92 Resources to test NWT lithium potential

92 Resources Corp. March 21 provided exploration plans for the upcoming field season at its Hidden Lake lithium project about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

The company said it has received the primary permit needed to carry out exploration at Hidden Lake and plans to carry out a drill program to test the strike and depth of spodumene-bearing pegmatite bodies found there in the latter half of the year.

Spodumene is a lithium mineral that often occurs in extremely large crystals.

Before the discovery of lithium-bearing brines, spodumene was the primary source of lithium.

The lithium potential of pegmatites within the Yellowknife area, including Hidden Lake, was first recognized in the mid-1950s.

Despite the introduction of low-cost production from lithium brine deposits, 92 Resources said spodumene-bearing pegmatites continue to be an important supply of lithium.

The company completed channel sampling of four pegmatites at Hidden Lake in 2016.

Highlights from this work include nine meters averaging 1.9 percent lithium oxide; 6.9 meters averaging 1.78 percent lithium oxide; and one sample averaging 3.3 percent lithium oxide.

In addition, significant grades of tantalum were reported in association with the lithium mineralization.

Prior to drilling, 92 Resources plans to complete prospecting and detailed mapping of two pegmatite bodies it discovered in 2016.

A grab sample from one of these pegmatites returned 1.9 percent lithium oxide.

In addition to the field work, 92 Resources intends to initiate a preliminary metallurgical program with the objective of producing spodumene concentrate of potentially marketable quality.

The program will include a complete mineralogical characterization of the Hidden Lake pegmatites, as well as various beneficiation test work.

The potential for concentration of the tantalum bearing minerals into a secondary concentrate will also be evaluated.

-SHANE LASLEY