Venus Metals Corporation has hit returns of 5.8 and 3.6 per cent lithium dioxide from the latest round of exploration at its Henderson tenements near Menzies in WA.
Following the discovery of lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites at Henderson in February, assay results from 89 rock samples showed 29 had more than 100 parts-per-million lithium dioxide. The two highest results are from pegmatites at the Emerald SE prospect that has been identified as a priority area for drilling.
The prospect is along the Ballard fault and close to the Ida fault about 10km south of the company’s Snake Hill prospect.
A reverse-circulation drill rig has been contracted to test areas prospective for lithium in addition to gold targets identified from air core drilling last year.
Recent exploration has identified several outcropping pegmatite clusters over a strike length of about 20km along the Mt Ida/Ularring greenstone belt and close to the Ida fault.
Venus says the Emerald SE area is of particular interest because of its high density of outcropping pegmatites with high lithium content. The next stage of exploration will drill-test prospective pegmatites and is expected to start next month.
The area looks to be a hub for battery mineral exploration with Red Dirt Metals finding spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatites at its Mt Ida project last year, about 10km from Venus’ tenure. The region includes Ora Banda Mining’s lepidolite-rich pegmatite tenure south of the Henderson project.
Lithium is one of the world’s most sought-after metals on the back of increased electric vehicle production. Demand for the resource has rocketed recently and there is a strong belief this trend could linger as the world moves towards cleaner energy.
Australia produces about 20 per cent of the world’s lithium, mostly from the hard-rock mining of spodumene.
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By Matt Birney
