Midas Minerals hits pegmatites in 54 of 63 holes at WA Newington play; 800 samples pending

Midas Minerals’ (ASX:MM1) future development of the Newington WA project looks encouraging with the company today unveiling it hit pegmatites in 85% of drillholes perforated on-site. 

Today's news is perhaps unsurprising, given that drilling techs were targeting a well known lithium belt. 

A total of 63 drill holes for 2,980m across an 8km strike were executed with 54 of those holes intersecting pegmatite bodies.

Testwork is needed to confirm whether spodumene is present. 

Some 800 samples for lithium are pending assay; and another 80 for gold and nickel are also due back to the company by late 2022. 

Geotechnical consideration 

The big takeaway: pegmatites were intersected at shallow depths (exact measurements are not disclosed,) and pegmatite mineralisation is interpreted to boast widths from 10m to 30m.

Pegmatites intersected on-site are described as “extensive, wide and gentle [dipping],” implying the company may be able to easily define resources on-site further in future drilling activity, as well as extract potentially marketable product.

It’s worth noting Kawana lithium is hosted in lepidolite, and not spodumene. 

Lepidolite is a common mineral which hosts lithium, but is often overlooked in favour of spodumene. Lepidolite refining practices to yield lithium metals are less developed than that for spodumene, and fewer companies focus on lepidolite exploration. 

A number of companies on the ASX boast lepidolite deposits, including De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG), Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT), Metals Australia (ASX:MLS), and Lepidico (ASX:LPD)

Results to build knowledge: management

“Assay results are expected to add significantly to our knowledge on these pegmatites,” Midas Minerals MD Mark Calderwood said. 

“Our logging of 63 shallow RC holes has [already] provided significant information on the orientation, width and mineralogy of the pegmatites at the Kawana East prospect.” 

Relatively quick campaign

Midas kicked off its drill run at Kawana East in mid-August last month, an area of the WA Goldfields increasingly on the radar for its lithium bearing geology. 

The company had success prior to the drill run in surface mapping pegmatite on-site with anomalous lithium mineralisation already confirmed in initial assay work. This was confirmed in early rock chip samples. 

A secondary batch of rock chip assay results are still pending.

Midas Minerals only acquired the Newington project back in April this year when it took the asset off the hands of DiscovEx Resources (ASX:DCX). 

Before that, the company had only listed on the ASX in September 2021, for which it raised $6m. 

The Newington project is located within a busy part of the state and comprises 12 tenements covering 311km² located some 90km north of Wesfarmers’ (ASX:WES) Mt. Holland lithium project. 

Also worth noting is that Ramelius Resources’ (ASX:RMS) Edna May gold mine is located nearby to the east. 

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Midas Minerals was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.