Maximus (ASX:MXR) restarts lithium discovery efforts at Lefroy with KOMIR

Maximus Resources has started drilling at its Lefroy Lithium Project joint venture in Western Australia with South Korean government-owned minerals corporation KOMIR after receiving Australian Government Foreign Investment Board approval for the power-up lithium partnership.

The Eastern Goldfields operator will focus first on the headlining lithium target at the Kandui prospect.

Kandui features spodumene-dominant lithium mineralisation Maximus plans to drill test, fuelled with Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation’s Lefroy budget of more than $3 million.

Maximus Resources Managing Director Tim Wither said the company was excited to start the second-phase drilling program at the project, now that the Maximus-KOMIR JV had a Treasury stamp of approval.

“With the joint venture receiving approval from the Australian Government Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), we are excited to immediately commence a follow-up RC drill program across the very promising Kandui prospect lithium target, with our KOMIR partners,” he said.

First-phase drilling at the project drew on a smaller deposit sum for the venture, making notable discoveries such as 6 metres at 1.11 per cent lithium oxide in hole KDRC007, including 3m at 1.99% Li2O from 91m.

“The Lefroy Lithium Project has had limited drilling across an extensive swarm of 80-plus highly fractionated outcropping pegmatites, which strongly correlates to a highly elevated lithium-in-soil anomaly,” Wither said.

“Soil mapping has identified the presence of a large 3-kilometre-by-1.5-kilometre lithium-in-soil anomaly, extending from the recent discovery of spodumene-bearing pegmatites, providing encouraging signs that the lithium-in-soil anomalies may be associated with a large mineralised system, which we are just starting to drill test and understand.

“The second phase drill program is focused on expanding our recent intersection of high-grade spodumene-dominant mineralisation within a sequence of stacked shallow-dipping pegmatites, with several deeper step-out holes to test below 200 metres in depth.”

Exploration at Lefroy initially focused on outcropping pegmatites that helped highlight a large lithium soil anomaly spanning 3km by 1.5km.

First-phase drilling there detected shallow-dipping spod-dominant pegmatites.

Kandui, one of three prospect areas showing highly anomalous lithium-in-soil values, is open in all directions and now-started second-phase drilling will include 12 holes to test around 2000m, including some that will go below 200m.

Eastern-Goldfields Maximus has an additional majority-owned lithium project outside its KOMIR JV that it is progressing, along with 335,000 ounces of gold resources.