PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Sayona Mining has increased the lithium acreage at its Tansim project, in Quebec, by 44%, with the acquisition of an additional 90 claims.
The company on Thursday told shareholders that its Tansim project, some 82 km from the flagship Authier project, now included 275 claims spanning 15 907 ha of prospective lithium acreage.
A drilling programme is expected to start shortly, comprising 26 drill holes with 4 200 m to expand the lithium mineralisation at the project. Drilling conducted in 2010, comprising 11 holes, had resulted in an exploration target of between 5-million and 25-million tonnes, at an estimated grade of between 1.2% to 1.3% lithium oxide.
Meanwhile, Sayona has appointed mining executive Yves Desrosiers as director to its Authier lithium project, where he will be responsible for advancing the necessary approvals for the project, including managing public hearings to ensure that the company earned a social licence to operate.
Desrosiers was previously VP of mining operations at BlackRock Metals and has served as COO and GM of North American Lithium (NAL), which is currently the subject of a bid from Sayona.
Sayona in January this year was prompted to re-submit its bid for NAL after Quebec’s Superior Court approved a request to extend the bidding process until January 22 next year.
Sayona is hoping to combine lithium produced at its own Authier project with the lithium from the NAL project, which halted production in 2019, facilitating improvements in plant performance and economics.