St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) ('St George' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that an expanded drill programme is underway at its flagship Mt Alexander Lithium Project in WA's Goldfields, with confidence underpinned by the return of encouraging first assays from the maiden lithium drilling campaign carried out in 2022.
John Prineas, St George Mining's Executive Chairman, said: 'I am pleased to report that the St George team is on the ground at Mt Alexander and has kicked off the 2023 drill programme, in line with our promise to shareholders. 'This expanded drill programme is built on the maiden campaign we undertook in late 2022 and which is now delivering the first batch of highly encouraging assays. 'Those initial results from the 2022 programme demonstrate that the lithium-mineralised pegmatite outcrops identified from rock chip sampling continue below surface with mineralisation open at depth. 'This is an important exploration milestone for Mt Alexander and provides strong encouragement for the potential of systematic exploration of the extensive pegmatites at Mt Alexander to delineate significant lithium mineralisation.
We are excited to be ramping up our drill programme which is designed as a step-out and discovery campaign of drilling across our 15km-long pegmatite corridor. 'The backing of our strategic partners - leading lithium-ion battery companies Shanghai Jayson, SVOLT Energy and Sunwoda Electronic - means we also have the flexibility to add to the Mt Alexander drill programme with further RC and diamond holes as results warrant. 'Mt Alexander is an exciting lithium opportunity and just one of several highly prospective battery minerals projects in St George's expanding pipeline. 'Investors can expect steady news flow over the coming months, with drilling updates and assay results from Mt Alexander to be released as available while we progress exploration activities at our other exciting projects across Western Australia.
2022 MAIDEN LITHIUM DRILLING
Further assays for an additional five drill holes are pending. Given the campaign was testing several concepts during the maiden drill programme and using already existing drilling approvals, the Company is encouraged by these initial assay results. Several drill holes had anomalous lithium intercepts of 5m or more with the thickest intersection of 14m (MARC168). High-grade lithium values above 1% Li2O were returned in six intersections with a peak value of 1.8% Li2O (MARC158). Assays also indicated elevated values of Ta, Cs and Rb with the lithium mineralisation, which further supports the interpretation of fractionated pegmatites that are fertile for lithium deposits. Peak values were in MARC168 which intersected a 14m thick interval of anomalous lithium including 1m at 1.25% Li2O, 2,020 ppm Ta, 2,330ppm Cs and 11,800 ppm Rb from 79m. Several drill holes intersected more than one pegmatite, indicating the likely presence of multiple stacked pegmatite units. Further drilling will be designed to investigate if these pegmatites potentially merge at deeper levels or are otherwise associated with a larger pegmatite body down-dip.
Strong foundation to expand drilling: The maiden lithium drilling programme was aimed at confirming that high-grade mineralised pegmatite outcrops continue below surface and to gain a better understanding of the orientation of the pegmatites in order to plan future drill programmes. The 2022 drilling delineated continuity of the lithium-bearing pegmatites below surface with most pegmatites open at depth. Deeper drilling of two pegmatites indicated continuity up to 220m vertical depth, highlighting the potential scale of the pegmatite system that has yet to be fully explored. These results provide a strong platform to expand the lithium drilling across the pegmatite corridor at St George's tenure. This corridor is located adjacent and to the west of the Copperfield Granite, the interpreted source of the mineralised pegmatites at Mt Alexander as well as at Red Dirt Metals' (ASX: RDT) Mt Ida Project situated approximately 15km to the south of St George's ground. New and expanded Programmes of Work have now been approved that include more extensive areas of the prospective corridor for drilling.
Drilling has commenced in the eastern margin of E29/962, an area close to the Copperfield Granite - a geological setting that is similar to the area that hosts Red Dirt Metal's (ASX: RDT) Sister Sam, Sparrow and Timoni lithium deposits approximately 20km to the south. A number of north-south lines will be drilled to test the extent of continuity of the east-west trending pegmatites. The lines in the eastern margin of E29/962 will test for concealed pegmatites. Sampling of the limited outcrop in this area has returned anomalous Rb and Li2O levels suggesting that thin cover may be masking mineralised pegmatites. The proximity of these targets to the source granite makes them compelling exploration targets for drill testing.
About the Mt Alexander Project: The Mt Alexander Project is located 120km south-west of the Agnew-Wiluna Belt, which hosts numerous world-class nickel deposits. The Project comprises six granted exploration licences - E29/638, E29/548, E29/962, E29/954, E29/972 and E29/1041 - which are a contiguous package. An additional two exploration licences - E29/1093 and E29/1126 - are located to the south-east of the core tenement package. The Cathedrals, Stricklands, Investigators and Radar nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE discoveries are located on E29/638, which is held in joint venture by St George (75%) and IGO Limited (25%). St George is the Manager of the Project, with IGO retaining a 25% non-contributing interest (in E29/638 only) until there is a decision to mine. The Jailbreak Lithium Prospect is on E29/268 and E29/962. With the exception of E29/638, all Project tenements are owned 100% by St George.
Authorised for release by the Board of St George Mining Limited.
Contact:
John Prineas
Executive Chairman
St George Mining Limited
Tel: +61 411 421 253
Email: john.prineas@stgm.com.au
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Targets, Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves for the Mt Alexander Project is based on information compiled by Mr Dave Mahon, a Competent Person who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Mahon is employed by St George Mining Limited to provide technical advice on mineral projects, and he holds performance rights issued by the Company. Mr Mahon has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Mahon consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Forward Looking Statements:
This announcement includes forward-looking statements that are only predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are beyond the control of St George, the directors and the Company's management. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Examples of forward-looking statements used in this announcement include use of the words 'may', 'could', 'believes', 'estimates', 'targets', 'expects', or 'intends' and other similar words that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on an assessment of present economic and operating conditions, and on a number of assumptions regarding future events and actions that, as at the date of announcement, are expected to take place. Actual values, results, interpretations or events may be materially different to those expressed or implied in this announcement. Given these uncertainties, recipients are cautioned not to place reliance on forward-looking statements in the announcement as they speak only at the date of issue of this announcement. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law and the ASX Listing Rules, St George does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information or any of the forward-looking statements in this announcement or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such forward-looking statement is based.
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