Astute Metals (ASX:ASE) has confirmed multiple lithium zones across the Red Mountain Project in Nevada, US, after receiving assays from the final four drillholes.
The final batch of assays, from drillholes located in the south of the project area, show multiple zones of lithium mineralisation, which enhances Red Mountain’s potential for the company.
The zones are interpreted to be intersected by drillhole RMRC004 and remain open to the north and south of existing drilling.
Astute Metals, which has a market capitalisation of $13.56 million, says the latest results combined with previously reported results, indicate an “excellent” scale and grade potential at Red Mountain.
The results include drillhole RMRC008 with 25.9m @ 1,120 parts per million (ppm) lithium and drillhole RMRC009 with 29m @ 1,060ppm lithium.
Chairman Tony Leibowitz says with all of the results received, Red Mountain’s potential continues to grow.
“The team has also now completed a detailed geological interpretation of the deposit, which gives us excellent insights into its future commercial potential,” Leibowitz says.
“Encouragingly, this work has identified multiple zones of lithium mineralisation in the south, which also highlights the potential for further significant growth in the size of the mineralised system.
“We are now looking forward to planning our next program of work and laying the foundation for a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate to quantify the size of this opportunity for our shareholders.”
Astute Metals plans to build upon the results to date through further drilling to increase intersections at depth and along strike, as well as metallurgical testwork to establish lithium liberation characteristics, and diamond drilling to improve the geological understanding of the deposit.
Over the remainder of 2024, Astute Metals plans to undertake a maiden diamond drilling program and perform initial metallurgical testwork.
An airborne hyperspectral survey is also under consideration, as a potential means of efficient identification of further zones of clay-rich lithologies that may host lithium mineralisation.
The Red Mountain Project lies in central-eastern Nevada, and has broad mapped tertiary lacustrine sedimentary rocks, known locally as the Horze Camp Formation.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Astute Metals
