The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Adds new pegmatite and more mineralization at LDG, MacKay North of 60 Mining News – October 13, 2023
North Arrow exploration team examining outcrop at the southeast end of the SD4 pegmatite looking northeast on the company's LDG lithium project in Northwest Territories.
Lidar scan of the SD4 pegmatite that shows possible extent of lithium-bearing mineralization at LDG.
North Arrow Minerals Inc. Oct. 12 announced that ongoing exploration at its LDG and MacKay lithium projects in Northwest Territories has yielded the discovery of a new spodumene pegmatite at both properties.
"Recent exploration of North Arrow's LDG and MacKay lithium projects has results in the discovery of new spodumene mineralization at both properties and increased our confidence in the size potential of this new spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatite field," said North Arrow Minerals President and CEO Ken Armstrong. "Ground magnetic, high-resolution drone imagery and bedrock mapping surveys will significantly aid in ongoing interpretation and modelling of priority pegmatites, including planning for exploration drilling in 2024."
At LDG, field work focused on lithium pegmatites in the SD2 and SD4 areas, where earlier sampling returned assays of up to 1.7% lithium oxide and 2.1% lithium oxide, respectively.
In both areas, extensive overburden has limited the extent of pegmatite exposure; however, ground geophysical surveys have denoted magnetic correlations with pegmatite outcrops that extend beneath the overburden along the interpreted strike of these bodies.
At SD2, in addition to the previously discovered 500-meter-long spodumene pegmatite, new mapping identified at least three additional sub-parallel pegmatites in the area, including one sub-cropping exposure over 100 meters long that hosts visually identified spodumene mineralization.
At MacKay, the MK3 spodumene pegmatite was discovered approximately 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from MK1, a pegmatite from which 10 of 12 rock samples collected to date have returned grades topping 1.1% lithium oxide, including an extremely impressive assay of 3.7% lithium oxide.
North Arrow says that MK3 is a prominent 15- to 20-meter-wide, white pegmatite exposure traced near continuously along strike for roughly 130 meters. Additionally, between two- and 30-centimeter-long spodumene crystals have been visually identified and are present throughout the exposure.
The company adds that the pegmatite remains open in one direction where it extends beneath extensive overburden.
"In a short period of time, and with limited field work, North Arrow has discovered four significant spodumene pegmatites within a newly recognized pegmatite field in the Northwest Territories," added Armstrong. "These discoveries are located in a similar geological setting to the better-known Yellowknife Pegmatite Province, and North Arrow's work to date demonstrates they have potential for similar size and scale to the pegmatites of the Yellowknife area."
With this announcement, a total of 17 spodumene-bearing pegmatites have now been identified at both properties. From those and other relevant targets, 53 grab and channel-sawn rock and soil samples have been submitted for lithium assay and geochemical analysis.
"The LDG and MacKay spodumene pegmatites lie within several kilometres of the Tibbitt-Contwoyto winter road connecting Yellowknife with the NWT's diamond mines located just north of the properties," said Armstrong. "Exploration drilling in 2024 will benefit from use of this winter road, as well as North Arrow's fully permitted exploration camp which has been updated in support of this work."
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