ASX-listed gold miner Calidus Resources appears to be making inroads into the new energy space after its recently spun-out company, Pirra Lithium identified pegmatite across an over 1-kilometre strike range at its Spear Hill project in WA’s prolific East Pilbara region. According to the company, it has since bagged up over 30 rock chips samples with assay results yielding grades of up to 2.3 per cent lithium oxide.
Pirra says the samples were taken 3-12m apart to guarantee that the pegmatite's principal components, including lepidolite and spodumene-bearing zones, were evaluated.
In addition, the company says a review of two samples collected from the area next to the pegmatite discovery revealed solid grades of 2.78 per cent and 2.91 per cent lithium oxide.
According to Pirra, it will now look to drill test the pegmatite with an initial RC drill campaign of 2,500 meters across the ground. The explorer will be hopeful the solid rock chip results will lead to further success beneath its Pilbara ground and says it has already submitted applications for programs of work and heritage surveys to aid in the looming program.
The company has stated the probe could be launched as early as June.
Pirra claims it has identified another target area north-east of the pegmatite find and says it has already collected around 40 rock-chip samples from the prospective ground.
The new samples are now in transit to the assay laboratory and if previous results are anything to go by, the company could have its hands on even more lithium.
Calidus Resources’ Managing Director David Reeves said:“It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades. There is a compelling business case to accelerate exploration now we have confirmed lithium grades for this significant outcropping pegmatite.”
“Despite the pegmatite being located close to the Hillside – Marble Bar Road, there is no record of geological mapping or sampling in the area and the area has never been drilled.
Pirra Lithium, a joint venture between Calidus and Haoma Mining NL, was founded in February to identify potential lithium assets in Western Australia's Pilbara area.
The venture will allow Calidus to focus on its high-grade gold portfolio whilst still maintaining exposure to the developing lithium market, that has set the market ablaze in recent times.
It will now concentrate on extending its current 1.75 million gold ounce resource base at its flagship Warrawoona gold project in the Pilbara, where development of the project’s gold processing facility and supporting infrastructure is about 85 percent complete.
According to Calidus, Warrawoona could churn out around 90,000 ounces of the precious metal per annum and with the first pour anticipated for the June quarter, the company could find itself with a double-header of gold and lithium results.
Calidus has been a strong market performer over the last year with the company’s share pricing surging over 100 per cent over the period and jumping over 30 per cent in 2022 alone.
Although it’s still very early days, the initial signs suggest Calidus may be sniffing around a high-grade lithium system that could one day be a handy addition to its burgeoning precious metal portfolio.
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