and tenement management service provider appointed.”
Meanwhile, Alderan’s Brazilian subsidiary, Alderan Mineracao LTDA, has been established. The company states recruitment of an in-country Exploration Manager is underway and that a contract administration, tenement management, and accounting company is in place.
A contract geological services company has also been engaged to fast track exploration activities.
Alderan Resources specialises in critical and precious metal exploration and holds a suite of 7 lithium projects in Minas Gerais, Brazil, as well as copper and gold projects in Utah, US.
As of 30 September 2023, Alderan Resources had $1.529 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Alderan Resources
