Riversgold (ASX:RGL) has lodged a program of works to begin a maiden reverse circulation drilling program at the Earl Grey Lithium prospect in Western Australia.
The company says the drilling program will consist of up to 2,000m of RC drilling with the option for diamond tails, and has been designed to test for a potential extension of the Earl Grey deposit to the northwest where it is interpreted to be open and extending at depth.
Adding on, Riversgold notes drilling will be conducted on tenement E77/2784, which is situated about 1.5km immediately east of the Mt Holland Lithium Mine, and the ‘globally significant’ Mt Holland Lithium Project, which is being developed by joint venture (JV) company Covalent Lithium in Western Australia’s Marvel Loch region.
“The widths and tenor of the mineralised pegmatites at both Earl Grey and Bounty would be very attractive in today’s lithium market”
Drilling is expected to get underway as soon as the PoW is approved by the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), and heritage clearance is received.
Speaking on the upcoming drilling program, Riversgold Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Julian Ford said: “The Earl Grey Prospect’s attraction lies in its proximity to the existing orebody currently being mined by SQM and Wesfarmers. In 2016, Kidman interpreted the orebody to be open to both the north and the north-east. The widths and tenor of the mineralised pegmatites at both Earl Grey and Bounty would be very attractive in today’s lithium market.”
The company also notes the Earl Grey deposit is now owned by Covalent, with owners SQM (NYSE:SQM) and Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) owning all associated tenements under a 50:50 partnership.
In addition, work undertaken by Kidman Resources, which is now owned by Wesfarmers, indicated that the Earl Grey deposit was open to both the north and the northeast at a dip of about 20%.
With the PoW now lodged, Riversgold announces it is currently defining further drill targets east and southwest of the historical Bounty gold mine, and will update the market once this work is completed.
Riversgold is an ASX-listed exploration company with a lithium-focused strategy in the world-renowned Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons in Western Australia. The company’s current activities surrounds a suite of 4 lithium-prospective exploration tenement applications covering 164km-square in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, which were acquired by the company in 2022.
The company also acquired a tenement package of 301.2km-square prospective for lithium in the Southern Cross-Marvel Loch region of Western Australia, which also includes the Earl Grey prospect.
