Lightning Minerals (ASX:L1M) is planning to begin a drilling program in Q1 2025 across the company’s projects in the Lithium Valley region of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The 3,500m diamond drilling program will test various targets, starting with the Esperança Project, where lithium-bearing pegmatites have been discovered with spodumene grading up to 4.04% lithium oxide.
Up to 2,000m of drilling will be conducted at Esperança Project, with the aim to intersect and extend the spodumene discovery at the site of historical artisanal workings, and to test beneath the outcropping spodumene zone to ascertain if the pegmatite is part of a larger swarm of stacked pegmatites.
Once completed, drilling will move to the Caraíbas Project, where elevated assays have returned up to 239 parts per million (ppm) lithium.
Lightning Minerals says other target areas are being considered for drill testing at the Canabrava Project, where strong lithium-in-soil anomalism up to 113ppm lithium has been identified.
Managing Director Alex Biggs says at the beginning of the company’s work programs, the team developed a clear and focused strategy which was executed quickly, cost-effectively, and safely.
“The results are significant in this context and now provide the company with excellent drill targets and positions us to potentially make a discovery in the Lithium Valley,” Biggs says.
“We have always been strong believers in the lithium thematic and the potential that Brazil presents to be a significant contributor to the lithium supply chain.
“Recent acquisition activity in the region supports this and we feel there are other significant lithium discoveries to be made in the region. As we finish 2024, we are gearing up for a very busy and productive start to the new year.”
The company is currently engaging with a contractor to carry out the drilling work.
An extended program expanding the drilling footprint may be initiated depending on the outcome of the phase one drilling program.
Further, a ground reconnaissance program is also continuing at the Esperança Project directly around the spodumene discovery site. The program aims to identify further pegmatites, gain an understanding of possible orientation of outcropping lithologies, and develop a strategy for further drilling.
Lightning Minerals is a critical minerals and lithium explorer focused on its assets in Western Australia and Brazil.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Lightning Minerals
