‘New lithium province’: miners find significant lithium potential in WA’s Goldfields

WA company St George Mining has found indications its nickel project in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia could also be home to “significant” amounts of lithium. The discovery sits alongside recent findings from miners Red Dirt Metals, Zenith Minerals and Hancock, Hawthorn Resources.

September 7, 2022 Bella Peacock

St George Mining's lithium pegmatite outcrop at Mt Alexander. "Rock chip sampling has confirmed a geochemistry favourable for the presence of lithium pegmatite mineralisation," the company said.

Image: St George Mining

Former gold hotspot Mount Ida, in the mid-south of Western Australia, could be emerging as a lithium province with a series of significant developments from a number of WA miners.

This morning, St George Mining Limited announced it had discovered indications its Mt Alexander project, developed for its nickel deposits, likely also holds lithium.

“The results from our initial field work to scope the lithium potential at Mt Alexander are very encouraging and support a compelling case to accelerate exploration for lithium pegmatite mineralisation,” the company’s Executive Chairman, John Prineas, said.

“Mt Alexander has never been explored for lithium, providing St George with an outstanding opportunity to make a greenfields discovery in what has become a lithium exploration hotspot.

“The initial results highlight the lithium potential from the extensive pegmatite outcrop at our project,” Prineas added.

The news sits alongside recent developments from a number of other miners operating in the Goldfields region, north east of the state’s capital, Perth.

Map showing the location of various lithium projects along strike to St George’s Mt Alexander Project.
*Image: St George Mining*

In late July, Red Dirt Metals announced “excellent lithium intervals… together with the thickest visual pegmatite interval to date” had been drilled at its nearby Mt Ida project.

Also known as hard-rock lithium deposits, Red Dirt is awaiting its “maiden lithium resource” in early Q3, 2022.

St George Mining believes its recent lithium pegmatite discovery “may be part of the same system that hosts the major lithium discovery announced by Red Dirt Metals at its Mt Ida project,” – adding that this would underpin its own lithium prospectivity.

WA battery mineral exploration company Zenith Minerals also recently secured an option to purchase a lithium project in Mt Ida’s north. Again, the company is targeting hard-rock lithium pegmatite.

Finally, in late August companies Legacy Iron Ore, Hawthorn Resources and Hancock Magnetite Holdings announced they had executed a non-binding deed relating to lithium, nickel and copper at the Mt Bevan project – again in the same WA region.

Hard rock lithium deposits being processed by the Pilgangoora mining operation in northern WA. The site is home to one of the largest deposits in the world.
Image: Pilbara Minerals

Lithium mining has long been contentious, criticised for its hefty environmental impacts. Given Australia has among the world’s largest lithium deposits, alongside the fact the lithium market is set to grow astronomically in the coming decade, it seems fairly likely lithium mining projects in Australia will grow considerably.

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