w27 - It is clear that Dr Nigel Brand and his team of "spectral geologists" have given ESS a technical edge in their exploration and mining operations, as described here:
Nigel gives us a glimpse into what his spectral geologists were doing behind the scenes during the Sinclair operation and describes how learning from that operation led to the discovery of the Cade spodumene deposit:
" We have routinely used the Titan 800 with a customcalibration that provides a Li index to aid in exploration and to investigatethe element distribution through the core. That study proved-up portable Ramanspectroscopy with the Bruker BRAVO to identify the white minerals, and portableFTIR spectroscopy with the Bruker ALPHA (probably the most understated spectralinstrument on the market) to quantify other minerals, and SWIR to detectweathered clays and iron oxides.The Titan 800 gave us chemistry down thedrill hole, the BRAVO (Raman) and ALPHA (FTIR) confirmed mineralogy using a twosystems approach, and the SWIR provided information of the depth of weathering.We have developed an internal library where we have characterized the LCTmineralogy, and that is critical for each project. The micro-XRF scansprovided information on geological processes. Most importantly eachinstrument gave us a spectral file containing the “DNA” of a sample which canbe used in machine learning processes.
We could build a geological (and geomet)model of the deposit based on the chemistry and mineralogy which highlightedpotential extensions to the mineralization. In the process, we were ableto develop work flow methodologies for identifying critical Li-bearing mineralin the deposit using the RAMAN. We even had a 24-hour turnaround grade controlprogram for mining using the Titan 800 with a custom cesium calibration. The micro-XRF scans of the main Cs ore mineralogy (pollucite) showed itsbreakdown during weathering and key secondary minerals, verified by CSIRO, thatneed to identify in the weathered environment for the discovery of new andadditional resources.
For the TITAN 800chemistry, we regularly scan known certified reference material and 1 in 33 sampleswas analyzed with laboratory assay (Fusion XRF). Those knowns turned up 2-4weeks after drilling, but we could use them to check and recalculate the datafor further exploration. For the BRAVO raman and ALPHA FTIR we usedin-house standards that were verified by XRD.
During routine soil samplingthe Li-index on the TITAN 800 identified several low order anomalies which werefield inspected and rock chipped. The pRaman used on the rock chipsidentified holmquistite and spodumene on previously unexplored ground. This resulted in the Cade discovery."
These guys are developing some powerful IP here and if they link it with Artificial Intelligence they are going to make Pioneer Dome an open book
w27 - It is clear that Dr Nigel Brand and his team of "spectral...
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