Li-FT Power begins drilling at Yellowknife lithium, Northwest Territories
Li-FT Power Ltd. [LIFT-CSE; WS0-FSE] reported starting a 45,000-metre drill program that began June 2, 2023, at its Yellowknife lithium project located east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. On November 22, 2022, Li-FT entered into an amalgamation agreement with a private company to acquire a 100% interest in the Yellowknife Lithium project.
The current drill program is targeting seven outcropping spodumene-bearing pegmatite dike complexes that are within 10 km of an all-season highway.
Drilling will begin by targeting areas that, based on historic trench sample results, returned the highest lithia grades from outcropping pegmatites. The Fi Southwest and Fi Main pegmatites will be the first targets to be drilled. The company plans to drill each pegmatite target at 100-metre by 100-metre centres to a vertical depth of 300 metres. This is expected to provide sufficient sample density to enable estimates for inferred resources by mid-2024.
Francis MacDonald, CEO, commented: “We are thrilled to have started the drill program at our Yellowknife lithium project. This is one of the largest exploration drill programs for lithium globally, which we believe is justified by the impressive outcropping exposures of spodumene-bearing pegmatites across the portfolio that have been reported to have potentially economic grades at surface from work completed in the 1970s and 1980s. We believe that this drill program will show the scale and potential of the Yellowknife pegmatite province and put us well on our way to delivering a maiden resource estimate.”
Fi Southwest and Fi Main pegmatite dike targets: Li-FT plans to drill 16,075 metres over 79 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Fi targets.
The Fi area comprises two northeast-trending dikes that have a cumulative strike length of 3,300 metres. In 1975, 14 trenches were completed across the dike. The Fi Main dike is located 250 metres to the northeast of Fi Southwest and crops out over a total distance of 2,200 metres. In 1956, 10 trenches were excavated in the area covering 440 m of the dike’s strike length. The trenches returned up to 21.9 metres of 1.34% lithium oxide (average of 1.3% Li2O over 14.8 metres).
A bulk sampling program for metallurgy was completed in 1987 by Equinox Resources. Five 230-kilogram samples were taken from the Fi area which returned an average head grade of 1.33% Li2O.
Ki pegmatite dike target: Li-FT plans to drill 5,545 metres over 32 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Ki pegmatite.
The Ki pegmatite is a steeply-dipping set of dikes that trends on surface for 1,400 metres and has an average outcropping width of 12 metres. Spodumene is abundant where detailed mapping has occurred within a 350-metre-long segment. In 1978 two diamond drill holes tested the Ki dike to a depth of 50 metres below surface. Both holes intercepted spodumene-bearing dikes with an average grade of 1.58% Li2O over 13.7 metres.
Shorty pegmatite dike target: Li-FT plans to drill 4,445 metres over 25 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Shorty pegmatite.
In 1975, 10 closely spaced trenches along a 330-metre segment of the central part of the dike returned up to 7.8 metres of 1.67% Li2O (average of 1.1% Li2O over 21 m). In 1987, diamond drilling below the trenches intercepted pegmatite dikes 170 metres below surface with intersects of up to 25.85 metres at 1.15% Li2O.
Big-East pegmatite dike target: Li-FT plans to drill 7,790 metres over 46 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Big-East target.
In 1956 to 1957, 33 trenches covering this section returned up to 12.7 metres of 1.72% Li2O (average of 1.4% Li2O over 7.3 metres for each of the dikes).
Big-West pegmatite dike: Li-FT plans to drill 6,240 metres over 45 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Big-West target.
Nite pegmatite dike target: Li-FT plans to drill 4,560 metres over 26 diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 300 metres at the Nite pegmatite.
Closely spaced historical trenching over the central segment of the dike returned up to 12.2 metres of 1.36% Li2O (average of 1.57% Li2O over 7.1 m). In 1981 a single diamond drill hole was drilled below the trenches intersecting nine metres of 1.83% Li2O in a pegmatite dike at 58 metres below surface.
Li-FT has recently conducted a 50-metre line spaced airborne magnetics and versatile time domain electromagnetic (VTEM) survey over the Road Access pegmatite group.
Li-FT has entered into a definitive exploration agreement with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
The company will, effective June 6, 2023, grant certain consultants a total of 75,000 performance share units (PSUs). The PSUs will vest on a significant sale of the Yellowknife lithium project.