Venus (ASX:VMC) validates Deep South discovery with high-grade lithium

Venus Metals’ maiden drilling campaign over Deep South has confirmed the prospect as a significant high-grade discovery within its fully owned Youanmi project in the Mid West region of Western Australia.

The campaign, following up on high-grade results up to 4.6 per cent lithium oxide found in rare, high-purity petalite in outcropping pegmatites, struck three significant high-grade intercepts starting from surface or shallow depth within the East Zone.

High-grade lithium pegmatite up to 4.09% Li2O was also intersected at the North Zone, but at narrower widths, and the local pegmatites were also notably tantalum enriched with a high of 1439 parts per million tantalum pentoxide.

The results confirm the east as a significant exploration target remaining open along strike, and modelling of results has indicated a gentle northerly plunge for high-grade mineralisation presenting well-defined targets for the next phase of exploration.

Venus Metals Managing Director Matthew Hogan said the results had paved the way for future exploration at the exciting prospect.

“Along with intersections of 24 metres at 1.71 per cent lithium oxide, including 14 metres at 2.54% Li20 we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the tantalum enrichment within the pegmatites,” he said.

“With much of the observed mineralisation open along strike, we look forward to pursuing follow-up drilling to define the scale of the opportunity at Deep South.”

Venus believes the first-phase results have increased the regional potential for discovering undercover lithium deposits and will go forth with a regional auger drilling and infill soil sampling campaign to test anomalies over poorly outcropping areas peripheral to Deep South.

More drilling of the North Zone is planned to better define the outlines of mineralisation and a potential correlation with the higher-profile east end, which will remain the focus of an expensive combined RC and diamond drill campaign.

Highlights

East Zone

• 24m @ 1.71% Li2O, including 14m @ 2.54% Li2O from the surface
• 15m @ 1.34% Li2O, including 8m @ 2.19% Li2O from surface
• 7m @ 1.54% Li2O, including 3m @ 2.89% Li2O from 1m to 4m

North Zone

• 2m @ 4.09% Li2O from surface
• 3m @ 1.89% Li2O, including 1m @ 4.06% Li2O from 16-17m

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