Looking southwest from Zoro‘s Dyke #1 towards the lake that serves as water source for drilling.
Today, Far Resources Ltd. reported assay results from its phase-1 drill program on the Zoro Lithium Project near Snow Lake in mining-friendly Manitoba, Canada.
The initial 7 holes successfully confirmed historic drilling on Dyke #1. Each hole intersected lithium-bearing spodumene mineralization over intervals of up to 28 m, with 2 holes terminated in mineralization.
Based on today’s results, it appears that lithium grades and pegmatite widths are strongest in the northwest portions of Dyke #1, as shown by the wide and high-grade intersection in hole #7 (1.1% Li2O over 23 m). Further exploration, including additional drilling, will focus in this area of the dyke. At the south end, hole #1 intersected multiple thin pegmatite intervals, possibly due to faulting, returning 1.49% Li2O over 2 m.
With a total of 1,140 m completed, the initial 7 holes were only drilled to shallow depths of 163 m on average. Phase-2 drilling is expected to test for mineralization extending at depth.
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The average Li2O grade of all 7 holes exceeds 1%, which can be considered a “world-class” when comparing with other hard-rock lithium projects worldwide; e.g. the Mt. Cattlin Project in Australia (Galaxy Resources) with an average resource grade of 1.08% LiO2 (currently being developed into a mine).
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As being the case with most hard-rock lithium projects, one single lithium-bearing pegmatite is rarely sufficient to warrant a mining operation. However, pegmatites typically occur in clusters or dyke swarms. To date, an additional 6 pegmatites, outcropping at surface, are known to exist in proximity to Dyke #1 on the Zoro Property. Additional (hidden) pegmatites may get discovered under a shallow cover during the upcoming exploration programs.
According to today’s news, a crew is immediately being mobilized to undertake a field assessment of these 6 known dykes. The upcoming phase-2 drill program is expected to test several of these (in addition to follow-up drilling at Dyke #1).
Keith Anderson, President and CEO, commented today:
“We are pleased that the results from our first drill program on the Zoro lithium property compare favorably with historic data. We have identified higher-grade portions of Dyke #1 which will be the focus of further exploration. Additionally, upcoming field work will assess six other known lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes on the property, where reconnaissance sampling over the summer returned values of up to 6.35% Li2O”.
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“As global lithium demand increases over coming years, hard-rock operations will be able to respond to market conditions much faster than their brine counterparts...
With the recent lithium feedstock shortage in China, a number of low-grade, high cost deposits have been restarted to sell to downstream processors.“ (Deutsche Bank “Welcome to the Lithium-ion Age“; May 2016)
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In July 2016, Far Resources reported assays from a rock chip sampling program of 3 separate pegmatites/dykes on its Zoro Property (515 hectares):
• Dyke 2 averaged 3.12% Li2O (2 samples)
• Dyke 4 averaged 2.41% Li2O (1 sample)
• Dyke 5 averaged 3.93% Li2O (4 samples; 2 exceeded 6% Li2O)
Average of all 7 samples: 3.48% Li2O
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In 1956/1957, when lithium prices and demand were very low, a total of 78 shallow holes were drilled at Zoro by Green Bay Uranium Ltd., identifying 7 pegmatites. About 60% of these holes were drilled into Dyke 1, delineating a (historical) “reserve estimate” of 1.8 million t averaging 1.4 Li2O. Historic drilling was shallow to only test for near-surface mineralization, however it was noted that the pegmatites thicken at depth and remain largely untested below 200 m from surface.
“Although lithium metal prices were first reported in trade publications in 1952, demand was very low. From 1952 to 1974, lithium prices remained flat in terms of current dollars; in terms of constant dollars, however, prices decreased. The potential use of lithium in batteries for electric vehicles was first discussed in the Minerals Yearbook in 1972. The downward trend in lithium metal prices reversed in 1974.“ (Joyce A. Ober in USGS 1999)
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Criteria facilitating Zoro to quickly advance to a world-class lithium project with the recently completed and upcoming drill programs:
• Highly favourable metallurgy expected due to low impurities, such as iron, and a coarse-grained spodumene mineralization (white to light-greenish colour, similar to Whabouchi).
• Nearby infrastructure (power line: 4 km; road: 11 km; airport: 12 km; rail: 34 km).
• 7 known pegmatites provide significant resource definition potential in 2017. Sampling may identify new anomalies; stripping and trenching of anomalies may discover hidden pegmatites.
• By-product potential (e.g. tantalum, caesium, rubidium) remains unknown. The Tanco Mine (Cabot Corp.) in southeast Manitoba used to produce lithium-bearing spodumene, and tantalum; currently producing only caesium (the world’s largest known pollucite deposit, accounting for 2/3 of known global resources).
• Mining-friendly community (Snow Lake) and province (Manitoba) in a safe and stable mining jurisdiction.
• First Nation consultation and engagement not required in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt where the Zoro Property is located.
Previous Coverage
Report #2: Far Resources gains momentum with drill results pending from its Zoro Lithium Project in Manitoba
Report #1: Drill Results Pending From a Potentially World-Class Hard-Rock Lithium Project
Company Details
Far Resources Ltd.
Unit 114B – 8988 Fraserton Court
Burnaby, BC V5J 5H8 Canada
Phone: +1 604 805 5035
Email: info@farresources.com
www.farresources.com
Shares Issued & Outstanding: 57,191,556
image: https://www.rockstone-research.com/images/10xx/Zoro1.png
Canadian Symbol (CSE): FAT
Current Price: $0.09 CAD (01/09/2017)
Market Capitalization: $5 million CAD
image: https://www.rockstone-research.com/images/10xx/Zoro2.png
German Symbol / WKN (Frankfurt): F0R / A2AH8W
Current Price: €0.062 EUR (01/09/2017)
Market Capitalization: €4 million EUR