Posted on 30 Aug 2023
Australian battery materials company Talga Group announced on Tuesday a lithium-pegmatite discovery in northern Sweden, which it plans to further evaluate in the best interest of its shareholders.
Groundwork completed this year, including field mapping and rock outcrop sampling, suggests “large” lithium-bearing pegmatites at the Aero Project, located 30 kilometres east of Gällivare. Geological mapping defined a 14 km strike zone of “flat-lying,” shallow pegmatites, with lithium grades of up to 1.95% lithium oxide. Exploration works to date also included aerial surveys and historic mapping.
Talga notes the strike zone remains open and that the largest pegmatite body identified so far measures 1,100 metres long and 450 metres wide. Vertical thickness is unknown at this stage and requires a detailed mineralogical investigation, Kallanish notes.
The project, formerly known as Aitik East Project, is 100% owned by Talga’s local subsidiary Talga Battery Metals. It primarily focused on copper, while noting a small historic occurrence of lithium in Swedish Geological Survey reports. Now, considering the strategic potential importance of lithium resources in Europe, the company decided to further investigate the new potential.
“Under the proposed EU Critical Raw Materials Act, battery-grade lithium is classified as a strategic raw material and is subject to domestic extraction targets. There are few hard rock lithium deposits in Europe, so any discovery could be of significance to the region’s emerging lithium-ion battery industry,” the company says in a statement.
Following the laboratory assays of 26 rock chip samples, the company now plans further surface sampling, mapping and geological surveys to define high-priority targets for drilling. Fieldwork should recommence in September, with following drilling plants subject to ongoing results, site clearances and budget approvals.
“Depending on next-stage results, strategic partners may be sought to advance the project, with the Talga management team remaining focussed on executing the Vittangi anode project,” the company adds.
The graphite-to-anode project is also located in northern Sweden. The battery anode plant under development in Luleå is planned to produce 19,500 tonnes/year initially. Commercial production was originally set for 2024, but the project is still undergoing permitting. Talga eventually plans to expand its anode production to 100,000 t/y.
The Aero project now comprises 134 square kilometres following an additional exploration licence staking.
Source:Kallanish
