JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Savannah Resources has declared a maiden mineral resource estimate of 3.2-million tonnes at 1% lithium dioxide (Li₂O) for its Reservatorio deposit, at the Mina do Barroso lithium project, in northern Portugal.

Reservatorio is one of three targets currently being advanced as part of the ongoing exploration and development programme at the mine.

Crucial further upside remains as the drill programme is ongoing, with the aim of further expanding the Reservatorio mineral resource and defining new Joint Ore Reserve Committee 2012 compliant mineral resource estimates at other deposits.

Savannah CEO David Archer noted that the resource was just one of at least eight pegmatite deposits at the project, giving an indication of the potential scale of the project.

“We are now focused on defining a significant aggregate mineral resource from the multiple pegmatites that sit within the major lithium mineralised corridor that runs through our mining lease. The first to add to this aggregate mineral resource will be the high-grade Grandao deposit where we have completed extensive drilling and expect to deliver a resource estimate in the first quarter of 2018,” he highlighted.

"The drilling results continue to underscore the potential of the Mina do Barroso lithium project to be a strategic upstream feature in the European lithium value chain. We believe Mina do Barroso is the closest European analogue to the very successful Australian hard-rock, open cut mine developments, which produce highly sought-after lithium spodumene concentrates for international markets.

“Our focus is therefore on rapidly advancing the project so that we can look to provide a European source of battery-grade lithium to supply the growing number of European battery manufacturers.  With this in mind, we look forward to continuing to advance at pace our drilling and metallurgical test work programmes, which will be used to support an early scoping study around a potential mine development."