NIOBE PROJECT
NIOBE PROJECT
40km S Leinster, WA
OVERVIEW
The Niobe Rb-Li Project consists of a 195ha mining lease application over part of the Dalgaranga-Mount Farmer pegmatite swarm located approximately 70km northwest of Mount Magnet. Some 19 mapped pegmatites lie within the licence and intrude a metagabbro sill from the Dalgaranga Greenstone Belt. The outcropping pegmatite dykes strike up to 1000m in length, generally trend NE and contain dilations up to 50m wide with shallow to moderate dips of 30-40 degrees to the northwest. Four of the pegmatites have been historically investigated for tantalum and one (Niobe) mined for tantalum, but no systemic investigation of their lithium or Rubidium potential had been untaken before Aldoro acquired the licence.
The zoned fractioned pegmatites are mineralised with a suite of tantalum and lithium minerals which appear to be consistent with LCT type pegmatites and are enriched in Li, Cs, Be, Ta, Nb and Rb. The limited historical analytical data from drill, rock and costean samples analysed 35 years ago indicated Li2O values up to 1.29%, 0.34% and 2.13% respectively. Petrology and sample descriptions identified the lithium – rubidium minerals as zinnwaldite, lepidolite and minor possibly spodumene.
Aldoro have conducted two RC drilling programme for 115 holes for 7,318m and with the historical 40 holes analysed for lithium suite elements have been modelled to produce a 4.6Mt resource at 0.17% Rb2O and 0.07% Li2O.
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Figure 1: Overview of Aldoro RC drilling relative to the mapped pegmatite dykes.
October 2022 High Level Estimate (0.05% Rb2O Cut-off)
Table 1: Inferred high level estimate of the resource at Niobe.
Figure 2: Wire Frame models of the individual bodies used in the resource calculations. Note map shows all historical and Aldoro drilling and that some of the historical drilling did not analyze for Li or Rb, hence no information.
Figure 3: A’- A cross section of the dipping pegmatite bodies and down hole control. Note some of the historical drilling did not analyze for Li or Rb but have been used for lithological control.
Figure 4: A’- A cross section with block models used.
Figure 5: B’- B cross section of the dipping pegmatite bodies at the Breakaway site and down hole control. Note some of the historical drilling did not analyze for Li or Rb but have been used for lithological control..
A Mining lease application (M59/775) has been placed over the Prospecting lease (P59/2137), the site has potential for onsite screening and DSO for Rb.