Kula maps out more WA lithium targets

Persistence is paying off for Kula Gold as it maps out further intriguing lithium targets at its wholly-owned Brunswick project in WA’s South West, only 45km north of Talison’s colossal Greenbushes lithium mine.

Recent soil sampling at the company’s DBGM prospect etched out a further 700m strike of anomalous lithium-in-soil pushing the collective length of the prospective trend out to 1.7km.

The explorer scooped up a total of 218 samples on a rough 50m by 100m grid, returning results peaking at 102 parts per million, or “ppm” lithium.

The results came via an analysis technique known as “UltraFine+”. The procedure is the brainchild of two leading scientific bodies – the CSIRO and LabWest – and is seen as an established process for sniffing out sensitive mineralisation through shallow and moderate cover.

Interestingly, its DBGM – an acronym for “Donnybrook Gold Mine” – prospect has also yielded anomalous gold in soil and rock chip sampling returning up to 7.95 grams per tonne gold.

Nearby, the company’s first foray into the Hippy Lady East prospect has kicked up high levels of tantalum in rock chip sampling, reaching 46ppm. Elevated tantalum is one element that is seen to allude to the potential fertility of prospective lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites.

Previous soil sampling over a distinct magnetic high at the neighbouring Hippy Lady prospect returned a gamut of anomalous copper, platinum, palladium and gold, leading Kula to identify the potential for Julimar-style deposits.

Kula’s latest offerings complement recent mapping unveiling a 2km long and up to 300m wide pegmatite target, “PT1”, housed in the same Donnybrook-Bridgetown shear zone that hosts the world-class Greenbushes deposit.

Rock chip samples from the campaign have since been mobilised to an assay laboratory for multi-element analysis and Kula says the samples will be tested for a host of pathfinder elements outside of lithium including caesium, niobium and tantalum.

A drone magnetic survey is now slated to commence in the coming weeks to map the prospective trends at PT1, DBGM and Hippy Lady East. The company believes the survey will help identify favourable structural zones for hosting pegmatites and shore up a suite of drilling targets to point its rig at.

Kula’s Brunswick project covers 300 square kilometres of the South West Terrane. The evolving geological province houses multiple world-class deposits including Chalice Mining’s developing Julimar nickel-PGE deposit and Newmont’s Boddington gold mine, along with the Greenbushes lithium mine.

Chalice Mining’s world-class Gonneville platinum group elements discovery at its Julimar project has become a benchmark for explorers chasing similar-style orebodies and sparked a flurry of activity to the east and south of Perth.

Muscling further into the region, Kula recently entered into an agreement to acquire a 70 per cent interest in the lithium and related minerals of the Sentinel Exploration-owned Kirup project only 25km from the Greenbushes lithium mine.

The Kirup project covers an area of 117sq km and complements Kula’s existing Brunswick project that sits around 20km to the north.

Kula’s is turning up an assortment of intriguing poly-metallic targets crucial for the global transition to NetZero. The company is in an enviable position of deciding which commodity to reach for first. Whilst the proximity to the world-class Greenbushes lithium mine puts the in-vogue metal at the top of the list, no doubt Kula is also keeping a watchful eye on the nickel, copper, PGE and gold prospectivity of its tenure.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au