Balkan Mining and Minerals Ltd (ASX: BMM) has re-commenced drilling at the company’s flagship Gorge Lithium Project on Saturday 14 October after a brief hiatus to observe the hunting activities of the region’s First Nations people.
Prior to the brief interruption to drilling, the company had completed one diamond hole which intersected visual spodumene in shallow pegmatite hosted mineralization. Balkan has now recommenced drilling and completed SP-23-002 and intends to complete the programme as previously announced.
With key geological information regarding strike and dip of the pegmatite structures now better understood by the company’s technical team after an efficient stripping and trenching campaign at both Nelson and Koshman, as well as with the success of the first hole (SP-23-001) many additional drill targets have been identified. BMM’s drill contractor is focused on increasing productivity by moving to 24-hour, seven-day shifts until programme completion.
The company is making plans to continue drilling at an increased rate post the completion of the initial programme, with potential depth increases. BMM will update the market accordingly.
Balkan mining and minerals managing director Ross Cotton commented: “We’re very pleased to be continuing our maiden diamond drill programme at Gorge post the observation of the brief hunting season. The early indications from the program have whet our appetite for what we hope will be a highly successful drilling campaign.
We are targeting high priority opportunities at the Nelson and Koshman pegmatites and we’re continuing to identify new drill targets as the full scale and size of the Nelson and Koshman pegmatites is uncovered. With renewed attention to efficiencies onsite, we anticipate and will be reporting our pipeline of drill results in the coming weeks”. First pass drilling and preliminary exploration indicated that Gorge has the potential to host a substantial hard-rock lithium resource. The recently mapped Koshman spodumene bearing pegmatite provides Balkan with encouragement that many more targets across the Gorge Project may be yet identified. If the current drilling campaign continues to yield encouraging results, the company is assessing options and preparing the site to allow for year-round drilling activity.
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