Industrial Minerals (ASX:IND) will undertake surface geochemical programs at its Pippingarra Project in Western Australia as a 3,500m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program nears.
The $72.99 million market capitalisation company says the planned works come amid increased inbound interest in the high-purity quartz (HPQ) from Pippingarra after samples were sent to potential buyers for assessment.
The company is seeking to mobilise a diamond drill rig to site by the end of November 2023 to target the deeper pegmatites and the HPQ core of the pegmatite for laboratory and customer testing.
Drilling will be undertaken in conjunction with ongoing desktop and in-field assessment of all of its tenements in the Pilbara. It will focus on testing and validating historical drill data adjacent to the existing open pit and along strike.
The company notes drillholes will be completed on a 50m by 50m spacing and up to 100m depth to test the extent and variability of the ‘broad’ and flat-lying pegmatite identified in previous drilling and test for potential repetition of the pegmatite unit at depth.
This pegmatite is interpreted to strike over 2km with an average width of 200m and thickness of 20m.
Industrial Minerals notes the first RC rig has been mobilised to site at the same time that the company has employed experienced lithium geological consultants Bourke and Associates to manage its suite of Pilbara lithium projects, with an initial focus on Pippingarra.
HPQ represents a special feedstock used in industries with high-tech appliances, including the solar industry, while lower-quality HPQ is used in glass manufacturing.
The delivery of the drill rig follows Industrial Minerals’ securing an option to acquire an 80% interest in the mineral rights to the Pippingarra mining lease owned by North West Quarries, as announced in October.
Industrial Minerals is a critical minerals explorer and developer of high-purity silica sand and quartz with projects in Western Australia positioned to supply the rapidly expanding solar photovoltaic (PV) industry.
The Pippingarra Project sits within Western Australia’s established lithium province of Pilbara about 30km southeast of Port Hedland.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Industrial Minerals
