International Graphite has returned high-grade results from drilling at its Mason Bay prospect, about 2km east of its Springdale graphite project’s mineral resource near Hopetoun on Western Australia’s stunning south coast.
Assay highlights show an 11m hit grading 18 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC) from 28m, including a 4m intercept at an impressive 23.9 per cent TGC from just 29m.
The company also recorded a 6m section grading 20.7 per cent TGC from 28m, including 4m reading 25.9 per cent TGC from 15m, in addition to 11m going 11.7 per cent TGC from 57m and containing a 1m hit at 23 per cent TGC from 63m.
Additional wider hits include 25m at 11.4 per cent TGC from 68m and 23m going 8.7 per cent TGC from 77m. The latest results are from 24 reverse-circulation (RC) holes sunk into the prospect that was highlighted as a priority in April. The company has received assays from 39 of the 60 holes sunk at the site.
We expect future drilling will continue adding to the Springdale resource base. Areas, comparable in size to the existing identified mineral resource, remain to be investigated. The continued exploration success at Springdale gives us great confidence that sufficient mineral resource will be available across our tenement package to host a long life mine and support our integrated mine-to-market graphite operation in Western Australia. International Graphite managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland
Mason Bay is the company’s fourth discovery at Springdale and one of seven high-priority targets identified from a recent aerial electromagnetic survey.
Assays from the first 15 RC holes drilled at the target also returned solid results, including 16m at 11.7 per cent TGC from 13m and 15m grading 11.3 per cent TGC from 38m. International Graphite has drilled into more than 20,000m at Springdale since June last year, including 12 diamond and 261 RC holes.
In February, the company received positive results from metallurgical testwork on samples taken from the Mason Bay prospect, with concentrate grades of more than 97 per cent. Initial flotation tests showed outstanding results with its grades exceeding commercial product quality at 97.4 per cent TGC.
The greater Springdale project boasts an inferred resource of more than 15 million tonnes with a TGC of 6 per cent. Notably, the project houses an even higher-grade 2.6-million-tonne inferred resource running at a grade of 17.5 per cent TGC.
International Graphite plans to process its Springdale-sourced ore at its Collie processing facility, about 450km from the deposit. The procedure will allow the company to transform the raw graphite material into a substance appropriate for use in the construction of lithium-ion batteries.
Once the final assays from the latest drilling at Mason Bay are received, the results will be used to calculate a new mineral resource for Springdale, which is expected early next quarter.
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