Pan Asia Metals announces drilling results

Highlights

• PAM has completed the first ever drill hole at the Bang I Tum lithium prospect.
• Hole BTDD001 intersects a pegmatite dyke swarm from 46.5 – 164.5 m.
• Composite thickness of pegmatite approximately 25 m from 86.3 –135.3 m.
• Pegmatite contains quartz, feldspar and muscovite.
• Muscovite is potentially the source of lithium at Bang I Tum.
• Accessory cassiterite and copper and iron sulfides also present.
• Drilling of the hole BTDD002 has commenced.

PAM Managing Director, Paul Lock, said: “We are very pleased with the initial drilling results at Bang I Tum, which accord with the literature and our expectations. We are looking forward to the results in the next holes and particularly our planned drilling under Lepidolite Hill, which is to the south of the historical Bang I Tum tin mine.

“The Reung Kiet Lithium Project has the potential to be a very low-cost operation and, being the only lithium project in South East Asia, and in close proximity to the advanced industrial centres of Thailand and Malaysia and the massive battery markets of Asia, provides PAM with a suite of advantages including its close proximity to all required processing inputs.”

The Reung Kiet Lithium Project (RKLP) is on of PAM’s key projects. RKLP, inclusive of the Bang I Tum lithium prospect, is a hard rock project with demonstrated potential for lithium hosted in lepidolite/mica rich pegmatites chiefly composed of quartz, albite, lepidolite, muscovite with minor cassiterite and tantalite as well as other accessory minerals including some rare earths.

Recent drilling

Drilling at BIT is planned on 100 – 150 m spaced sections along the pit length and extending southwest to ‘Lepidolite Hill’. Drillhole depths are planned up to about 180 m and will test the interpreted pegmatite positions beneath the opencast and along strike to the south-west.

Drillhole BTDD001 was drilled to a depth 171 m at a dip of -60°, to direction 310° magnetic.

The drillhole traversed weathered siltstone to 14.5 m and then passed into fresh meta-siltstone. The hole intersected a swarm of 17 separate pegmatite stringers, veins and dykes commencing at 46.5 m and continuing through to 164.5 m. These zones ranged in thickness from 0.1 m to 6.9 m. A central zone of more extensive and wider dykes is present from 86.3 m to 135.3 m. This 49 m wide zone contains seven dykes which total 24.7 m of composite thickness. Individual dykes in this zone are typically 2 – 6.9 m wide. Additional but narrower pegmatite veins and stringers continue to 164.5 m. The pegmatite swarm would appear to be vertically extensive, occurring from 50 m to 110 m below the old pit floor.

All of the pegmatites intersected in the hole contain quartz, feldspar and varying amounts of fine-grained to clotty muscovite, as well as tourmaline which is locally altered to chlorite. Detailed logging is year to be undertaken, however, the observed muscovite is visually estimated to vary between 5% and 25% of pegmatite. The muscovite is the potential lithium-bearing mineral phase in the pegmatite. At Bang I Tum, previous work has identified that both muscovite and lepidolite can contain lithium.

The pegmatite in BTDD001 also contains disseminated cassiterite (tin oxide) and local pyrite and chalcopyrite. Tin is a potentially valuable component of the pegmatite.

Forward planning

PAM has four priority one drill holes planned at Bang I Tum, with additional drilling contingent on positive results from these holes.

Following the completion of drilling at Bang I Tum, PAM intends to relocate the rig to the nearby Reung Kiet prospect to conduct additional drilling that will target lepidolite rich pegmatites identified in previous trenching and mapping programs conducted by PAM.

Results of the priority one holes at Bang I Tum will be assessed and further drilling may be conducted.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/01022021/pan-asia-metals-announces-drilling-results/