Newly listed explorer Octava Minerals has shot out of the blocks and commenced a battery metals hunt at its Talga lithium project in the Pilbara region of WA - just weeks after listing on the local bourse.
The company will use the campaign to seek out lithium-bearing pegmatites with a ground-based exploration program, including mapping and sampling within earshot of Global Lithium Resources' 10.5 million tonne Archer deposit.
Archer sits about 10km southwest of Talga and takes in an extensive resource running about 1 per cent lithium oxide – a solid grade considering the size of the asset.
Interestingly, Octava says Talga offers comparable geology to Archer and argues the similarity positions the operation as a highly prospective proposition in its post-listing battery metals quest.
The company believes the tenure could host a lucrative suite of pegmatites known as lithium- caesium-tantalum or “LCT” type structures – assets that can boast high doses of the aforementioned minerals and subsequently deliver additional economic returns.
Octava has already outlined a swag of targets at Talga after a remote sensing data acquisition program. The targets are spread across four distinct zones inside the project.
Management says a 2017 sampling program across one of is southern tenements delivered a rock chip sample running 0.22 per cent lithium oxide – a modest grade but one which the explorer aims to better in its current campaign.
The project encompasses a combined 211 square kilometres about 30km north of Marble Bar in the Pilbara craton and takes in an eight-piece set of granted exploration licences.
The new kid on the block is looking to fast-track exploration work across the ground and has already completed a 2000 set soil geochemical program.
The samples were screened using a portable XRF scanning device and provided an early-stage indication of the ground’s lithium concentrations. The samples have since been sent to an assay laboratory for a more comprehensive evaluation.
In addition, Octava has had Talga’s ground mapped by an industry specialist and says the new data, in conjunction with its geochemical evaluation and ongoing field reconnaissance work will expedite its path to drilling.
In recent years, the Pilbara has morphed into something of a lithium hub and is home to a pair of the world’s most significant deposits, Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora asset and Mineral Resources’ Wodgina deposit about 120km West of Talga.
Kalamazoo Resources and its joint venture partner, Chilean-based SQM Lithium – regarded as one of the world’s largest producers of lithium hydroxide and carbonate has also pegged ground about 5km west of Talga.
Let the games begin.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
