Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM) has confirmed further mineralisation at the Mary Valley Manganese Project near Gympie, southeast Queensland, following stage-1 drilling.
Several diamond drill holes at Amamoor deposit intersected manganese mineralisation from surface with four recent holes having been completed - all confirming shallow manganese mineralisation within the first 10 metres from surface.
Manganese mineralisation is hosted prominently within breccia and shear zones in ferruginous jasperoid formations.
Fifth hole
The company is drilling the fifth hole which is expected to be completed in the coming days.
Eclipse will provide a further update with the results from this drilling program once all core is cut and submitted to the laboratory for analysis.
Northern workings with strongly fractured manganese mineralisation.
Potential for high-grade manganese
The drilling program, which started on September 24 in the Central Area of historical mining activity, is designed to test the width, depth and grade potential of manganese mineralisation proximal to historic high-grade workings.
The historic Amamoor manganese mine-site has the potential to contain a significant amount of high-grade manganese mineralisation.
Amamoor mine workings were the largest in the district, producing more than 20,000 tonnes of ore at 51% manganese and constitute a brownfields project with potential for readily mineable mineralisation on or near-surface.
Based on a Cuban style of mineralisation, the potential resource of manganese mineralisation available at Amamoor also shows similarities to the Woodie Woodie deposit in WA.
Boosted by Tesla plans
Eclipse is set to be another beneficiary of Tesla Inc's Elon Musk recent declaration that the company’s next-generation EV batteries would contain one-third manganese.
During Tesla's Battery Day 2020 Musk sparked plenty of interest in manganese, saying: “It’s relatively straightforward to do a cathode that’s two-thirds nickel, one-third manganese, which will allow us to make 50% more cell volume with the same amount of nickel.”
Other manganese-focused companies encouraged by these statements are Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25), Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN) (CVE:EMN) and Bryah Resources Ltd (ASX:BYH).
