More Strong Spodumene Intercepts at Seymour Lake
Perth, Dec 8, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Lithium and graphite explorer Ardiden Limited (
ASX:ADV) is pleased to advise that further substantial zones of spodumene-bearing pegmatite have been intersected at its majority owned Seymour Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada as the resource drilling program wraps up and the rig moves on to begin drilling at the nearby Manitouwadge Graphite Project.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- More shallow spodumene-bearing pegmatites logged in drill core from a further 10 completed diamond drill-holes, with collective mineralised zones up to 18m wide encountered.
- Pegmatite zones extended both west and east at the North Aubry prospect - with the mineralisation remaining open to the east, west and at depth.
- Multiple substantial secondary sills of mineralisation identified beneath and parallel to the known pegmatite exposures at North Aubry.
- Multiple spodumene-bearing pegmatites intersected at the Central Aubry prospect, remaining open to the north, east and at depth.
- 27-hole resource drilling program at Seymour Lake now completed with first assay results expected soon. Maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource targeted for Q2 2017.
- Drill rig to mobilise immediately to the Manitouwadge Graphite Project, to commence the maiden resource drilling program.
Ardiden has made excellent progress over the last few weeks with the 27-hole program comprising a total of 1,728m of diamond drilling, now completed. Since the last update on 23 November 2016, a further 10 diamond drill holes have been completed, with encouraging visual results reported by the Company's geological team.
The continued intersection of multiple high quality spodumene-bearing pegmatite zones reinforces the potential to establish a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Seymour Lake Project next year.
NORTH AUBRY PROSPECT
The most recent diamond drilling has intersected multiple near-surface zones of pegmatite mineralisation over varying widths, as seen in drill hole SL-16-71, which intersected a total of 18.31 metres of spodumene-bearing sills over a total down-hole width of approximately 102m, and drill hole SL-16-72, which intersected a total of 16.96 metres of spodumene-bearing sills over a total down-hole width of approximately 101m.
The final two diamond drill holes, SL-16-72 and SL-16-73, confirmed extensions of the known mineralisation both to the east and west at North Aubry. These extensions are yet to be fully evaluated and remain open. Unfortunately, Ardiden was unable to undertake further drilling on these extensions due to mechanical issues with the excavator at site and the onset of winter snowfall, which meant that access and drill pads could not be established.
The identification of these previously unrecognised extensions is an important development which increases the Company's confidence in the potential of the Seymour Lake Project to host a significant lithium deposit. The extensions will be further evaluated during the next round of drilling.
The proximity of the pegmatites to surface at North Aubry prospect is also considered to be a strategic advantage, potentially allowing easier access to high-quality mineralisation in a future mining scenario, reducing the required pre-strip and resulting in a lower extraction cost and improved project economics.
The drilling has also continued to intersect multiple and substantial secondary layers of pegmatite mineralisation (beneath and parallel to known exposures) up to 15 metres thick at North Aubry, as seen in drill holes SL-16-71, SL- 16-72 and SL-16-73 (see Table 1 in the link below). The deeper drill holes have confirmed the presence of multiple pegmatite mineralisation zones between 44m to 97m down-hole.
While these additional layers are deeper than other zones intersected in recent drilling, they are still considered to be of potential significant value to the Company given the North Aubry prospect is located on the side and crest of a hill.
To date, Ardiden has still only drill tested an area of approximately 250m in length at Seymour Lake, representing approximately 5 per cent of the total strike length of the known pegmatite exposures, which extend about 5km to the south of the North Aubry prospect.
The drilling has continued to validate the interpreted extensions of the known mineralised zones and define the boundaries of the main outcropping spodumene-bearing pegmatite structures at the project. The Company notes that drill holes which intersected less than 5 metres of spodumene pegmatite were not reported in this announcement.
The recently completed Phase 1 drilling program was designed to underpin an initial partial maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource for the North Aubry prospect, which is targeted for completion by Q2 2017. Phases 2 and 3 of the resource delineation drilling program will be designed to further expand the Mineral Resource to include areas around the Central Aubry, South Aubry and Pye prospects.
CENTRAL AUBRY PROSPECT
Initial drilling at the Central Aubry prospect has successfully intersected substantial multiple near-surface layers of pegmatite mineralisation of various widths, as seen in drill hole SL-16-68, which intersected a total of 16.48 metres of spodumene-bearing sills over a total down-hole width of 52m and drill hole SL-16-69, which intersected a total of 10.70 metres of spodumene-bearing sills over a total down-hole width of 52m.
The Central Aubry prospect is located approximately 500m south of the North Aubry prospect and about 200m north of the South Aubry prospect and is comprised of two main exposures. Mapping of the Central Aubry prospect shows strong presence of spodumene mineralisation over the majority of the exposures surface.
Once again, the proximity of the pegmatites to surface at the Central Aubry prospect is considered to be a strategic advantage, potentially allowing easier access to high-quality mineralisation in a future mining scenario, reducing the required pre-strip and resulting in a lower extraction cost and improved project economics.
The drilling results provide the Company with further evidence that the Seymour Lake Project can host multiple, sizeable and good quality lithium deposits. The Central Aubry pegmatites structures are yet to be fully drill tested and remain open to the north, east and at depth. Unfortunately, due to the limited access into the Central Aubry prospect, Ardiden was only able to complete two diamond drill holes, during this phase of the drilling program. Ardiden will aim to drill test these newly identified mineralisation zones during the next round of drilling at Central Aubry.
Ardiden expects to start receiving drill core assay results from Actlabs shortly.
MANITOUWADGE GRAPHITE PROJECT
The diamond drill rig has been de-mobilised from the North Aubry prospect and has returned to Thunder Bay for servicing and maintenance. Ardiden's geological team is completing the reports associated with this drilling program and finalising preparations to commence the upcoming drilling program at Manitouwadge.
The rig is expected to mobilise to the Manitouwadge site and commence the initial resource delineation diamond drilling program within a week.
Ardiden looks forward to providing further updates as they come to hand.
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/L7CH2J64
About Ardiden Ltd
Ardiden Limited (ASX:ADV) is an emerging international diversified exploration and development company possessing a mature multi-element asset portfolio, with a near term development pipeline, focused quality projects located in the established mining jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada.
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