Sigma Lithium receives licence to build second mine at Grota do Cirilo property
Spodumene ore produced at the Barreiro mine will feed its Greentech lithium beneficiation plant.
New drill results from Azimut Resources (TSXV: AZM) confirm a wide and high-grade lithium zone on the Galinée property in the James Bay region of Quebec, likely the southern extension of Winsome Resources’ (ASX: WR1) adjoining resource-stage Adina deposit.
Hole GAL24-025 returned a highlight interval of 158 metres, grading 1.62% lithium oxide (Li2O) from 207.8 metres depth, including 89.6 metres at 2.2% Li2O, the company said Wednesday. The results from a 14-hole, 3,203.6-metre second-phase drill program translate to “material progress for the Galinée discovery,” president and CEO Jean-Marc Lulin said in a statement.
Another hole, GAL24-022, returned 25.9 metres at 2.53% Li2O from 135.1 metres depth, including 19.75 metres at 3.16% Li2O. The drill intercepts are reported widths and true widths are yet to be determined.
The region is emerging as a significant lithium district, with other companies like Winsome and Patriot Battery Metals (TSXV: PMET; ASX: PMT) with its Corvette discovery advancing their prospects. The property is about 50 km northwest of the former Renard diamond mine, which Winsome aims to incorporate into Adina’s development plans. Winsome posted an initial inferred resource of 59 million tonnes at 1.12% Li2O in December.
One mining scenario at Galinée involves building a ramp to access the deposit, given its slightly flat geometry at a relatively shallow depth, according to the Azimut release.
The spodumene crystals found range from a few centimetres to up to 1.65 metres in length. Other minerals include quartz, feldspar, tourmaline, garnet, and more. The company has also found significant cesium, tantalum, gallium, and rubidium grades.
Azimut, which holds the property in a 50-50 joint venture with provincial government mining arm Soquem, says the Galinée project is a top priority this year. The partners will continue drilling over the next six months, and a comprehensive till sampling and prospecting program is underway to identify new drill targets across the property’s most prospective areas over a cumulative length of 60 kilometres.
Only a tiny part of the Galinée property has been explored for lithium to date, according to Azimut. The currently drilled area, in the northernmost part of the property, is part of a much more extensive prospective zone continuing for 12 km farther east and over 21 km along the northwest side of the project. In the southern half of the property, several sectors with 22 km of cumulative strike also display a favourable geological context coupled with attractive lake sediment anomalies.
Azimut faced criticism from shareholders last year, arguing that while it held some of Quebec’s most prospective lithium lands, it wasn’t exploring for the critical battery metal and was overly focused on gold. Activist shareholders also said it had a discounted stock price valuation compared to its peers and claimed that its business practices weren’t sufficiently respectful to shareholders and neighbouring junior explorers.
Azimut called the accusations inaccurate and false. It was previously more focused on drilling out its resource-stage Elmer gold project and its Patwon discovery of January 2020.
Azimut shares have taken a beating over the past 12 months, dropping more than 53% to a fresh low Wednesday at C$0.55 from a high of C$1.42 a year ago. It has a market capitalization of C$47 million. In comparison, neighbouring Winsome, also down by half the past year at A$0.83 per share, has a market capitalization of A$182.5 million.
