ASX-listed TG Metals has applied for a mining lease over the Burmeister lithium deposit, as part of the Lake Johnston lithium project, in Western Australia.
Metallurgical testwork and the shallow nature of the Burmeister pegmatites support the potential for a high-grade and low-capital direct shipping ore (DSO) development pathway at Lake Johnston.
The development of Burmeister will occur in parallel with the company’s primary focus of getting the Van Uden gold heap leach development to first production.
The Burmeister deposit was previously modelled from wide spacing drilling to produce an exploration target of between 15.6-million and 20.1-million tonnes grading between 0.97% and 1.19% lithium oxide.
TG Metals confirms that extensive metallurgical testwork on drill core samples have defined pathways to production including the potential for a DSO product from simple crushing and ore sorting onsite at Lake Johnston.
The mining lease application advances the development potential at Burmeister with a view of taking advantage of the current high demand for DSO lithium pegmatite products.
The current DSO market is buoyant with pricing in the range of $362/t to $430/t in China for a 1.2% lithium oxide product.
“The lithium market has rapidly recovered, and TG Metals can take advantage of these vastly improved conditions via the company’s wholly owned Burmeister lithium deposit. The mining lease application encompasses the Burmeister deposit and planned infrastructure that sets the company on course for the potential early establishment of a DSO operation. The project is well located close to the Port of Esperance,” says TG Metals CEO David Selfe.
