Venus Metals Corporation (ASX:VMC) is preparing a drilling program to test the lithium-rich zones and the broader caesium-tin geochemical anomaly at its Youanmi Lithium Project.
The $19 million market capitalisation company reports this will provide a better understanding of the true size and orientation of lithium pegmatites and, importantly, identify possible variability in Lithium mineralogy.
For example, at the Earl Grey Lithium deposit (Mount Holland) different Lithium minerals dominate separate geological domains within the deposit. The spodumene, petalite, and alteration assemblages are restricted to distinct zones within the Earl Grey pegmatite and are strongly correlated with individual fault blocks and their bounding structures.
Venus Metals notes exploration at Deep South is at a very early stage and currently known outcropping Lithium pegmatites in this poorly exposed area potentially may only represent a relatively small part of the mineralized system.
A follow-up mapping and sampling field program has been completed at the Deep South Prospect, which delineated two new zones with outcropping LCT pegmatites, south from Lithium-rich pegmatites previously reported in August 2023.
Geological mapping shows 3 main zones of outcropping lithium-rich pegmatite over a 300m x 200m area. Referred to as Central Zone (up to 4.5% Li2O), East Zone (up to 4.6% Li2O), and North Zone (up to 4.6% Li2O), Venus says common areas of high lithium grade are associated with coarse grained petalite, a lithium mineral with similar composition to spodumene and known to occur with spodumene in other lithium deposits in the region.
The company says the northerly trending Central Zone is interpreted to dip gently towards east with the orientation of the other two zones yet to be determined.
The mapped LCT pegmatites correlate with broad geochemical anomalies for caesium (up to 10,591ppm Cs) and tin (up to 473ppm Sn), consistent with an extensive intrusive system.
The Deep South mineralisation is shaping up as a significant new lithium find and exploration has been accelerated to better understand the dimensions of the pegmatites and map the distribution of lithium minerals within them.
Preparations are made for a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program to test the depth extent of outcropping pegmatites and explore for additional LCT pegmatites below extensive areas of cover.
Addressing the results, Venus MD Matt Hogan says: “These follow-up rock sampling results received are outstanding with up to 4.6% Li2O and expand the lithium-rich pegmatites over 300m X 200m into three known zones which potentially only represent a small section of the mineralized system in this poorly exposed area.”
The Deep South Prospect is located in the southern part of tenement E57/1078, about 450km northeast of Perth and 44km south from the Youanmi Gold Mine. Lithium mineralisation was discovered by Venus following a regional ultrafine (UF) soil sampling program that outlined an extensive, 1.4km x 0.4km, northeasterly trending lithium anomaly (>110ppmLi).
Field checks showed common thin sand cover over poorly outcropping bedrock that comprise mafic/ultramafic and granitoid rocks including pegmatite. Lithium-rich pegmatite was first identified in two outcrops at North Zone returning samples with 4.6% Li2O and 3.26% Li2O respectively.
The Deep South Prospect is situated some 1.5km east from the Youanmi Fault Zone, a crustal-scale structure that defines the tectonic boundary between the Southern Cross and Murchison Domains within the Youanmi Terrane of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Venus Metals
