Essential Metals Limited provided Pioneer Dome Lithium Project update. The 450km2 Pioneer Dome Project (ESS: 100%) is located in the core of Western Australia's lithium corridor in the Eastern Goldfields, approximately 130km south of Kalgoorlie and 275km north of the Port of Esperance. A Mineral Resource1 of 11.2Mt at 1.21% Li2O has been defined at `Dome North' in the northern area of the Project.

The southern Yilgarn area is recognised as being well-endowed with spodumene deposits, including the Bald Hill Mine, the Mt Marion Mine and the Buldania Project, all of which are located within 80km of the Pioneer Dome Project. The world-class Greenbushes Deposit, the Mt Holland Mine and the Mt Cattlin Mine are located further west, south-west and south-south-west, respectively. In August 2021, 93 slimline Reverse Circulation (RC) holes were drilled, totalling 5,934m, around the existing Dome North spodumene deposits (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

Final assay results were announced on 3 November 20212. No new pegmatites with reportable intersections were discovered by this drilling, however encouraging geochemical results were returned from Heller North (PDRC543 & 44) as well as the `Davy to Cade' (PDRC571 to PDRC575) areas, both of which required further investigation. An air-core (AC) drill programme comprising 30 holes for ~2,320m will be carried out to test the Heller NE (north-east) and `Davy to Cade' targets generated from the August 2021 slimline RC programme.

The aim is further test the geochemical anomalies for new spodumene bearing pegmatite that could add to the current Mineral Resource. As part of the August 2021 drill programme, two traverses of drilling spaced 300m apart were completed to test the potential north-eastern extension of the Heller pegmatite, as well as to follow up on existing rock chip anomalism. Both traverses failed to intersect pegmatite where the strike projection of the Heller pegmatite was anticipated.

However, the two easternmost holes of the southern traverse intersected a 2-3m wide pegmatite with anomalous lithium (up to 324ppm), beryllium (up to 108ppm), tantalum (up to 91ppm) and tin (up to 20ppm) with a potassium-rubidium ratio as low as 13. The best opportunity for an economic pegmatite is considered to be along strike from RC holes PDRC543 and PDRC544, either to the south in the ultramafic or to the north in the Black Flag Beds, which is considered a more brittle and more likely host than the ultramafic. The geochemistry results from PDRC543 and PDRC544 are similar to those intersected beyond the northern economic extents of Davy and Cade.

A total of 12 holes for 960m are planned to test as far north as possible (150m) and 200m south of PDRC543 and PDRC544, to see if a larger spodumene-bearing pegmatite develops beyond the previously intersected pegmatites. As part of the August 2021 drill programme, one traverse was drilled between the two known spodumene bearing pegmatites to test beneath transported cover and to determine the extent/source of the regolith hosted lithium anomalism. The drilling results expanded the >50ppm lithium anomalism to a ~350m wide zone with no observed pegmatites.

The relationship of the lithium anomalism to the Cade deposit is unclear (Figure 6), however it might represent a halo to an unrecognised but significantly sized lithium enriched pegmatite (Figure 8). If so, further potential may exist north or south of this drilling. A total of 18 holes for 1,360m have been planned on two traverses to test for pegmatites beneath the transported cover.