Tambourah Metals has completed a reverse circulation drilling program at its Shaw River lithium-tin-tantalum project in Western Australia.
The program was designed to test pegmatite mineralisation within the project acreage as well as mapped pegmatites at the historic Shaw River tin mining area.
It comprised 13 holes for a total of 1,260 metres and followed reconnaissance sampling and mapping at several locations which identified outcropping pegmatites.
All samples have been sent to Perth and results are expected within six weeks.
Further sampling and mapping continues at several locations at Shaw River where there are outcropping pegmatites.
An extended review of the alluvial mining dumps has also commenced and sampling will include testing for potential lithium, tin and tantalum.
Shaw River location
Tambourah purchased Shaw River and several other lithium exploration projects from Minrex Resources in July.
The project is located 180 kilometres southeast of Port Hedland and 20km due east of the company’s Tambourah gold-lithium project.
It is part of the Shaw River tin field which had produced 6,585 tonnes of tin and 548t of tantalite concentrates (containing 20.2t of tantalum pentoxide) by 1975.
The greatest volumes of production came from alluvial placer deposits, while the pegmatites are thought to have been the primary source of tin and tantalum mineralisation.
There has been no record of lithium exploration to date at the field.
Lithium acquisition
In July, Tambourah paid $50,000 in cash and issued $100,000 in fully-paid ordinary shares to Minrex to assume sole ownership of a lithium portfolio in WA’s Pilbara region.
The company acquired six projects across the Tambourah, Shaw River and Coondina tenements, all of which have been reported to contain pegmatite swarms.
The deal granted Tambourah a dominant land position in the Pilbara, which is already host to the world’s largest operating hard-rock lithium mine at Pilgangoora (owned by Pilbara Minerals, ASX: PLS).
In September, Tambourah completed first pass sampling of 18 rock chips at Shaw River.
The pegmatites and dumps produced elevated tin while the rock chips confirmed pegmatites grading up to 180 parts per million lithium.
