Balkan (ASX:BMM) greenlit at Gorge
Balkan Mining and Minerals is greenlit for a maiden drilling campaign, securing a three-year exploration permit for its Gorge Lithium Project in the Canadian province.
The property snapped-up in the early days of the ASX’s lithium land rush into Canada, has produced rich channel samples, up to 3.75 per cent Li20 from the Koshman and Nelson pegmatites.
With the promising early signs, high anomalous levels of lithium, caesium, and tantalum have since outlined multiple target areas highly prospective for lithium-bearing pegmatites – now standing ready for the drill.
Balkan Managing Director Ross Cotton said the company was excited to continue working in a fast-emerging lithium district in northern Ontario.
“BMM is excited to continue working in northern Ontario’s lithium district. The award of this exploration permit allows us to implement a drill program across the exciting targets that our team have identified over the course of mapping, channelling and soil sampling over the past 12 months. We look forward to continuing to engage and collaborate with local First Nations communities throughout the course of the planned work,” Mr Cotton said.
Critical Canada
After attracting an early wave of small-cap exploration, the return of world class discoveries has the world’s pre-eminent mining companies eyeing off Canadian lithium assets.
Lithium titan Albermarle swooped on a 6.4 per cent stake in Patriot and Rio Tinto has made its intentions clear on Canadian mining and potential entries into the region.
While there is still only one operating lithium mine in Canada, Rock Tech Lithium and Green Technology Metals both expect to begin operations near Balkan projects in 2025. Rock Tech expect to produce 100,000 tonnes from a modest initial investment – and one Canadian company has purchased land to bring a lithium processing plant to Thunder Bay.
Ontario project location map
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