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Firetail confirms lithium is present at its WA Yalgoo project. Drilling starts next month

Tue 30 Aug 22, 3:28pm (AEST)
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Key Points

  • Firetail is ready to strap into the battery metal wagon with further work at Yalgoo confirming lithium-bearing pegmatites
  • Second fieldwork campagin marks first boots-on-ground activity at Yalgoo since May
  • Heritage survey will be completed and then maiden drilling starts at Yalgoo in late September

Firetail Resources’ (ASX:FTL) maiden drilling program at the WA Yalgoo lithium project will fire up in late September, and recently concluded fieldwork on-site has confirmed the presence of lithium bearing pegmatites. 

Rock chip samples collected in the most recent campaign found trace elements of lithium, caesium and tantalum, providing evidence the geotech team’s initial suspicions are correct.

Further exploration targets for late September are also being interpreted from data attached to both of Firetail’s Yalgoo and Dalgaranga lithium projects respectively. 

Potential for large lithium system 

“Work to date indicates we are onto something really exciting at Yalgoo,” Firetail Resources executive chair Brett Grosvenor said. 

“We are now well positioned to proceed with maiden drilling at Yalgoo with approvals in place and a heritage survey booked in the coming fortnight[,] we are anticipating drilling in the coming 4-6 weeks.” 

“Until now, this land package has never been systematically explored.”

Recent ASX entrant 

Firetail Resources first listed on the ASX in May, and a month later, the company’s share price was up 60%. 

One final heritage survey remains in the way before drilling starts in late September, but the company is confident in progressing this without issue. 

Aldoro Resources (ASX:ARN) owns a lithium project nextdoor to Firetail’s project, and the area boasts potential to become a new lithium province for the well-established mining region of Murchison, WA. 

The project also sits alongside Krakatoa Resources’ (ASX:KTA) Dalgaranga Gold Project.

What does Firetail do?

Firetail is exploring for both gold and lithium at projects located in Western Australia and Queensland. Its major asset portfolio is located in WA, with a package of over forty tenements that the company has rights to. 

Within that package of forty tenements are six WA exploration licences 100% owned by Firetail. The company, through its predecessors, has already entered into agreements with relevant Aboriginal Corporations and other stakeholders.

Strong cash position, but sentiment down bad

Worth noting is that Firetail wound up its June quarter with $7.3m in cash. It spent $208,000 over the period in opex. 

In the name of fairness, the company’s strong run one month into its presence on the Australian bourse was quickly hammered by the risk-off sentiment that came to define markets in June. 

By mid-July, Firetail’s share price had dipped to 20c; in early May, the share price was 40c. 

Today’s news of lithium pegmatite mineralisation has failed to capture shareholder interest with Firetail shares falling a further -3.57% today to 27c in a mixed day for the Oz market. 

Consequently, year to date (YTD) returns sit up at 8% on the last day of August. 

Firetail's YTD charts show a company slammed by risk-off sentiment in July. Will macro trends continue to knock around Firetail?
Firetail's YTD charts show a company slammed by risk-off sentiment in July. Will macro trends continue to knock around Firetail?

 

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Written By

Jonathon Davidson

Finance Writer

Jonathon is a journalism graduate and avid market watcher with exposure to governance, NGO and mining environments. He was most recently hired as an oil and gas specialist for a trade publication.

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