To date, a total of 10,095 m of drilling has been completed in four phases at the main discovery areas, as well as an additional 522 m in six holes at the Hydra Dyke, 10 km to the northeast. Most of the Phase 4 drilling was completed in the East Dyke and
Hydra Prospect Drilling
The Alliance is also pleased to announce that it has received significant results from the six-hole (522 m) reconnaissance diamond drilling program recently completed on the Hydra (cesium/lithium/tantalum) target 10 km northeast of the Killick Dyke.
Initial drilling on the Hydra Dyke was successful in intersecting cesium-lithium-rubidium-tantalum mineralization in four of the six holes completed. The drilling has confirmed the continuation of mineralization at depth and along strike to the north for approximately 100 m. Highlights of the Phase 1 drilling include: 13.55 m grading 0.14% Cs2O from 4.85-18.4 m including 1.22 m grading 0.51% Cs2O from 13.45 m - 14.17 m (Hole HY-23-01)
Additional work completed on the Hydra Dyke includes detailed channel sampling at the discovery outcrop (44 samples) and geological mapping. The sections sampled are mineralogically similar to the previous surface sampling and in recent drilling. The best results from channel sampling in 2022 at Hydra averaged 8.76% Cs2O, 0.41% Li2O, 0.025% Ta2O5, and 0.33% Rb2O over a 1.2 m channel cut. Additional results will be reported as received and after compilation in the coming weeks. The Alliance is planning further follow-up work including deeper drilling and testing the dyke along strike to the south. To date, the Hydra Dyke has only been tested to the north of the discovery outcrop.
Kraken Area Channel Sampling
The Alliance has completed a series of channel cut samples across numerous newly discovered, as well as known, dykes exposed during previous and ongoing prospecting and trenching activities at Golden Hope. The most significant are newly exposed dykes to the west and north of the Kraken Discovery area. A number of these exposures have yet to be drill tested and will be tested as part of the upcoming Phase 5 diamond drilling program later this fall. In addition, channel sampling was carried out over known dykes trenched earlier this year or late 2022. All channel results are pending.
A total of 186 channel samples have been collected and most are currently being analyzed as sampling continues. Most samples were channeled across well-mineralized spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes and sample lengths range from 0.35 m to 1.0 m, with an average of approximately 0.8 m. Channel samples were collected (from west to east) from the following areas: 1% Trench - 10 channel samples ranging from 0.6 m to 1.0 m in length were collected where 2022 prospecting sampling returned a grab sample assaying 1.11% Li2O to the west of the Kraken Discovery area. All pegmatite dyke channel samples contained significant spodumene and the dyke will be drill tested in the Phase 5 program.
Colin's Turn Trench - 13 channel samples ranging from 0.5 m to 1.0 m in length were collected on the west end of the Kraken North Dyke as currently exposed. Two continuous channel cuts sampled spodumene mineralization over 2.0 m in width and are similar to that in the dyke further east. Drilling is planned for this location in the Phase 5 program.
Kraken North - 58 channel samples ranging from 0.35 m to 1.0 m in length were collected in four separate trenched exposures of the Kraken North Dyke over a strike length of 150 m. All areas contain spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes that assayed up to 2.17% Li2O in earlier grab sampling. Only one drill hole has tested one part of this dyke system with assays of 16.2 m @ 0.43% Li2O including 1.8 m @ 1.10% Li2O in hole GH-22-05. Several drill holes are planned for this target in the Phase 5 program.
Kraken Northeast - 38 channel samples ranging from 0.6 m to 1.0 m in length were collected from a new trench excavated near the site of drillhole GH-22-06 where assays demonstrated 1.5 m @ 0.32% Li2O from 3.5 to 5.0 m down the hole before it was lost at 38 m. Recent mapping and channel sampling indicate spodumene mineralization present in multiple exposures at the new trench. Additional drilling is warranted and is planned for the Phase 5 program.
East Dyke - 13 channel samples ranging from 0.45 m to 1.0 m in length were collected at the East Dyke surface exposure. Pegmatite samples contained significant medium- to coarse-grained spodumene similar to that encountered in drilling (e.g., 1.00% Li2O over 5.5 m in hole GH-22-08). This channel sampling will assist in the 3D interpretation of the East Dyke and
Hockey Stick Trench - 19 channel samples ranging from 0.70 m to 1.0 m in length were collected at the Hockey Stick Trench. The pegmatite dyke exposed in the trench is mineralogically similar to other lithium-bearing dykes nearby and along strike. Sample analysis will assist staff in vectoring toward lithium-rich parts of the dyke system.
Northeast Dyke - 48 channel samples ranging from 0.55 m to 1.0 m in length were collected in two separate trenches in this area. Pegmatite dykes sampled contained spodumene in several sections of the exposures. Two drill holes GH-22-23 and GH-22-24 were completed here in 2022 and yielded anomalous Li2O. Further evaluation of the dykes is warranted.
Soil Sampling
The Alliance is continuing to outline significant lithium in soil targets as part of its property-scale program covering the greater than 20 km corridor of prospective geology to the NE and SW. Line spacing ranges from 200 m to 500 m in recon areas to 100 m in detailed areas adjacent to known prospective dykes. Results continue to match those received from the initial discovery area where lithium values ranged from 75 to 200 ppm (Li) and are considered significant. These targets will be subject to field follow-up work including prospecting and till sampling, and where warranted, diamond drilling this fall. To date in 2023, a total of 2856, B-Horizon soil samples have been collected and processed at
Kraken Northeast - Data from eight, 100 m - 200 m spaced lines have been received from the Killick East Dyke to the Northeast Dyke areas. These lines provided infill sampling with positive results near known spodumene dykes, confirming the effectiveness of the soil sampling, in addition to extending anomalous Li in soils 450 m to the northeast of known spodumene dykes.
Hydra - A new soil grid with 500 m spaced soil sampling lines was recently initiated at the Hydra Dyke area. A small, detailed orientation soil grid was completed near the known cesium-lithium-rubidium-tantalum dyke occurrence in the spring of 2023 with positive results (soils to 996 ppm Li, 105 ppm Nb and 141 ppm Ta near the Hydra Dyke). Initial samples collected from the new larger grid are pending analysis and sampling is ongoing.
Prospecting
Partial results have been received from the ongoing prospecting program underway at Golden Hope. Much of the prospecting activity has focused on the follow-up of soil geochemistry results, which have identified pegmatite dykes in each new anomaly area, as described above. The most significant result to date is from the west Kraken area where spodumene-bearing float and outcrop, as yet untested by diamond drilling, have been uncovered and where preliminary assays from grab samples have returned up to 0.64% Li2O within open-ended soil geochemical anomalies. Large blocks of spodumene bearing float uncovered between the Killick and West Kraken zones, which appear to represent a new dyke(s), have returned values up to 0.58% Li2O and are untested by diamond drilling. This area will be further evaluated in preparation for Phase 5 drilling targeting.
Prospecting results from selected soil geochemical anomalies have returned strongly elevated beryllium (Be to 1,476 ppm) and tantalum (Ta to 507 ppm) enriched dykes which are part of the larger family of Lithium/Cesium/Tantalum (LCT Type) dykes. Vectoring within the LCT dyke systems will assist in the discovery of lithium-bearing pegmatites. Numerous soil geochemical anomalies remain to be investigated and soil sampling activities are continuing.
QA/QC Protocols
Rock and core samples are submitted to
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