Neometals spruiks lithium find in ‘corridor of power’

afr.com:

Battery technology play Neometals is in a trading halt after spruiking a lithium discovery it says has geological characteristics similar to world-class West Australian projects Mt Marion, Kathleen Valley and Mt Ida.

Neometals said the discovery was on top of the Mt Ida fault, a geological phenomenon that has captured the attention of Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers, and billionaires Gina Rinehart and Chris Ellison.

The explorer’s chief executive Chris Read said its discovery was “serendipitous” based on a re-examination of drill cores left over from nickel exploration in the area about 300 kilometres south of Delta Lithium’s Mt Ida project.

Neometals said it needed to clarify what it meant by the “visually estimated spodumene” in regard to the company’s Spargos project.

Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and the Mr Ellison-led Mineral Resources tipped more capital into Delta on Monday extending their like-minded investment spree in the sector.

Delta’s Mt Ida project is in an area dubbed the “lithium corridor of power” by the company’s former executive chairman, David Flanagan, and about 250 kilometres south of Kathleen Valley where Liontown Resources is on track to start producing lithium by mid-2024.

Neometals announced early on Monday that it had discovered “visible spodumene” at its project, covering 55 square kilometres along the Mt Ida fault. Mr Read said Spargos had a geological signature similar to the Mt Marion mine owned by MinRes and China’s Ganfeng, Liontown’s Kathleen Valley and Delta’s Mt Ida.

“We are excited by this discovery, the presence of fertile, spodumene-bearing pegmatites in diamond core from historic nickel exploration is serendipitous,” he said.

“The geological model is reminiscent of our former Mt Marion