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Auroch Minerals (ASX:AOU) tests Nepean Project’s lithium potential

Mining
ASX:AOU
25 February 2021 14:50 (AEST)

Auroch Minerals (AOU) is investigating the potential for lithium mineralisation at its Nepean Nickel Project in Western Australia.

The Nepean Project is located 25 kilometres south of Coolgardie, and operates under the company’s 80:20 joint venture agreement with Goldfellas.

The nickel sulphide orebody at the project is intruded by a swarm of semi-horizontal cross-cutting pegmatites. According to mine working and drill-hole intersections, some of these pegmatites are over 100 metres thick and over 1000 metres long.

This increases the pegmatites’ potential of containing highly fractionated, lithium-enriched parts. 

In addition, the pegmatites are located within the same greenstone belt as the lithium-bearing Londonderry Pegmatite, situated only five kilometres away. This suggests that the pegmatites at the Nepean Project may have originated from the same source, and have similar lithium mineralisation.

In spite of these encouraging facts, the pegmatites within the Nepean nickel sulphide orebody have never been investigated for their potential, until now.

Auroch Minerals has contracted expert lithium geologist Peter Spitalny to conduct the investigation, which will assess the project for its potential to host economically significant lithium mineralisation.

Auroch’s Managing Director, Aidan Platel, commented on the company’s employment of Peter Spitalny, and on his participation in the investigation.

“Peter is well-known throughout Western Australia and even globally for his expertise in the exploration and economic evaluation of LCT pegmatites, and we look forward to what his initial investigation will tell us,” he said.

“Using Peter to evaluate the lithium potential means that our in-house geological team remains completed focussed on the nickel sulphide exploration at Nepean, and in particular the current RC drill programme at Nepean, which is now over third-third completed,” he added.

Auroch Minerals is up 4 per cent, trading at 26 cents per share at 1:40 pm AEDT.

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