Aim-listed explorer IronRidge Resources says a 12 500 m drilling programme at its Ewoyaa lithium project, in Ghana, has started, with contractor GeoDrill having mobilised on site and started reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
The campaign is intended to add resource tonnes within the immediate Ewoyaa resource area.
Overall, about 10 000 m of drilling is designed to test seven new high-priority pegmatite targets, including outcropping spodumene pegmatite.
The 2 500 m drilling programme that is now under way is planned to test an additional three exploration targets − Ndasiman, Amoanda and Hweda − within the Saltpond and Apam West licences.
The project has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate of 14.5-million tonnes at a grade of 1.31% lithium oxide in the inferred and indicated category, including 4.5-million tonnes at a grade of 1.39% lithium oxide in the indicated category.
The first RC drill hole intersected 13 m of visible spodumene on a new pegmatite target within 500 m of the current resource.
In addition, the company reports that 6 km of new access roads and 85 drill pads have been prepared within the Ewoyaa project area and that suitable infrastructure is available nearby to support the project, including the operating Takoradi deep-sea port which is 110 km away.
IronRidge also reports that the Ghanaian government is “highly supportive” of the project.
IronRidge CEO Vincent Mascolo says the single largest new pegmatite defined within the Ewoyaa lithium project corridor is 460 m long and up to 30 m in apparent width, with outcropping spodumene observed and the potential to add significant resource tonnes within the immediate project area.
“Despite the challenges faced in the past year, IronRidge has made significant progress in driving its lithium assets and the Ewoyaa project forward. The company is well positioned to take advantage of the increasing demand for lithium and its role in the future stored energy transition,” he says.