Australian exploration company Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) has defined the location of lithium mineralised pegmatites, as well as an ‘extremely high-grade’ zone of rare earth oxide (REO) mineralisation through a recently completed drill program at the Eyre Project in Western Australia.
Initial drill results from the Merivale South prospect produced very encouraging total rare earth oxide (TREO) results of up to 1.26%, delivering multiple wide, near-surface intersections. Larvotto believes the mineralisation is hosted within ionic clays, which makes them suitable for simple and cost-effective extraction.
Larvotto reports metallurgical testwork is currently underway to determine the amenability for the potential ionic clay REO mineralisation to leaching. The results of this testwork will determine the extent of follow-up drilling in the area. Following on from the lithium results, the company says a drill program to test the Merivale pegmatites for lithium mineralisation is currently being planned.
Additionally, a drill program to test several of the nickel geochemical anomalies at Merivale, Dickie Dyke, and Mt Norcott is being planned. Drilling will start once a heritage and environmental survey is completed.
Meanwhile, Larvotto reports it has mobilised a crew to start exploration work at the Mt Isa Project in Queensland.
The company reports the team comprising a senior geologist, 2 junior geologists, and 6 field technicians under the supervision of Larvotto Resources Exploration Manager Nick Burn, have been dispatched to the project considered prospective for copper, gold, and cobalt.
Exploration activities planned at the project include logging and sampling diamond drill cores that remained stuck in the field due to the 2022 wet season
Exploration activities planned at the project include logging and sampling diamond drill cores that remained stuck in the field due to the 2022 wet season, along with soil geochemical programs across previously unexplored areas.
The company will also undertake a detailed geological mapping campaign of the wider Mt Isa tenement area, and evaluate and prioritise exploration targets for follow-up programs such as geophysics and drilling. This exploration campaign was delayed due to ‘extreme’ weather conditions experienced in late 2022 and early 2023.
Concurrently, Larvotto has also completed a drilling program that began in January at the Ohakuri Gold Project in New Zealand. The company says 7 diamond drillholes for a total of 1,924m was completed on 12 April 2023.
The company says this program aimed to test geochemical and geophysical anomalies that indicated the potential presence of deep epithermal gold feeder zones. Larvotto believes these gold conduits have potentially provided mineralisation for very thick zones of ‘lower grade’ mineralisation that cover an ‘extensive’ area within the central portion of the prospect.
Larvotto reports all diamond core is currently being transported from site to a logging and sampling facility at Waihi for processing. Geological logging is also well advanced, while the cutting of diamond core is nearing completion. The company says a small number of results have been received, but notes it will take 4 weeks to cut, sample, and analyse the core collected.
Larvotto is an Australian exploration company working on its portfolio of projects including the Mt Isa Copper-Gold-Cobalt Project in Queensland, the Ohakuri Gold Project in New Zealand, and the Eyre Multi-Metals and Lithium Project in Western Australia.
Images: Larvotto Resources Ltd
