Widgie Nickel (ASX:WIN) reports ‘extremely encouraging’ assay results from a rock chip sampling program completed at the newly named Faraday prospect.
The company has identified lithium bearing pegmatites outcropping over a 600m strike with surface expressions of up to 25m meters wide.
Widgie Nickel notes these early stage exploration results provides the company with the opportunity to significantly increase lithium exploration activity within the ‘highly prospective’ tenement package.
With limited historical lithium exploration across the Mt Edwards project, the recent rock chip results highlight the prospectivity of the project area.
Widgie Nickel reports these new recent success warrants a comprehensive review of existing lithium data to understand more fully the regional potential. The company intends drill testing the Faraday prospect with RC drilling to provide an initial indication of pegmatite geometry (dip and true width) and lithium endowment within the rock unit.
Follow up exploration will include detailed mapping, soil sampling and additional rock chip sampling to better define this and other anomalies/drill targets.
Addressing the results, Managing Director Steve Norregaard said: “This initial reconnaissance work identifying high grade spodumene over a significant strike length couldn’t be a better outcome for Widgie. To think we have 170,000t of contained nickel and we now can lay claim to hosting complementary and widespread lithium pegmatites in this world class lithium corridor.
“This initial reconnaissance work identifying high grade spodumene over a significant strike length couldn’t be a better outcome for Widgie”
Widgie looks forward with great anticipation to getting a drill rig on this highly prospective target which will only complement the existing drilling effort on our nickel resources.”
The Mt Edwards project is central to a ‘world class’ lithium corridor which covers a total strike extent of more than 100km.
The company notes historical wide spaced soil sampling by previous explorers identified a strong lithium anomaly located within tenement M15/102. The soil anomaly had no follow up exploration until the recent rock chip samples collected by Widgie during early September 2022. The soil anomaly is associated with a granitic intrusion and multiple late-stage pegmatite bodies.
The rock chip samples were collected over outcropping pegmatite dykes or sills with visible, coarse grained spodumene recorded at several locations. Spodumene, which has the chemical formulae LiAl(SiO3), is the main lithium bearing mineral observed at the Faraday prospect.
The sampling has identified high grade lithium occurrences over a coherant strike extent of at least 600m to date, with significant potential to extend strike to the north under transported cover.
The Mt Edwards project lithium tenements cover the northern margin of the Widgiemooltha Dome. The region is well-endowed with lithium occurrences and includes 3 major resourcesat Dome North (Essential Metals (ASX:ESS)) to the south, Bald Hill (Lithco) to the east and Mt Marion (Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN)) to the north.
The Mt Edwards project is central to this highly prospective corridor for Lithium which covers a total strike extent of more than 100 kilometres. The Mt Edwards project lithium tenements have had very limited exploration for lithium to date.
At the Faraday prospect the pegmatite bodies are a result of a very late-stage intrusive event and are interpreted to be located proximal to larger scale granitic intrusion. Coarse grained spodumene has been recorded at several locations, and the outcrop covers a strike extent of approximately 600m in a north-south orientation.
The pegmatite bodies vary in width from 1m up to 25m. It is interpreted that the intrusive body extends further to the north where outcrop is minimal, but soil sampling is indicating Li anomalism.
Detailed mapping and additional rock chip sampling are required to better define the strike and dip of the pegmatite body, which will assist to design a drilling program.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
