- Essential Metals (ESS) is expecting to complete an extensional drilling program at its Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia within the next two weeks
- The company has so far drilled 14 holes at the Cade Deeps and Davy deposits and expects to receive assay results by the end of October
- The results will feed into a mineral resource update for Pioneer Dome, with Essential Metals to then work towards completing a scoping study by the end of the year
- Essential is getting ready to submit drafts of its current mineralisation report to the Geological Survey of Western Australia for review ahead of a mining lease application
- Shares in Essential last traded at 55 cents on August 11
Essential Metals (ESS) is expecting to complete an extensional drilling program at its Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia within the next two weeks.
So far, the company has drilled 14 holes for 4883 metres at the Cade and Davy deposits, with a further four holes totalling approximately 800 metres remaining.
At Cade, six holes were completed to the targeted depth, and one hole remains to be completed.
Essential said it observed spodumene in three of the holes drilled, though core logs suggested that drilling intersected the wall zone of the Cade pegmatite on the lower periphery of the spodumene mineralised zone.
Essential confirmed further exploratory drilling was warranted to follow the Cade pegmatite to the south to determine if more spodumene mineralised zones were present.
At Davy, eight holes were drilled to the targeted depth, and three holes remain to be completed.
The company noted spodumene-bearing pegmatites of one to three metres in thickness were intersected in all five holes drilled in the northern strike extent of Davy.
Managing Director Tim Spencer said the drill program was “very important” in delineating potential extensions to the Cade and Davy deposits to determine the potential scale of a future mining operation and support detailed economic studies.
“Assay results will flow into an updated mineral resource and scoping study for Pioneer Dome, both scheduled for delivery in the December quarter,” Mr Spencer said.
Meanwhile, Essential said it was getting ready to submit drafts of its current mineralisation report to the Geological Survey of Western Australia for review ahead of a mining lease application
Shares in Essential last traded at 55 cents on August 11.