ST GEORGE MINING LIMITED St George Mining Limited announced further highly encouraging results from lithium exploration at its Mt Alexander Project in WA's Goldfields, including early indications that the maiden drill programme has intersected lithium- bearing pegmatites below surface. Surface mapping and rock-chip sampling have identified numerous lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops at the Jailbreak Prospect. The drill programme now underway will test several models to provide an understanding of the continuity of the pegmatites below surface, including their geometry and grade.
Their interpretation is that the pegmatites dip to the north. Drilling of the first pegmatite outcrop - which is 20m thick at surface - confirmed the orientation. Drill hole MARC153 intersected 13m of pegmatite from 14m downhole depth and is interpreted to have drilled orthogonal into the pegmatite.
Assay results are pending. Initial drill holes have been successful in intersecting pegmatites at depth within Jailbreak. So far, ten RC holes have been completed for a total of 945m.
Two pegmatites have been intersected below surface with a maximum intercept of 13m in hole MARC153. All pegmatites intersected to date haveconfirmed visual lithium-bearing minerals by St George geologists. The first batch of samples from RC drilling has been sent to the laboratory to confirm grades.
Based on the rapidly evolving interpretation of the geology of Jailbreak, two target areas have been identified as the focus for ongoing drilling: A 1.7km section of a north-south trending ultramafic sequence hosting stacked pegmatite dykes; and More than 3km of an east-west structural corridor extending eastwards to the Copperfield Granite source rocks. Based on the intersection angle of the drilling with the modelled pegmatites, downhole widths noted above are interpreted to be close to true widths. Geological logging is based on visual interpretations and should not be considered a substitute forlaboratory analysis, which is required to determine grade and widths for geological reporting.
Expanding project area with high-grade lithium bearing pegmatites: Laboratory assays for the second batch of rock chip samples from pegmatite outcrops comprised 42 samples, with 13 samples returning lithium values of more than 1% Li2O. More than 100 samples have been submitted for assay with results pending. The latest rock chip assays have significantly expanded the area with pegmatite outcrop that has been confirmed as lithium-bearing.
The significant width and extent of the area of outcropping pegmatites suggests the potential for a large lithium mineral system with multiple deposits.
