Quarter recap: Australasian Metals (ASX: A8G) continues to make progress at the NT and Queensland projects - Kalkine Media

Highlights

• A8G is progressing its lithium, gold and bauxite/titanium projects in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
• The company had around AU$3.74 million of cash and nil debt as at 30 September 2023.
• Maiden drilling targeting lithium mineralisation has been completed at the Mt Peake project.
• Latest work has defined high titanium grades at the May Queen South project.

Focused battery and precious metals explorer Australasian Metals Limited (ASX: A8G) is committed to advancing activities at its exploration projects in the Northern Territory and Queensland. In the latest report, the company conveyed about the progress at work through the September quarter and the subsequent period.    

As at 30 September 2023, A8G had nearly AU$3.74 million of cash and no debt.

Maiden drilling at Mt Peake

In October, the company began the first diamond drilling campaign at the Mt Peake lithium project. The campaign would cover three holes over 600m in the initial phase. Two holes have been designed to test the geological zones immediately beneath previously discovered lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops (JC001 and MP10127) with 1.61% Li₂O and 225 ppm Ta; and 1.15% Li₂O & 223 ppm Ta, respectively.

The third hole will test a well-defined soil geochemical anomaly along the southeast trend from Core Lithium’s EL26848, where spodumene is outcropping and six samples returned over 1% Li₂O with a maximum of 4.78% Li₂O.

Australasian Metals has been granted the Aboriginal Area Protection Authority certificate for diamond drilling at the site. Also, the company’s mining management plan (MMP) has been approved.

To narrow down the search for Li-(Ta-Sn) bearing pegmatites at the Mt Peake lithium project field, A8G and CSIRO are working in collaboration.

PRISMA-derived mineral maps targeting mafic minerals have been developed to improve the mapping of mafic country rocks in the Mt Peake area.

Notably, A8G has been granted AU$95,185 under the Resource the Territory initiative of the Northern Territory Geological Survey. The company is planning to use the funds to advance its ongoing maiden diamond drilling program.

High titanium grades at May Queen South Bauxite Project

In May this year, A8G inked an agreement with Atlantic Lithium Limited to acquire Queensland-based May Queen South Bauxite Project. Mapping, sampling and assays conducted so far have confirmed major high‐grade bauxite mineralisation averaging 42% alumina over a combined surface area of 16km².

Also, the period saw completion of preliminary scoping metallurgical testwork, designed to assess whether simple crushing, scrubbing and screening could beneficiate a 'premium quality' DSO product.

In July, A8G completed the first field campaign at the May Queen South Bauxite project. This program included mapping as well as surface rock chip sampling. The identification of numerous high-grade surface samples ranging from 6% to 17.55% TiO₂ validated the geological fertility of the project.

Fieldwork at May Queen Gold Project

During the quarter, fieldwork was performed at the May Queen gold project to analyse the titanium potential of the historically drilled diamond core.

A8G shares traded at AU$0.185 apiece on 17 November 2023.