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Australian Vanadium Ltd assays reveal feldspar opportunity

Published: 11:00 05 Jul 2017 AEST

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The remaining assay results are pending

Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) has received its first set of assay results from its resource drilling program at the Blesberg Project in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

The company has completed a 41 hole, 3,128-metre reverse circulation drilling program designed to calculate a JORC resource at the Blesberg Lithium-Tantalum-Feldspar Project.

Assay results for the first 13 holes have been received with highlights featuring 8 metres at 1532 ppm tantalum.

Drilling has extended the new pegmatite discovery to over 1 kilometre in length with pegmatite intersected in all holes and thickening along strike.

AVL sees an opportunity for niche, high-value feldspar product with accessory lithium, beryl and tantalum credits.


Drill result details

The 41 hole drilling program has been focused on the Noumas 1 pegmatite zone.

Highlights include:

- 8 metres at 1532 ppm tantalum including 1 metre at 8190 ppm tantalum and 1 metre at 2880 ppm tantalum;
- 12 metres at 263 ppm tantalum including 1 metre at 1645 ppm tantalum;
- 2 metres at 1000 ppm beryllium including 1 metre at1160 ppm; and
- 2 metres at 913 ppm beryllium including 1 metre at 1490 ppm.

High-quality commercial feldspar was evidenced in all completed holes with intersections containing 50% average feldspar content.


Blesberg Project

The Blesberg Project is located 80 kilometres north of Springbok in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

It lies at the western end of the Northern Cape Pegmatite Belt.

The deposit is one of the largest known economically mineralised and exploited pegmatite deposits in the pegmatite belt.

AVL’s objective is to establish a production facility at Blesberg that maximises the value of the pegmatites.

This will include high volume ceramic-grade feldspar and quantities of high value by-product spodumene, beryl and tantalite.

The project is serviced by a major sealed road to the east within 6 kilometres of the project area along an unsealed government road.


Analysis

Drilling of trenched pegmatite exposure has increased the known strike length of the Main Noumas 1 zone to1 kilometre in length with significant widths of pegmatite also intersected.

AVL is focusing on the high-quality and high-volume opportunity presented by the feldspar mineralisation and will include by-product extraction of lithium, beryl and tantalum minerals in further analysis and test work.

Final assay results are expected by August 2017.

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on 5/2/24