The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News – March 1, 2024
Li-FT Power Ltd. Feb. 27 reported the next batch of assays from its 2023 drill program at the company's Yellowknife Lithium project; while this included results from last year's drilling, it also includes one hole drilled from its ongoing winter program.
Acquiring its various properties in the underexplored Yellowknife Pegmatite Province (YPP) in January 2023, Li-FT began its first season with a 34,238-meter drill program just a few months after its inception.
The company's 141,572-hectare (349,832 acres) land package covers some of the most prospective targets found within the YPP, the Yellowknife Lithium project spreads at least 14 pegmatites on mineral leases practically a stone's throw from NWT's capital, Yellowknife.
Consisting of 11 properties divided into two groups – five in a road-accessible area immediately east of Yellowknife and a cluster of six about 50 kilometers (30 miles) further east – Li-FT has been rolling out assays from these targets consistently for the past few months.
This week's drill results come from 1,325 meters drilled across eight holes, including the first hole of the 2024 winter program at Fi Southwest, along with 2023 results from the Nite, BIG West, and Fi Boye pegmatites.
Highlights from this round of drilling include:
• Five meters averaging 0.54% lithium oxide (Li2O) from a depth of 10 meters in hole YLP-0180, including 1.6% Li2O from 13 meters (BIG West).
• Six meters averaging 0.51% Li2O from 18 meters in YLP-0183, including 1.16% Li2O from 21 meters (BIG West).
• 11 meters averaging 0.74% Li2O from 27 meters in YLP-0191, including four meters averaging 1.48% Li2O from 27 meters (BIG West).
• Four meters averaging 1.11% Li2O from 15 meters in YLP-0189 (Fi Boye).
• Six meters averaging 0.87% Li2O from 176 meters in YLP-0192 (Nite).
• 15 meters averaging 1% Li2O from 311 meters in YLP-0195, including two meters averaging 1.42% Li2O from 311 meters (Nite).
• 22 meters averaging 1.05% Li2O from 58 meters in YLP-0199 – new collar from 2024 (Fi Southwest).
"Results from the deep drilling at Nite this week continue to impress with hole 195 intercepting 15 meters at 1% Li2O at 250 meters from the surface," said Li-FT Power Senior Vice President of Geology David Smithson. "This is the second deep hole we have drilled on the Nite structure following on from 10 meters at 1.4% Li2O drilled at the same level in 2023."
With assays still rolling in from the 2023 campaign, Li-FT has moved right into its next drilling season. With this latest batch of assays, Li-FT has reported results from 189 out of 198 diamond drill holes drilled last year.
And with this batch including the first results from 2024 drilling at Fi Southwest, it appears that there will be little to no break in the steady flow of assays from the Yellowknife Lithium project.
"The Fi Southwest dyke was similarly impressive this week returning 22 meters at 1% Li2O near to the surface," added Smithson. "Drilling to date on the Fi Southwest dyke has defined over 900 meters of good shallow mineralization so we are very excited to test the rest of the structure to depth in the 2024 drill program currently underway in the field."
Planning a roughly 18,400-meter winter program, the segue right into the newest assays suggests Li-FT means business and wants to get its project to ready status as quickly as possible, in light of the soaring demand for lithium products.
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