Balkan Mining and Minerals (BMM) has received a three-year exploration permit for the Gorge lithium project in Canada from the Ontario Ministry of Mines.
With the permit, BMM can now begin site works for the planned drill programmes that will focus on areas of interest that have been previously identified, including Nelson and Koshman pegmatites.
Balkan Mining and Minerals managing director Ross Cotton said: “BMM is excited to continue working in northern Ontario’s lithium district.
“The award of this exploration permit allows us to implement a drill programme 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.”
Located in the Georgia Lake pegmatite district of northern Ontario, 200km north-east of Thunder Bay, the Gorge lithium project has 12 claims, including 11 multi-cell claims.
The mine covers an area of 45.1km² and consists of two known pegmatite occurrences, Nelson and Koshman.
Historical works in the region carried out in the 1950s have identified up to 40 lithium and beryllium-bearing pegmatites in an area covering 600km².
Analysis of the samples retrieved from the project returned values of up to 3.22% of lithium oxide with an average of 2.24%.
BMM entered an agreement with project owner Ombabika Group to acquire a 100% interest in the Gorge project. The deal is expected to take place via a four-staged earn-in method over a period of up to three-and-a-half years.
