From their website:
https://avzminerals.com.au/manono-mine/
Manono Mineralisation
The presence of lithium mineralisation in pegmatites at Manono has been confirmed to extend along strike for more than 13km.
Two large areas of pegmatite have been identified, with the northeast area, referred to as the Manono sector and the southwest area, referred to as the Kitotolo sector. Mapping within the two sectors has established that there are many pegmatites, representing separate intrusions, including six large pegmatites.
The large pegmatites all contain spodumene mineralisation. The majority of the smaller pegmatites also contain spodumene and in some cases other lithium minerals. The two largest pegmatites (known as the Carriere de l’Este Pegmatite and the Roche Dure Pegmatite) are each of similar size or larger than the famous Greenbushes Pegmatite in Western Australia.
In addition to geological mapping and trenching, AVZ completed an initial phase of due diligence drilling in 2017, comprising seven diamond drill holes for a total of 1,739m and testing four of the large pegmatites. In all cases, thick intervals of pegmatite were intersected and spodumene was present within all the pegmatites. The drill results included:
Pegmatite | Main Pegmatite Intersection | Drill-hole ID |
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Roche Dure | 235.0m @ 1.66% Li2O, 1001ppm Sn | MO17DD001 |
Roche Dure | 202.8m @ 1.57% Li2O, 1078ppm Sn | MO17DD002 |
Mpete | 45.7m @ 1.59% Li2O, 1230ppm Sn | MO17DD005 |
Tempete | 65.9m @ 1.51% Li2O | MO17DD006 |
Carriere de l’Este | 250.9m @ 1.48% Li2O, 913ppm Sn | MO17DD007 |
The Roche Dure Pegmatite has a proven length of at least 2,100m. Drill-holes MO17DD001 and MO17DD002 are centrally located within an 800m long interval in which the Roche Dure Pegmatite’s average true thickness is interpreted to be 200m and drilling has proven the pegmatite extends down-dip more than 250m and remains open. Secondary mineralisation in the form of tin and tantalum should not be discounted either.
The Mpete Pegmatite is estimated to have a strike length of 1km and the Tempete Pegmatite is estimated to have a strike length of 1.5km. Both pegmatites are potentially large sources of lithium mineralisation within the Kitotolo sector.
The Carriere de l’Este Pegmatite, with a mapped length of about 5,500m, is potentially the largest pegmatite in the Manono Project. Assay results from drill-hole MO17DD007 initially confirmed the mineralisation distribution and tenor evident from the spodumene present in the drill-core. Sampling commenced at 1.9m from which depth the pegmatite is unweathered. The thickness of intersected pegmatite and the geometric relationship between the location of the drill hole and mapped pegmatite boundaries suggests the thickness of the Carriere de l’Este pegmatite may be up to 280m true thickness at this location. The initial drilling program has confirmed the immense size and potential of the Manono Lithium project.
Based on detailed prospect scale mapping, trenching and drill results, and given the size and mineralised nature of the pegmatites at Manono, AVZ generated an exploration target of between 1Bt to 1.2Bt of 1.25% to 1.5% Li2O for the entire Manono Project, including between 300 and 400Mt of 1.25% to 1.5% Li2O for the Roche Dure Pegmatite alone.
The potential quantity and grade of the exploration target as stated, is conceptual in nature as there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
The Roche Dure Mineral Resource now stands at 400 million tonnes at 1.65% Li2O, 715ppm and 34ppm Ta as reported in May 2019 and includes 269m @ 1.65 Li2O of Measured and Indicated Resources. Additionally the Roche Dure deposit has reported JORC compliant Tin and Tantalum resources of 275m @ 962ppm Sn and 38 ppn Ta for 264,55t of Sn metal and 10,450t of tantalum metal. At this size, Roche Dure stands as one of the largest and highest grade undeveloped hard-rock lithium deposits in the world.