Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has announced a highly positive update from the ongoing drilling program at its Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum Project in WA.
The company reported further high-grade new intersections from ongoing Reverse Circulation (RC) / diamond drilling resource in-fill and extensional program at the 100%-owned Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum Project.
Significant intercepts include 43m @ 3.1% Li2O from 253m; 16m @ 2.6% Li2O from 308m; 10m @ 1.8% Li2O from 232m; 25m @ 1.5% Li2O from 246m; and 15m @ 2.4% Li2O from 182m.
LTR said that these results are continuous with previously reported high-grade intersections including 13.1m @ 3.1% Li2O from 299m and 12m @ 3.1% Li2O from 218m, which are located ~150m along strike to the north-west.
The company reported that the newly identified +3% Li2O mineralised zone remains open to the north-west and an additional 8-10 drill holes are planned to test for strike continuity.
It may be noted that the results follow the recent release of an interim Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) upgrade of 139Mt @ 1.3% Li2O and 140ppm Ta2O5 which has confirmed Kathleen Valley as a Tier-1 hard-rock lithium resource.
The company announced that the in-fill and extensional drilling is now scheduled to continue until mid-March 2020. LTR said that the new data will be used to prepare an MRE which will ultimately underpin a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum project
Liontown’s 100%-owned Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum project is located ~670 km NE of Perth and ~45 km NNW of Leinster in Western Australia. The Project comprises four granted mining leases – MLs 36/264, 265, 459, 460 and one Exploration License – E36/879.
The company had recently announced an interim upgrade in the MRE to 139Mt @ 1.3% Li2O and 140ppm Ta2O5, which represents an 86% increase from the previous MRE reported in July 2019.
Drilling at Kathleen Valley
The company had recently commenced a resource in-fill and extensional drilling program at Kathleen Valley which is still ongoing. This drilling is part of the company’s strategy to fast-track the development of a significant new standalone lithium mining operation over the next 12-18 months.
LTR said that since late August 2019, 28 new RC holes have been drilled, 11 previous RC holes have been extended and 37 new diamond core holes have been drilled for a total of 28,219m.
Of this, eleven of the diamond core holes have been drilled for geotechnical purposes. The company has now reported new assays for three RC holes – KVRC0287, KVRC0288, and KVRC0289.
New high-grade results
The company has now announced multiple individual metres grading >5% Li2O and intercepts of up to 3.8% Li2O over 21m and 3.4% Li2O over 7m from the drill program.
Significant intercepts include 43m @ 3.1% Li2O from 253m (KVRC0287), including 21m @ 3.8% Li2O from 272m; 16m @ 2.6% Li2O from 308m (KVRC0287), including 13m @ 3.1% Li2O from 308m; 10m @ 1.8% Li2O from 232m (KVRC0288), including 8m @ 2.1% Li2O from 233m; 25m @ 1.5% Li2O from 246m (KVRC0288), including 15m @ 1.9% Li2O from 255m; and 15m @ 2.4% Li2O from 182m (KVRC0289), including 7m @ 3.4% Li2O from 183m and 1m @ 3.0% Li2O from 195m.
LTR said that these new results continue to demonstrate the continuity of exceptionally high-grade mineralisation at Kathleen Valley, particularly in the north-west sector of the deposit where the mineralised system remains open.
Total drilling completed
The company announced that the total amount of drilling completed by it at Kathleen Valley comprises 410 holes for 75,854m, including 331 RC holes for 54,785m and 79 diamond core holes for 21,069m.
This total includes 39 RC holes which have been extended following receipt of results along strike that indicated the potential for deeper mineralisation.
What’s next?
Given the high-grade nature of the latest results, Liontown said that it has decided to extend the current drilling program to the north-west with drilling now expected to continue until mid-March 2020.
MRE to be completed by 2020 April
In addition to testing for extensions of the high-grade mineralisation, LTR said that drilling will also be completed to provide the in-fill data required to prepare a largely Measured and Indicated MRE.
This MRE is scheduled for completion in late March/early April 2020 and will form the basis of a DFS.
The DFS will examine extraction of ore, defined by the next MRE, from both an underground and open pit perspective which is anticipated to provide the best outcome for the project.
The company reported that it is planning further RC and diamond core drilling to expand and infill current MRE. Other work planned includes option studies to define parameters for DFS; and the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).