Juno Minerals has announced that two phases of drilling data from the Mount Ida lithium prospect have been geochemically evaluated, confirming that the prospect is a fertile lithium caesium and tantalum (LCT) mineralised environment.
The Phase 1 drilling tested geological structure and the Phase 2 drilling tested the northern and southern soil anomalies to evaluate the potential for shallow subsurface LCT pegmatite developments.
The drill sample multi element results have been independently evaluated by a geochemist using both the Prospectively and Fertility Index, ‘Evaluation of Phase 1 and Phase 2 LCT focused drilling, Mt Ida’.
The Prospectively Index incorporates all the LCT elements (lithium (Li), beryllium (Be), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), thallium (Tl), and tin (Sn)) along with the granitic lithic elements (aluminium (Al), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), gallium (Ga)) and greenstone lithic elements (magnesium (Mg), chromium (Cr)). The purpose of the Prospectively Index is to identify areas related to true pegmatites and filter out false anomalies due to scavenging in a near surface environment.
The Fertility Index is [(Rb/K) x ten] and informs position within the granite-pegmatite system, with the closer to unity (one) the better the fertility.
Juno Minerals said that the interpretation on the available data has confirmed that the drilling has intersected LCT pegmatites, with Phase 1 dominantly intersecting beryl-columbite pegmatites, proximal to a granite, and Phase 2 intersecting albite pegmatites.
The drilling confirmed that the Mount Ida Lithium Prospect is a fertile LCT mineralised system, with the lithium rich LCT pegmatites lying outboard of the current drilling and away from the granite pluton in a northeasterly vector.
The company said that the next phase of exploration is currently being evaluated, which will most likely involve soil sampling on a tight spaced grid to the east of the Phase 2 drilling where the soil sampling was on a 400m grid, which will add further geochemical information to the data set to target lithium rich LCT pegmatites.
The geochemical evaluation of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling have confirmed that the Mount Ida Lithium Prospect is a fertile LCT pegmatite system. The drilling has added to the Prospect’s data set and will inform the next exploration phase to target lithium rich pegmatites.
The Prospect does not have walk up outcropping lithia rich pegmatite targets, so undercover exploration techniques are required.
Juno Minerals said it will continue with a pragmatic and systematic approach to cost effective exploration on its Prospect.
