St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has provided a recap of the foundations established in 2023 to build an exciting, highly prospective portfolio of lithium and battery metals projects in Western Australia – and updated for the first time on plans for 2024.
Mt Alexander project – lithium exploration:
- Soil sampling, pegmatite field mapping and outcrop sampling completed over a previously untested area of the Mt Alexander project – owned 100% by St George except for E29/638 (75% St George; 25% IGO)
- Assays are pending for soil samples and rock chip samples, with final results expected by mid-January 2024
- Results will allow for completion of targeting for the 2024 drill program – scheduled to commence in February – that will include targets across:
- an 8km-long zone around the Manta prospect, where drilling by St George intersected a 121m-thick fractionated pegmatite
- a 4km-long zone of the Jailbreak prospect, where drilling by St George intersected multiple lithium-bearing pegmatites with values up to 1.8% Li2O and rock-chip samples returned values up to 3.25% Li2O
Destiny project – REE and lithium exploration:
- Drill program scheduled to commence in January 2024 to follow up rare earth elements (REE) and lithium targets
- REE: Further drilling at the high-grade total rare earth oxide (TREO) discovery at Destiny, where thick, near-surface, clay-hosted REE have been intersected – with grades up to 5,125ppm TREO and 1,199ppm MREO
- Lithium: Maiden drilling of lithium targets including an area along strike from the Spargos Project of Neometals (ASX: NMT), where spodumene occurrences have been reported
Lithium Star – ramping up work with support from world’s leading lithium-ion battery maker:
- Delegation from Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) completed a site visit of selected Lithium Star projects in December
ATL investment of $3 million in Lithium Star Pty Ltd has been completed - Exploration at priority Lithium Star projects is being accelerated with a focus on:
- the Split Rocks project: located ~25km north-west of the Earl Grey lithium deposit (189Mt @ 1.50% Li2O) owned by Covalent Lithium – a joint venture between Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) and SQM (NYSE: SQM)
- the Buningonia and Buningonia North projects: located in the same lithium province as Global Lithium’s (ASX: GL1) Manna project (32.7Mt @ 1.0% Li2O) and the operating Bald Hill mine (26Mt @ 1% Li2O)
- the Myuna Rocks project: near Allkem’s (ASX: AKE) operating Mt Cattlin mine (12.1Mt @ 1.3% Li2O)
- Pre-drilling field work underway ahead of maiden drill program in 2024
Commenting on the progress made this year and first insights into the 2024 exploration program, St George executive chairman John Prineas said:
“Our work in 2023 has delivered a number of important project milestones and – looking forward – laid the platform for strong growth in 2024. We thank our shareholders for their support as we worked hard to establish these exciting growth foundations.
“Our drilling at Mt Alexander has confirmed the presence of high-grade lithium as well as very thick pegmatites that are up to 121m thick. These results point to the potential for a large lithium-bearing pegmatite mineral system. With only a fraction of the +16km exposure to the regional LCT corridor on our tenure tested by drilling, the exploration upside at Mt Alexander is significant.
“The exploration and M&A activity around our Mt Alexander project cannot be ignored.
“Active lithium exploration is also underway at the neighbouring Mt Bevan project – a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting, Legacy Iron (ASX: LCY) and Hawthorn Resources (ASX: HAW), and at the nearby Mt Ida project (14.6Mt @ 1.2% Li2O) of Delta Lithium (ASX: DLI) where Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has emerged as the controlling shareholder.
“Our ongoing, systematic exploration is delivering new targets at Mt Alexander for what is becoming a highly anticipated 2024 drill program.
“Our strategy over the past year has also seen us build out our portfolio of highly prospective, underexplored projects in Western Australia. The new Destiny project and the Lithium Star package of projects have substantially expanded the company’s pipeline of exploration opportunities.
“Our high-grade rare earths discovery at Destiny, which we announced just weeks ago, was an outstanding early achievement that we will build on in 2024 with follow-up drilling and exploration.
“In addition, numerous targets for potential lithium-bearing pegmatites are being defined across the large +3,000 sq km Destiny landholding – setting the stage for a maiden lithium drilling campaign in early 2024.
“The acquisition of the Lithium Star projects was an exciting development in 2023. We were delighted that Amperex Technology (ATL) – the world leader in lithium-ion batteries – recognised the potential of these projects and invested $3 million for an initial 10% stake in Lithium Star.
“We had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from ATL in Perth earlier this month. A ramp-up of exploration – including maiden drill programs – is planned for the Lithium Star projects in 2024. We are excited about unlocking the potential at these unexplored and underexplored projects.
“Our vision to create shareholder wealth through exploration of high-quality projects was also recognised by Shanghai Jayson – another global battery player – which increased its shareholding in St George following a further investment of $3 million.
“Our exploration and corporate achievements in 2023 have positioned St George for strong growth in 2024. The projects and funding are in place to enable us to pursue significant shareholder wealth creation through exploration success.
“As we sign off on a busy year, we look forward to launching the fully funded 2024 exploration push across our projects and reporting results to shareholders.”
