Artemis Resources Limited announced its recent ground reconnaissance program continues to demonstrate consistency, growing the strike length and grade of its lithium prospects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Further ground reconnaissance was completed in late February and looked to expand on the previously received results where rock chip assays peaked at 4.67% Li2O at the Mt Marie Prospect.1 The ground crew revisited the Mt Marie prospect region in April and secured additional high-grade samples to confirm the mineralisation. These results have provided an even higher level of confidence in the grade and potential scale of Mt Marie. The outcropping strike length of the Mt Marie prospect has now increased to more than 230m. Additional programs to identify sub-surface pegmatites and lithium mineralisation are currently being considered and will be put into place in the near future. In total, 36 rock chip samples were collected from both the Mt Marie and Osborne East prospects and dispatched to the lab for multi-element analysis. The rock chip assays delivered excellent results which include the following; Mt Marie Prospecto24AR04-07 - 4.63% Li2O, o24AR04-14 - 4.52% Li2O, o24AR04-13 - 4.28% Li2O, o24AR04-12 - 3.63% Li2O, o24AR04-04 - 3.45% Li2O, Osborne East Prospect, §24AR04-20 - 0.69% Li2O, §24AR04-24 - 0.60% Li2O, §24AR04-25 - 0.59% Li2O, §24AR04-26 - 0.59% Li2O. Rock chip samples from the Mt Marie prospect were previously tested for mineralogy type at Curtin University and the analysis confirmed that the host mineral for the lithium is spodumene. This level of Li2O result has again confirmed the high degree of grade in a regional context, reflected by Azure Minerals' Andover project which recorded a peak rock chip assay result of 4.87% Li2O3 and have reported an exploration target of 100-240Mt @ 1.00-1.5% Li2O4 (Azure Minerals has recently been granted takeover approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board - FIRB - for a takeover proposal via a joint bid with SQM and Hancock Prospecting). The lithium bearing pegmatite at the Mt Marie prospect occurs along a mirrored or similar NE structural trend to pegmatites discovered by Azure Minerals only 20km to the east. Given the location of the Artemis tenements in relation to the Azure discovery and the proximity to Karratha and its logistical advantages, the potential pathway for the Mt Marie lithium prospect is becoming clearer and more compelling. The Mt Marie pegmatite exhibits a zoning pattern characterised by a dominant outer quartz, feldspar, and mica coarse crystalline texture. This zone displays a high frequency of large spodumene crystals up to 40% of the bulk composition. The pegmatite often exhibits a foliation texture with the spodumene crystals commonly aligned subparallel to the host rock contact. The less dominant and inner zone is characterised by a quartz/silica core. Further work on the tenements across the major structural zones will follow on from exploration already conducted including drone surveying, rock chip sampling, soil sampling and other appropriate ground reconnaissance where appropriate. The technical team will continue to cover priority areas identified through previous review and will then step this out to consider exploration programs across the tenement package as a whole. Program of works (PoW's) have been submitted and approved and heritage clearance applications are in process.