Kula Gold has significantly advanced its Taliah lithium prospect in Western Australia as a drill-ready target, following several new anomalous lithium, tantalum and pathfinder results.
The company also says two more new early-stage prospects are showing potential.
The Taliah prospect, part of Kula’s 100 per cent-owned Southern Cross project, lies about 90km north of the world-class Mt Holland lithium mine, which is jointly owned by Wesfarmers and Chilean lithium giant, Sociedad Química y Minera.
Management says that on the back of its recent geochemistry, mapping and geophysics reviews, its prospect has now emerged as a “high-order lithium drill target”.
Building on the first two surface-sampling programs at Taliah, the company says rock-chip samples collected at surface confirmed its previously-outlined anomalism, further extending and refining the areas of lithium anomalism. Kula says it has now substantially lifted the size of its structure by 1 square kilometre to 3.5sq km.
The latest results include anomalous readings of up to 214 parts per million lithium and 144ppm tantalum, in addition to important pathfinder elements including beryllium at 300ppm and tin. It was significantly more than background values of 7ppm lithium, 0.6ppm tantalum and 0.2ppm beryllium.
Additionally, management notes that the fractionation ratio of potassium-rubidium from a significant number of the samples indicate moderately-fractionated material – a key indicator for the fertility of lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites – highlighting the potential for lithium enrichment.
Kula also recently completed a soil program near its existing rock-chip program and reported “very encouraging” results that make the case for a more extensive soils program later this quarter. It is also rapidly advancing two new prospects – Nadia and Sasha – north of the Taliah prospect, but still within the Southern Cross project area.
The Sasha prospect covers a 1.8sq-km area defined from rock-chip sampling. A preliminary reconnaissance mapping and rock-chipping program detected anomalous readings of up to 58ppm lithium, 28ppm tantalum and 18ppm beryllium, which were significantly above background levels.
The second newly-identified target, the Nadia prospect, spans 600m by 100m from outcrop, although the true extent of anomalism have not yet been defined. Reconnaissance mapping and rock-chip sampling to date at Nadia detected anomalous readings of up to 36ppm lithium, 119ppm tantalum and 41ppm beryllium, also significantly above background levels.
These results are important as they provide a geological vector towards a possible orebody below and act as a precursor to the more definitive drilling in the future. The rocks here are ~2.6B years old so the evidence at surface provides the clues to a possible orebody in the vicinity. Considering that this tenement has had zero previous exploration recorded in this mineral rich State of Western Australia, generally the first explorer tends to discover the larger finds. Kula Gold chief executive officer Ric Dawson
The company is set to begin extensive follow-up soil programs at both its Nadia and Sasha prospects this quarter, with results due in the following three-month period. Results from those programs, along with those revealed today, further add to Kula’s advancing portfolio of lithium projects.
Management says planning is now underway for a drill program to begin, “as soon as possible”, subject to regulatory approvals. It seems likely now that the company’s old rocks will deliver more new hits.
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