Australian lithium miner Core Lithium has announced a significant upgrade to the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at BP33, a key deposit for the Finniss Lithium Operation in the Northern Territory and the second proposed mine at Finniss currently awaiting development approval.
Exploration drilling in 2022 has led to an increase in the Mineral Resource at BP33 from 4.37Mt at 1.53 per cent lithium oxide (Li₂O) to 10.1Mt at 1.48 per cent Li₂O.
The results from eleven drill holes targeting extensions along strike and down dip to the existing BP33 orebody were also recently received. The drilling was completed to determine the continuity of grade and thickness down-plunge of the currently modelled mineralisation domains. The results show that the BP33 mineralisation appears open down plunge and along strike and has potential for increases to the BP33 Mineral Resource in future drilling programs.
In 2022, parallel to development of the Grants Mine and processing infrastructure that led to the production and first shipment of DSO, Core completed an expanded drilling program.
Further drill results are pending from the remainder of the 2022 drilling program and work is underway to update the global Finniss Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimate.
Plans are in place to continue these exploration efforts in 2023 with a further expansion of the exploration program across the Finniss project area in 2023. Core’s objective is to identify and define additional Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves that lead to the development of mining options across the Company’s Finniss tenements.
Core Lithium CEO, Gareth Manderson, said, “This upgrade is a credit to our exploration and technical teams, who are systematically exploring the Finniss tenements while the business moves into production. These results provide further confirmation of the prospectivity of Core Lithium’s ground holding.
“Importantly, BP33 remains open at depth. Exploration to extend mine life at Finniss and identify growth opportunities is a priority for the business, with an expanded drilling program for CY23.”
