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Venus Metals says it has identified a strong lithium anomaly at its Youanmi lithium project in Western Australia’s Murchison region that may indicate pegmatite-hosted lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) mineralisation.
The discovery was made from a reconnaissance soil sampling program in an area not previously explored for LCT style mineralisation where several pegmatite outcrops are located.
Venus says the anomaly measures about 1.4km by 0.4km with a maximum lithium concentration using ultrafine soil fractions of up to 305 parts per million (ppm).
The latest discovery sits around 35km south of known lithium mineralisation at the operation’s Manindi target where first-pass shallow reverse-circulation drilling encountered pegmatite hosted LCT mineralisation in April.
Venus Metals has revealed what it believes could be “game-changing” high-grade drill results in its joint venture (JV) with Rox Resources after uncovering the faulted extension – now known as Paddy’s Lode –of the 4-million-ounce Youanmi gold deposit.
The initial JV discovery hole returned a bonanza 28m at 34.81 grams per tonne gold and further diamond drilling has now intersected a high-grade lode 200m further south. New results include 5.7m at 8.26g/t gold from 233.3m, 5.08m grading 9.56g/t from 225.8m and 3.32m going 8.29g/t gold from 200.05m.
Paddy’s Lode sits 250m south of the hulking Youanmi resource and the JV says its prospect is a faulted offset. Paddy’s Lode had been previously known as Youanmi South.
Venus expects to conclude a deal with Rox in July that will see 100 per cent of gold rights at Youanmi handed over to the latter. In return, Venus will receive 110 million Rox shares and a relinquishment of debt.
Venus Metals Corporation also holds four tenements near both Dreadnought and Hastings that it has named Mangaroon North, where it has highlighted a raft of high-priority rare earths targets. Earlier this year the explorer collected 299 soil samples and 84 rock-chip samples, in addition to re-analysing 66 previous soil samples with results showing up to 2136ppm TREO and 232ppm neodymium oxide.
Venus Metals and IGO have inked a binding agreement for exploration – and possibly development and extraction – at the pair’s Henderson nickel-lithium project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region.
The deal involves a farm-in and joint venture (JV) in which a subsidiary of IGO can progressively acquire up to a 70 per cent interest in the project by spending $4 million on exploration and reimbursing Venus with $1 million.
In a move likely to please Venus’ purse-string holders, IGO has promised to fund all expenditure for the JV until the completion of the project’s prefeasibility study (PFS). On completion of the PFS, IGO’s subsidiary will have the right to take Venus’ 30 per cent stake for a price based on fair market value, minus an apportioned aggregation of the expenditure incurred on the project to date.
Venus Metals Corporation has gained a boost to exploration plans for its Marvel Loch East rare earths project after its subsidiary Redscope Enterprises scored a co-funded drilling grant from the WA Government.
The Exploration Incentive Scheme funding will contribute 50 per cent of the direct drilling and mobilisation costs, with Redscope successfully applying for a maximum amount of $157,500 to explore the project near the town of Southern Cross, in Western Australia’s Central Wheatbelt.
Just last month, Venus identified high-priority drill targets for clay-hosted and fresh-rock rare earths mineralisation within a 25km-long magnetic trend and a 2.5km-by-3km zoned magnetic anomaly, following a successful aeromagnetic and radiometric survey.
The co-funded drilling program will comprise air-core, diamond and RC programs aimed at testing rare earths-enriched monzogranite at depth and the potential for clay-hosted rare earths mineralisation near surface using the survey data for targeting.
Venus Metals and joint venture partner, Rox Resources, continue to serve up bumper hits at their Youanmi gold project in WA’s Murchison goldfields, with the latest drilling at the Link prospect striking 22m at 6.31 grams per tonne gold from 355m which houses an impressive 11.2m running at 10.37 g/t.
Other notable intercepts include 5.1m averaging 7.15 g/t gold from 292.9m and 4.3m coming in at 9.67 g/t from 294.7m. The latest results come from a further five RC holes and eight diamond holes targeting resource infill at the JV’s high-priority Link prospect.