Reporting Exploration Results and Mineral Resources for Lithium-Mineralized Pegmatites in Australia

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Lithium, Potash, Halite, & P2O5 Mining Projects

Date posted: 11/13/16

Scogings, et al., examine lithium production markets and prices, reporting of exploration results. Industrial minerals such as graphite, and latterly lithium minerals, have become the focus of attention for listed exploration and mining companies. This is mainly due to developments in rechargeable battery technologies, driven by growing demand (real or anticipated) from the emerging electric vehicle market and solar storage sectors. Consequently, the race has been on to acquire tenure, report larger exploration targets and resources, and to tell the market why one project has merits superior to competitor projects. Additionally, the competition for scarce investment dollars has inspired innovative exploration approaches, as well as creative ways to tell the story of exploration success. In Australia, the requirements for publicly reporting on any publicly listed company’s activities are specified by the JORC Code and the listing rules of the Australian Securities Exchange. As with all other commodities, public reports about lithium exploration targets, exploration results and mineral resources require the input of suitably experienced Competent Persons presenting material information in a transparent and material way. This article discusses a few important aspects of pegmatite lithium deposits, the nature of the products derived from them, and some of the idiosyncrasies of these deposits that require specific disclosure in public reports. According to the USGS, approximately 32,500 kt of lithium (equivalent to approximately 172 kt of lithium carbonate equivalent, or LCE which is the standard industry unit for sales and comparisons) was estimated to have been produced in 2015. Lithium is produced from two main deposit types, namely brines (60% of global production, mainly from North and South America) and pegmatites (40% of global production, dominated by Western Australia).