Li3 Lithium Corporation recently announced that it has identified lithium mineralization over a 1.2-kilometre strike at the Nels Luck pegmatite target amid its ongoing exploration program at the Mutare Lithium Project, located in the Manicaland Province.
Li3 Lithium holds a 50% operating ownership interest in the Mutare Lithium Project, with the remaining 50% owned by Premier African Minerals Limited, operator of the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Mine in Zimbabwe.
The company has received assay results from 842 channel samples collected from trenches during the initial phase of the 2023 exploration program. The trenching program, currently focused on the Nels Luck area, which is situated in the Mutare Greenstone Belt (“MGB”) East zone, is expected to assist in identifying priority targets for the upcoming 5,000-meter exploration drilling program scheduled to start in the coming weeks.
Highlights:
- 2349m of trenches uncovered a 1.2 km long and up to 60m wide pegmatite(s) at Nels Luck
- 842 samples taken from the trenches were sent for analysis in June and July
- Highly anomalous results across the pegmatite including 36 m of 0.37% (3692ppm) Li2O
The Nels Luck claims hosts a group of lepidolite, spodumene, and tantalite, bearing lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites with an approximate surface expression of 1200 meters by up to 100m.
The Nels Luck group of claims is situated approximately 15 km northeast in the same stratigraphic package, on the southern limb of a regional syncline, that hosts the Sabi Star Lithium Tantalum Mine.
François Auclair, P.Geo, M.Sc., CEO and President of Li3 Lithium commented, “The trenching program conducted by Li3 Lithium has confirmed wide, well-developed pegmatite lithium mineralization at the Mutare Lithium Project, which remains open at depth and along strike. Initial assay results from the first half of the 2023 trenching and surface sampling programs are promising given that the Nels Luck area of the Mutare Lithium Project is just 15km from the world-class Sabi Star Lithium Tantalum Mine. A phase one diamond drilling program, up to 5,000 meters targeting the Nels Luck area, is scheduled to commence in the coming weeks as we begin to define the grade, thickness, and spatial continuity of the pegmatite trends”.
The Mutare Lithium Project is located in eastern Zimbabwe’s Mutare Greenstone Belt, an emerging lithium district. The company is evaluating the acquisition of additional prospective ground, either through staking or agreements with potential vendors. The area was deemed prospective for lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites based on prior target generation work. Management believes the lithium exploration potential of the MGB is analogous to that of the Pilbara Craton pegmatites in Western Australia.
Zimbabwe, which is estimated to hold Africa’s largest lithium resources and the fifth largest globally, is rapidly emerging as an important player within the lithium supply chain. Over the past year and a half, major Chinese battery metals companies have committed approximately US$1.4 billion to acquire and develop lithium projects in Zimbabwe.
Li3 Lithium is focused on acquiring and developing hard rock spodumene lithium assets in Zimbabwe and Argentina, where the founders have significant experience and relationships. As evidenced by recent market growth, hard rock lithium deposits are forecast to continue to dominate the global supply of lithium given the scarcity, complexity and capex-intensive nature of alternative brine sources.
The Mutare project has the potential to further boost Zimbabwe’s plans to earn about US$12 billion in revenue through mining before the end of this year.
Text by Martin Chemhere