News that caught my eye this week No.2
If a world class lithium deposit was discovered today would anyone care?
Before I move onto the main piece there has been a couple of updates on companies and happenings I have mentioned previously.
Infini Resources- I88-Soil Grades up to 74,997 ppm U3O8 (7.5%) at Portland Creek
The over limit samples came back and topped out at 7.5 wt % U3O8, very impressive! Where to from here, not sure. The company has a lot of new shareholders wanting rapid follow up and discovery. Some UAV mag survey interpretation is outstanding so likely we will see an announcement about that not too far away and perhaps some potential targets.
Uranium in soils, over limit samples
I don’t know exactly when the company plans to drill and what has to get lined up ahead of it (targets for one) but I reckon this is still a couple of months away. The market liked the news. Where to from here? I don’t know.
Ramp Metals-RAMP.V-Ramp Metals Announces Final Assays and Additional Gold Target
Ramp delivered the last of their assays and it turned out they hit some gold on their other target as well. No where near as impressive and the share price rolled over on the news, likely due to profit taking and momentum loss. Much like I88 they have to do a lot of work to determine what is going on. They are planning a winter drilling campaign.
The company managed to spot some very fine visible gold in the core and commented that the mineralized zones are characterized by high strain and the bending of the regional foliation, que the structural geos, we have a orogenic system. Given the grade, lack of alteration and of sulphide there is little else it could be.
Very fine free gold
Legacy Minerals- LGM-Epithermal Veins Intersected in Drilling at Bauloora
Big shoutout to LGM for some of the nicest core photos I have seen in a ASX announcement. Have a look at the ann, my reproductions don’t do them justice.
Epithermal mineralization at Bauloora
Newmont looks to have drilled quite a few shallow holes here trying to clip some good grade and work out where they sit in the system. Variability in base metal concentrations of the veins can be indicative of depth of formation and magmatic fluid contribution but what sort of grade this will run, I have no idea.
The key thing I am looking for is some good grades that will hang across depth and a couple of sections.
Drill plan with rock chip grades
Lake Johnston lithium action-TG6, CHR, E25 and others
This is a area I am following closely for a lithium discovery. The companies involved in the belt managed to raise cash and sign farm-ins late last year and appeared to catch the last chance express to do this. Share prices have been smashed since, and the likes of TG6 despite making a discovery and raising cash are almost at a lower EV than they were pre-discovery. I rode that rocket late last year and have successfully been jumping in and out since. Keen to see that gap at 73 c filled for a start.
As a side note it is important to say that keeping track of companies exploring out of favor commodities makes for a much easier and enjoyable job as you don’t have to trawl through the piles of garbage and pump to get to the results and science. It also means that only the decent projects get funded and entry can be cheap making for superior speculative instruments on a 1/2 cycle timeline.
Of the 3 companies, TG6 is drilling, CHR has announced they started this week (following on from some earlier drilling this year) and E25 hold a good ground positions with outcropping pegmatites as seen on satellite images but they are much more focused on their Mn deposit and upgrading facility. Not a bad strategy given Mn is at record highs and Li is in the toilet.
Lake Johnston Li players
Suspected Pegmatite on E25 ground
Hence the subtitle “If a world class lithium deposit was discovered today would anyone care?”. Would anyone care? I hope to find out. Both CHR and TG6 have large Li in soil anomalies, a small one of which led to the Burmeister discovery.
CHR will be drilling part of their Medcalfe discovery along with the soil anomalies.
TG6 on the other hand is drilling Burmeister for a maiden resource although some interpretations on Hot Copper have suggested further pegmatites may have been discovered using the seismic survey shown below. They have other rigs drilling the Jägermeister targets and satellite image analyses by both WhatsTheTip and Gmeister are showing good progress. I really appreciate this analysis and it is super fun way to keep track of what’s going on.
No results have been released thus far. Not from drilling and not from the seismic survey. I am taking great interest in all of this as a investor, scientist and a explorer.
I am not particularly well versed in Li-mobility in soils and have heard that false positives can happen. I don’t know why but given its mobility and water solubility my guess is mobilization through local aquifers and some deposition after they move on.
I think this is where the seismic survey comes in. Flat pegmatites in a basalt host should make for excellent reflectors and we have seen TG6 upgrade some soil anomalies after the survey was done. My interpretation is that the company wants put the truth machines (RC rigs) across some of these anomalies and reflectors first before coming out with results and hopefully presenting a Fait accompli of not just further discoveries but design of a exploration protocol that will allow them to effectively track down the thickest portions of all the big fat flat pegmatites under cover. This will benefit CHR as well.
Last we heard from the company was about a month ago for an announcement and a couple of weeks ago for a presso. One would think news would be around the corner.
I watch with interest and hold a small position in TG6 and have been trading it since the discovery ann. I don’t diminish CHR’s ground and given their backing by a major, low MC/EV, low SOI and prospective ground I will be all over them as soon as a substantial discovery materializes, albeit they are a slightly less good speculative vehicle given the terms of the farm-in.
Cheers
CC