Pan Asia Metals (ASX:PAM) reports that follow-up mapping, soil, and rock-chip sampling has significantly increased the exploration potential at the Bang I Tum Lithium prospect located in southern Thailand.
Pan Asia notes that sampling and XRF analysis of numerous lepidolite dykes and veins has identified ‘highly anomalous’ lithium pathfinders with rubidium being a strong proxy for lithium.
The new zone is about 800m long and 200m wide and is characterised by numerous lepidolite rich alpo-pegmatite dykes and veins. These are interpreted to be a westerly extension of the dyke swarm where the company has previously defined a drill supported Exploration Target of 8-14 million tonnes at a grade ranging between 0.5% to 0.8% Li2O.
Grades have also been estimated for Sn, Ta2O5, Rb, Cs, and K.
The company, which is a is a battery and critical metals explorer and developer, notes that the exploration potential could be up 200%.
Pan Asia reports that the drill program will be now expanded to test newly identified zone and additional follow-up work is planned to further refine and expand the zone south.
Addressing the recent results, Pan Asia Metals Managing Director Paul Lock said: “This is a great outcome, the prospective zone identified through our recent geochem program at Bang I Tum is twice the area that defines the current Exploration Target for Bang I Tum of 8-14 million tonnes at 0.5% to 0.8% Li2O.
“This is a great outcome, the prospective zone identified through our recent geochem program at Bang I Tum is twice the area that defines the current Exploration Target for Bang I Tum”
Although the Li2O grades for lepidolite mica style lithium projects are generally lower than those for spodumene projects, lepidolite micas are located below most spodumene projects on the cost curve, as per the Wood MacKenzie lithium cost curves published in Tianqi Lithium Corporation’s 30 June 2022 IPO prospectus.
As PAM’s lithium projects are located in Southeast Asia, in close proximity to the largest auto producing precinct in Southeast Asia as well as several large industrial zones, we believe it’s a fair assumption that PAM will have certain cost advantages over many of its lithium peers – keeping in mind that much of the steel infrastructure for the Roy Hill Iron Ore project was fabricated in Thailand.
The enlarged prospective zone at Bang I Tum complements the Exploration Target there as well as PAM’s Inferred Mineral Resource of 10.4Mt at 0.44% Li2O for 113,000 tonnes LCE at the Reung Kiet Lithium Prospect about 8km to the southwest.
PAM’s initial aim is to define an Ore Reserve sufficient to produce 10,000t LCE for a minimum 10 years, we are progressing towards this and with a successful drilling program at Bang I Tum we could surpass it.”
The company notes that the potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
Bang I Tum (BIT) is located about 8km north of the Reung Kiet Lithium Prospect in southern Thailand, where Pan Asia has reported an inaugural Inferred Mineral Resource. The company retains a 100% interest in both prospects.
Pan Asia has completed additional soil and rock chip sampling and geological mapping at BIT. The program was conducted to follow-up previous work and to assist in drill planning to further evaluate the existing Exploration Target.
The Reung Kiet Lithium Project is a lepidolite style lithium project located about 70km north-east of Phuket in the Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand.
Pan Asia holds a 100% interest in 3 contiguous Special Prospecting Licenses (SPL) and 1 exclusive prospecting license (EPL) covering about 40km-square.
The company is a battery and critical metals explorer and developer focused on the identification and development of projects in Asia that have the potential to position it to produce metal compounds and other value-added products that are in high demand in the region.
Pan Asia Metals currently owns 2 lithium projects and one tungsten project. The projects are located in Thailand, a ‘low-cost’ advanced industrial economy, and fit Pan Asia Metal’s strategy of developing downstream value-add opportunities situated in ‘low-cost’ environments proximal to end market users.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Pan Asia Metals Ltd & iStock
