Quantum Graphite has wrapped up a diamond drilling program at its Eastern Conductor prospect near its Uley 2 resource in South Australia that it says is visually showing grades of up to 20 per cent in several drill cores. The program extends mineralisation to the east of the proposed Uley 2 pit that houses a 6.3m tonne resource grading a very respectable 11.1 per cent total graphitic content.
Curiously the historical Uley 1 graphite mine is in the same vicinity as Quantum’s proposed Uley 2 pit.
Uley 1 was generally considered to be one of the highest-grade natural flake graphite deposits in the world according to the company.
Quantum is yet to receive assays from its latest campaign however its field crew has made some visual estimates on grades within some of the drill cores.
It says that one 18.3m core looks to be going between 10 per cent and 20 per cent total graphitic content, or “TGC”.
The company says another 2.7 metre section will probably come in at more than 20 per cent TGC from 35.4m downhole and a 1.5m intersection from 39.9m downhole is also looking like grading at more than 20 per cent TGC.
The results coming out of the latest round of drilling will make a significant impact to the expansion strategy according to Quantum. It says extending Uley 2 to the east has a plethora of advantages including opening a fast tracked pathway to a very low-cost extension of the Uley 2 pit.
The company says the geological model has been updated to strongly suggest the Eastern Conductor geology is closely related to that of the previously mined Uley 1 project. Graphite mineralisation at Uley 1 is hosted within a series of tightly folded graphitic gneiss and schist sections disrupted by steep faulting and sheet zones.
The price of natural flakes is dependent on the size with large flakes fetching considerably more than small flakes. Quantum has observed high concentrations of large flakes at the contacts of pegmatites and has thus adjusted the targeting criteria to suit.
The Company’s Managing Director, Sal Catalano, said: “the Board was very pleased with the QGL team’s efforts and accomplishments, managing personnel and equipment originating from four different States was quite a challenge but performed professionally without compromising the achievement of key technical objectives. We’re delighted with what we’ve seen and look forward to the laboratory results.”
The visual concentrations of graphite noted in the drill core has put a spring in Quantum’s step and given it some geological confidence as it seeks to get replicate the significant success of the old Uley-1 mine with its Uley-2 deposit.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
