AVZ Minerals drilling confirms the thickness of the Roch Dure pegmatite
The Australian lithium explorer AVZ Minerals (WKN A0MXC7 / ASX AVZ) is currently
working hard on a 20,000 meter long drill program to demonstrate its first
resource at the world-class Manono lithium project. Analysis results on the
lithium content of the previously completed holes are not yet available, but
AVZ was again able to demonstrate extreme thicknesses in the Roch Dure pegmatite!
This time around, holes MO18DD003, 004, 006 and 007 confirm the power of this massive
pegmatite with a length of 2.7 kilometers. At 313.88 meters, MO18DD003 is the
longest pegmatite segment AVZ has ever encountered on Roch Dure. At 276.77, 284.30
and 273.20 meters, however, the mineralization sections of the other,
new holes lag behind only slightly. And, most importantly, according to the
company, all holes have a high percentage of pegmatite spodumene.
Samples from the processed drilling cores of holes MO18DD001, 002, 003 and
004 have already been sent to a laboratory for analysis, so that in the
foreseeable future - depending on the capacity utilization of the laboratory -
first results on the lithium content can be expected. As AVZ's Executive Chairman
Klaus Eckhof noted, overall the core output has been excellent so far and was
close to 100%. Drill holes MO18DD006, 007, 008 were prepared and sampled, which
will also be sent to the laboratory in the near future. Holes MO18DD009, 010 and
011 are still running and approaching completion. AVZ is currently using four
drills on Manono and another is on the way to the project. The company intends to
further increase the drilling rate, initially focusing on the Roche
Dure pegmatite. In addition to the encouraging news on drilling activities on
Manono, AVZ also said that Beijing National Battery Technology has sent some
representatives to the project to get an on-the-spot view. The company had
recently announced that BNBT and AVZ had signed a Memorandum of Understanding
resulting in Chinese participation in AVZ and a purchase agreement.
According to AVZ, this Site Visit, which was co-chaired by BNBT's chairman and
senior management and technical teams, was successful. What that means for the
negotiations on a definitive agreement, of course, remains to be seen.
(20min delay)