Battery metals big-cap Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) has again touted the potential ‘global significance’ of its Andover Project, with a fresh string of ‘impressive’ lithium results from drilling at the TA1 target area.
The $1.66 billion market capitalisation company says recent diamond drilling at the AP0011 pegmatite within the target area has returned some of the thickest and highest-grade mineralised intersections to date, with 6 holes drilling through more than 100m of ‘strong’ lithium mineralisation.
It comes as 9 diamond rigs continue to operate at Andover; 8 rigs for exploration and resource definition, and one for collecting bulk core samples for metallurgical testwork.
The new lithium results include hole ANRD0154 with 112.9m @ 1.63% Li2O from 408.5m, including 24.6m @ 2.17% Li2O from 424.7m; hole ANDD0309 with 152.3m @ 1.15% Li2O from 330.7m, including 34.7m @ 1.73% Li2O from 331.6m; and hole ANDD0334 with 112.0m @ 1.24% Li2O from 299.1m, including 40.6m @ 1.55% Li2O from 360.1m.
Azure has now drilled 217 diamond holes for nearly 70,000m at the Andover Project, as well as 94 reverse circulation (RC) holes for 18,775m and 28 holes comprising RC pre-collars and diamond tails for 12,700.7m.
The company, which was named one of Mining.com.au’s top 5 mining stocks for 2023 thanks to its whopping 1,500% share price rise over the calendar year, says the new assay results confirm the ‘enormous potential’ of the Andover project. Azure owns 60% of the project, with Creasy Group holding the remaining 40%.
The Andover pegmatite swarm extends over a 9km area from east to west and up to 5km from north to south. Azure says it comprises ‘hundreds’ of outcropping pegmatites, with many containing high lithium grades identified from extensive surface sampling.
Azure Minerals had more than $117 million cash and cash equivalents at hand at the end of December 2023, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Joshua Smith at Mining.com.au
Images: Azure Minerals
