FE Battery Metals (CSE: FE) has released the findings of its 2023 drill program at its flagship Augustus Lithium Property in Quebec, Canada. The results of Drill Hole LC23-50 are particularly noteworthy, as they include multiple sections of lithium mineralization, including a 17.45-meter-wide section with 1.19% lithium oxide (Li2O) at a depth of 82.4 meters. This drill hole was intended to examine the eastward extension of LC21-16, which previously yielded positive results of 1.17% Li2O over 19 meters at a depth of 126 meters. 

The company intends to follow up on these findings by conducting additional drilling and constructing 3D models of the lithium-bearing rock formations to gain a better understanding of the geometry of one of the main higher-grade lithium pegmatite zones.

Gurminder Sangha, CEO & Director, commented in a press release: “We are very excited to see such promising drill results at Augustus and are currently endeavouring to define the size and shape of the high-grade zones. With Quebec now a hard rock lithium hotspot, this is a significant milestone for our company. We look forward to further unlocking the potential of Augustus, which is located just a few kilometres from the now-operational North American Lithium Mine.”

Highlights from the results are as follows:

• The main lithium pegmatite zone (pegmatite intercept 4) in Hole LC23-50 is 17.45 m wide with average 5,558 parts per million (ppm) lithium (Li) or 1.19% Li2O at 82.4m drilled depth. In addition, there are anomalous values of other rare metals in this section such as beryllium (Be), cesium (Cs), niobium (Nb), and tantalum (Ta).
• Drill Hole LC23-50 intersected eight lithium pegmatite intercepts as follows:
  • Pegmatite intercept 1 with average 1,915 ppm Li or 0.41% Li2O over 1.77 meters at 11.23 m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 2 with average 1,610 ppm Li or 0.35% Li2O over 2 meters at 25 m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 3 is a low-grade zone with average 917 ppm Li or 0.20% Li2O over 4.4 meters at  31m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 4 with average 5,558 ppm Li or 1.19% Li2O over 17.45 meters at  82.85m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 5 with average 5,099 ppm Li or 1.10% Li2O over 10 meters at  106m drilled depth. This intercept also has a 1.67 m section with 1,700 ppm cesium and 2,030 ppm chromium. Rubidium in two sections is over 5,000 ppm which is above the method detection limits.
  • Pegmatite intercept 6 with average 6,625 ppm Li or 1.42% Li2O over 2 meters at  180m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 7 is a low-grade zone with average 244 ppm Li or 0.05% Li2O over 4 meters at  194m drilled depth.
  • Pegmatite intercept 8 with average 3,146 ppm Li or 0.68% Li2O over 8.5 meters at  210m drilled depth.
  • All pegmatites have anomalous values of other rare metals.
  • All intersections reported are based on drilled width and have not been converted to the true width.   

Drill hole LC23-50 was drilled at location 5367757.986 N, 287214.019E, UTM NAD 1983 Zone 18N, at azimuth 51.3 degrees and dip -49.4 with a drilled depth of 252 m. The drill hole was placed at the main Augustus zone. 

The drill core is logged and sampled at the core shack using a rock saw. A core shack is built at the village of St-Dominique du Rosaire located about 50km from the Property for drill core logging, sample preparation and storage. For quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC), field duplicates, standards and blanks are being inserted at industry standard intervals. The samples were bagged and tagged using best practices and were delivered to Activation Laboratories (“ACTLABS”), Ancaster, Ontario for sample preparation and analyses using laboratory code Ultratrace 7 and sodium peroxide fusion (Na2O2) as summarized below. ACTLABS is an independent commercial, accredited ISO Certified Laboratory.