Metals Australia : Diamond Drilling to Test High-Grade Zinc & Lithium Zones

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ASX Announcement
14 June 2022	ASX:MLS

Diamond Drilling to Test High-Grade Zinc & Lithium at Manindi

• • to follow up the spectacular 68m @ 3.09% Zn0 intersection as well as,
  • test the high-grade Foundation Pegmatite under 11m @ 1.23% Li2O1
• Metals Australia is about to commence a follow-up diamond drilling program at its flagship Manindi Battery Minerals Project in Western Australia, to test two key resource targets:
• 1. Follow-updiamond drilling to test for extensions of the high-grade zinc mineralisation at Kultarr Prospect to the south of the previously announced spectacular intersection of:

• 68m @ 3.09% Zn (0.20% Cu, 2.33 g/t Ag)from 89m (downhole) in MNRC0700, including 24.0m @ 6.47% Zn (0.29% Cu, 3.58 g/t Ag)from 100m,

as well as test a strong electromagnetic (EM) conductor to the south, down plunge.

1. Test depth extensions of the Foundation Pegmatite below previous, high-gradelithium-rubidium intersections including:

• 11m @ 1.23% Li2O, 0.31% Rb from 16m (down hole) in MNRC0451, including 5m @ 1.47% Li2O, 0.30% Rb from 16m, and,

including 2m @ 1.73% Li2O, 0.64% Rb from 25m,

as well as obtain samples for mineragraphy and metallurgical (Li, Rb, Ta) testwork, and to inform a maiden JORC 2012 Resource estimate and development studies.

Metals Australia Chairman, Mike Scivolo, said:

"Manindi is an outstanding battery metals project with high-grade resource potential for zinc and lithium as well as the recently identified vanadium, nickel, copper and cobalt potential.

"We've been able to secure a diamond drilling rig at short notice that will now allow us to follow up the recent exceptional intersection of high-grade zinc mineralisation and potentially extend the high- grade zinc resources at the Project."

"In addition, we will diamond drill test extensions of the thick and high-grade Foundation Lithium Pegmatite, which will provide samples for very important mineralogical and metallurgical testwork as a prelude to initial JORC 2012 mineral resource estimates for the project."

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Metals Australia Ltd ("MLS" or "the Company") has secured a diamond drilling rig to follow-up test extensions of the high-grade zinc mineralisation intersected at the Kultarr Zinc-Copper Prospect. The diamond drilling will also test depth extensions and provide metallurgical samples from the Foundation Pegmatite below previous, high-gradelithium-rubidium intersections at the Manindi Project ("Manindi" or "the Project"), located 20 km southwest of Youanmi in the Murchison District of Western Australia (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Manindi Project. Location of Kultarr and Kowari zinc prospects and key lithium prospects

Diamond Drilling to Test High-Grade Zinc Resource Extensions:

The new diamond drilling program will test for extensions to the previously announced high-grade intersection in MNRC070 of 68m @ 3.09% Zn, 0.20% Cu, 2.33 g/t Ag from 89m, including 24.0m @ 6.47% Zn, 0.29% Cu,

3.58 g/t Ag from 100m0. This exceptional reverse circulation (RC) drilling intersection extended the high-grade zinc mineralisation at the Kowarri Prospect ("Kowarri" or "the Prospect") down plunge to the west of previous high-grade intersections2 (see longitudinal projection, Figure 2).

Previous electromagnetic (EM) surveys show EM anomalies at depth below both the Kultarr (K2 anomaly) and Kowari (C1 anomaly) zones2 (Figure 2). The high-grade intersection in MNRC070 confirmed that the high-grade zinc mineralisation extends beyond the previous drilling and opened-up potential to significantly expand the high-grade zinc resources at the prospect.

The new diamond drilling program, to commence early next week, will include two holes testing to the south of the MNRC070 intersection, down plunge towards the previously identified EM conductor (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: Kultarr and Kowari Longitudinal Projection with MNRC070 Intersection and diamond drilling targets

The Manindi Project is located on three granted mining licences (Figure 1) and includes the high-grade Kultarr and Kowari Zinc deposits (Figure 2). These deposits already host a JORC 2012, Measured, Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.08Mt @ 6.52% Zn, 0.26% Cu, 3.19% Ag for 70,102t Zn (2% Zn cut-off)2 (including a Measured: 37.7kt @ 10.22% Zn, 0.39% Cu, 6.24 g/t Ag; Indicated: 131.5kt @ 7.84% Zn, 0.32% Cu, 4.60 g/t Ag and Inferred: 906.7kt @ 6.17% Zn, 0.25% Cu, 2.86 g/t Ag).

The Company has identified potential to significantly grow the high-grade zinc with copper resources at the Project through extending identified zones, including through this diamond drilling program, and testing for deeper repeats and other key VHMS targets identified through geophysical modelling.

Diamond Drilling to test the High-Grade Foundation Lithium Pegmatite Discovery:

This new diamond drilling program will also include a large diameter (HQ or PQ) diamond hole through the higher-grade section of the 500m strike-length Foundation Pegmatite, located within the 3km corridor of lithium bearing pegmatites identified at the Manindi Project (see Figure 1 and Figure 3 below).

This new diamond drilling program will test down dip extensions of the highest-gradelithium-rubidium pegmatite zone where previous thick and high-grade intersections were recently announced1, including (see location, Figure 3):

• 11m @ 1.23% Li2O, 0.31% Rb from 16m (down hole) in MNRC0451,

• including 5m @ 1.47% Li2O, 0.30% Rb from 16m, and,
• including 2m @ 1.73% Li2O, 0.64% Rb from 25m

The diamond drilling will also obtain metallurgical samples for mineragraphy and further lithium-rubidium (tantalum) concentrate testwork.

This work will also determine the lithium-bearing mineral assemblage (e.g., lepidolite vs spodumene) and the relative proportions of these minerals.

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Figure 3: Manindi lithium Project, Foundation pegmatite, downhole intercepts and rockchip sample locations

See Appendix 1, JORC Table 1, sections 1 and 2 for detailed information on the Project.

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About Metals Australia

Metals Australia is actively exploring a number of other highly prospective battery minerals (and base and precious metals) projects within Western Australia and Quebec, Canada.

The immediate objectives of the Company are to build the value of its key battery minerals resource projects through drilling and initial studies to determine economic value and development potential.

Manindi Project

The flagship Manindi Project includes the Manindi Zinc and Manindi Lithium Projects and comprises three granted mining leases (M57/227, M57/240 and M57/533) located in the Murchison District of Western Australia (Figure 1, inset) in close proximity to the Golden Grove Base Metals Mine and the Youanmi Gold Mine.

The Manindi Zinc Project includes the high-grade Kultarr and Kowari Zinc deposits (Figure 2), located close to the northern end of the Project at the boundary between a sequence of mafic intrusive units and mafic volcanics and felsics to the west. The zinc-copper prospects are regarded as volcanic hosted massive sulphides (VHMS) type, similar to the nearby Golden Grove deposits. The recently announced spectacular zinc intersection in MNRC070 of 68m @ 3.09% Zn, 0.20% Cu, 2.33 g/t Ag from 89m, including 24.0m @ 6.47% Zn, 0.29% Cu, 3.58 g/t Ag from 100m0 was from the Kultarr deposit.

The Company also recently announced a substantial intersection of mafic hosted vanadium bearing titano- magnetite with zones of nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation from the previously un-drilled Manindi West magnetic trend (Figure 1) that included an overall intersection of 82m @ 0.30% V2O5, 27.5% Fe and >2% Ti from 48m downhole incl. 52m @ 0.35% V2O5, 31.5% Fe, >2% Ti, 0.03% Ni, 0.04% Cu, 181ppm Co from 48m3.

The Manindi Lithium Project is described below and includes a series of lithium bearing pegmatites, generally striking east-west, within a 3km strike-length corridor that transect the same mafic intrusive / mafic volcanic boundary as the zinc deposits (Figure's 1 and 3).

Manindi Lithium Project:

Detailed surface mapping carried out at Mulgara and Warabi, situated approximately 1.3km SE of the Kultarr and Kowari zinc resources (Figure 1), previously identified at least three lithium bearing pegmatites outcropping at surface with strike lengths of over 300m and widths of up to 25-30m.

Re-sampling of previous diamond drillcore that targeted VHMS sulphide mineralisation at Mulgara, produced intersections including4:

• 15m @ 1.20% Li2O from 34m, including 5m @ 1.53% Li2O from 38m in MND018, and,
• 3m @ 1.00% Li2O from 41m in MND022.

Following the positive identification of lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites at Manindi, a shallow RC percussion drilling program was completed in 20185,6 at the Mulgara Prospect to test the three outcropping pegmatite dykes identified.

Significant intersections produced from this RC drilling program at Mulgara included5,6:

• MNRC030: 8m @ 1.06% Li2O from 18m incl. 3m @ 1.65% Li2O with up to 1.96% Li2O
• MNRC032: 7m @ 599ppm Ta205
• MNRC033: 8m @ 1.00% Li2O, 158ppm Ta205 from 32m, and 7m @ 1.29% Li2O, 242ppm Ta205 from 42 m incl. 5m @ 1.53% Li2O

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