Junior exploration company, Twenty Seven Co has uncovered numerous high-grade lithium and tin showings in the northern part of its 100 per cent owned Trident project near Broken Hill in New South Wales. A review of historical geochemical and sample data has returned lithium occurrences going as high as a dazzling 7.63 per cent lithium oxide.
Other sample results from historical workings at the tenure include 4.45 per cent lithium oxide, 3.88 per cent lithium oxide, 1.56 per cent lithium oxide and 1.05 per cent lithium oxide.
Three separate lithium target areas untested by drilling have now been identified by the company. The largest target furthest to the north spans about 3km, with two other areas to the south taking in more than 1km each.
A historical drill hole at the project also returned 3m at 0.35 per cent tin hosted within pegmatite, a type of rock that is generally prospective for lithium too. The hole also returned a 1m sample with tin grading an impressive 0.46 per cent.
The results come on the back of Twenty Seven Co’s review of historical geochemical and sampling data from the New South Wales government’s MinView geological database.
Management says the Trident tenure is scattered with historical tin workings going all the way back to the late 1800s. It is not unusual for lithium and tin to be found together in the same pegmatite systems, however, unlike tin, lithium is only relatively new to the exploration and mining scene.
The company believes exploration at the tenure by previous companies didn’t focus on lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites or pathfinder elements which could be used to uncover lithium mineralisation. However, the lithium bearing minerals, amblygonite and spodumene, are both reported in historical tin mining records at Trident.
The encouraging results have spurred Twenty Seven Co to dig its teeth into follow-up exploration at the project.
A geochemical soil sampling program is now on the cards as the company looks to pin-point lithium targets for drill testing in the coming months.
The lithium potential at Trident appears to bode well for Twenty Seven Co as demand for the lucrative battery metal, a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, continues to grow on the back of the electric vehicle revolution being staged around the world.
Recent research by global financial services company, JP Morgan concluded that lithium demand is forecast to soar by more than 500 per cent by 2030, driven by appetite from the electric vehicle sector where demand is projected to grow nearly ten-fold.
Things could get interesting for Twenty Seven Co as the Perth-based company looks to break off its own slice of the lithium boom at Trident. Early signs at least look pretty good.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
