The West Pilbara has potentially monster hard rock lithium deposits to dig up, this time around Azure Minerals\u2019 Andover\u00a0
\nDe Grey Mining really doesn\u2019t know how to stop proving up gold at its giant Pilbara gold projects
\nNearology is a thing. A very very good thing<\/p>\n
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A few years ago the top of the central Pilbara, just south of Karratha, was thought highly prospective for gold, lithium, copper-nickel and even cobalt mineralisation, with a tonne of juniors looking to find the next Mt Sholl or Pilgangoora. <\/strong><\/p>\n Yet in search of these deposits and perhaps sometimes failing, we\u2019ve highlighted a few that decided to stick it out in northern WA and have pivoted towards other minerals from whence they came, determined to find, in these cases, the Pilbara\u2019s next big gold or lithium deposit.<\/p>\n Read on down to find out which gems we\u2019ve plucked out for you and why they could go gangbusters soon.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One of WA\u2019s largest recent lithium finds is Azure Minerals\u2019 (ASX:AZS)<\/strong><\/a> Andover project in the prolific West Pilbara hard rock lithium district.<\/p>\n Backed by WA mining boffin Mark Creasy (40%), two years ago AZS was scouring its tenements for nickel-copper-cobalt when it started to test the \u201cvery obvious\u201d pegmatites it was running into.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as we started informing the market of this, there was a very positive reaction to it and I think that is telling us a very strong message \u2013 \u2018Azure, stick to your lithium\u2019,\u201d MD Tony Rovira told Stockhead<\/em> last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Interest in a takeover for the company would become nailed on in August last year after stumbling upon a massive 209m spodumene intersection<\/a> grading @ 1.42% Li2O \u2013 one of the best drilling lithium drilling results ever \u2013 rocketing the already $1bn market-capped explorer\u2019s share price up 20%.<\/p>\n Since then, it\u2019s drilled a whopping 217 diamond holes for 69,669.8m, 94 RC holes for 18,775m and 28 RC pre-collars and diamond tails for 12,700.7m and has defined an exploration target of between 100-240Mt @ 1-1.5% Li2O \u2013 absolutely massive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Location of the Osborne project JV and nearby Andover. Source: GTE.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chilean lithium giant SQM looked nailed on to take over the explorer in August last year, however, Gina Rinehart\u2019s Hancock Prospecting grabbed a significant amount of stakes \u2013 enough so that the two companies reached a deal for a joint takeover bid of $3.70 per share \u2013 valuing the company at $1.7bn.<\/p>\n AZS is still spinning nine diamond rigs ahead of a maiden resource for Andover expected in the June quarter.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Following in the footsteps of 2023 market darling AZS are GreenTech Metals (ASX:GRE)<\/strong><\/a> and Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV)<\/strong><\/a> which are targeting their own lithium find just 25km from Andover.<\/p>\n Interestingly, GreenTech is a spinout of Artemis \u2013 once a gold junior that rode the Pilbara\u2019s \u2018conglomerate gold\u2019 rush hype<\/a> in 2017 where geologists were seeking the Witwatersrand-type mineralisation-style gold deposits of South Africa \u2013 one of the largest gold districts in the world.<\/p>\n They partnered together to form the Osborne JV in 2022 looking to prove up copper and nickel targets until it stumbled upon high-grade lithium pegmatites trends.<\/p>\n GreenTech holds a 51% interest in the Osborne lithium JV with Azure where exploration at the Osborne pegmatite trend<\/a> is evolving into an exciting target over its ~700m strike length showing high lithium grades of up to 2.36% recently.<\/p>\n GRE exec director Thomas Reddicliffe says that in light of the recent $1.7bn takeover offer for Azure, the West Pilbara is continuing to cement its position as one of the premier global jurisdictions for hard rock lithium exploration.<\/p>\n \u201cExploration has delivered valuable stratigraphic and structural information relating to the subsurface characteristics of these pegmatite zones and will aid in refining the more detailed follow-up drill program,\u201d Reddicliffe says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur forward programs include a maiden RC drill program to build on our understanding of known pegmatite trends, as well as identifying new zones that have been highlighted by our rock chip sampling and soil sampling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While some have moved from gold exploration into Pilbara\u2019s lithium, others have gone the other way \u2013 more central in fact.<\/p>\n Take New Age Exploration (ASX:NAE)<\/strong><\/a> for example, which last year was shallow-testing multiple lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite targets similar to major deposits such as Mineral Resources\u2019 (ASX:MIN)<\/strong><\/a> Wodgina, Pilbara Minerals\u2019 (ASX:PLS)<\/strong><\/a> Pilgangoora and Andover.<\/p>\n Yet in a boon for the explorer, it\u2019s somehow snapped up tenure right in the heart of De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG)<\/strong><\/a> massive Pilbara gold project area and a stone\u2019s throw from its monster world-class 10.5Mt Hemi deposit and 600,000oz Withnell mine.<\/p>\n De Grey is something of a unicorn for gold exploration in the Pilbara in recent past.<\/p>\n As noted earlier the last gold rush to happen in the region in 2017 turned out to be mostly hype based around conglomerate, or \u2018nuggety gold\u2019 in Witwatersrand-style mineralisation.<\/p>\n A bunch of juniors got excited about it \u2013 and so did the ASX, so more than a dozen Pilbara-related gold explorers popped their heads up in earnest, including DGO Gold, Kairos Minerals (ASX:KAI)<\/strong><\/a>, Venturex Resources \u2013 now Bill Beament from Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST)<\/strong><\/a> fame\u2019s Develop Global (ASX:DVP)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 and others.<\/p>\n It turned out that the Witwatersrand-style mineralisation wasn\u2019t to be, and many have left the Pilbara to greener-energy mineral pastures since \u2013 that is, except one, of exceptional note.<\/p>\n De Grey is the explorer which got the cake and is now eating it too \u2013 at the recent RIU Explorers conference in Fremantle, its GM of exploration Phil Tornatora got up in front of a standing-room-only crowd to give an update on what lies ahead for the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n A significant DFS released in September last year flagged Hemi as a future top 5 Aussie gold mine, forecasting a 5300,000ozpa run rate over just the first decade of production which is flagged to kick off in 2026.<\/p>\n Tornatora says exploration will continue to be a key value driver for the company.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see that there\u2019s potential to increase all the Hemi deposits at depth. A lot of them remain open along strike as well. There\u2019s immediate potential for resource extensions at Diucon, Eagle and Antwerp and also several of the regional deposits,\u201d Tornatora says.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That puts nearby tenements such as NAE\u2019s exploration license \u2013 dubbed the Wagyu project \u2013 into the limelight and potentially be transformational for the company.<\/p>\n The junior is paying just two payments of $5,000 for the mineral and exploration rights after conducting a detailed review of the Central Pilbara\u2019s regional geophysics to assess for \u2018Hemi-style\u2019 targets, landing on the tenure as an area of significant interest.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Wagyu gold project, right near De Grey\u2019s monster Hemi deposit. Source: NAE.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NAE exec director Joshua Wellisch says the company is thrilled to acquire Wagyu, which represents a highly prospective opportunity along strike from the Hemi, the Pilbara\u2019s largest-ever gold discovery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe project significantly enhances our Pilbara footprint and aligns with our strategy of securing the most promising exploration tenure in the Central Pilbara,\u201d Wellisch says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe possibility of the project\u2019s acquisition has been in the making for several years, and we are all extremely excited to commence the exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While GreenTech Metals and New Age Exploration are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Sticking to the Pilbara: These juniors are right now attached to world-class lithium and gold deposits<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The discovery that\u2019s sent Pilbara explorers into a lithium frenzy<\/h2>\n
Lithium nearology in the West Pilbara<\/h2>\n
Pilbara\u2019s golden unicorn<\/h2>\n
Wagyu got there mate?<\/h2>\n