Beyond Lithium finds 3 beryl-bearing pegmatites at Gathering Lake Project in NWO
Beyond Lithium Inc. has announced the results of a recent exploration program at one of its many properties located in the Georgia Lake district in Ontario. Beyond Lithium has three properties totalling 6,948 ha in the northeast of the district, namely Gathering Lake South (3,864 ha), Gathering Lake East (986 ha), and the Gathering Lake West (2,098 ha) (Figure 1 and 2) which were the focus of the Company's most recent exploration work. The projects are located in the northeastern region of the Georgia Lake district which is associated with the regional source of LCT pegmatite formation and fractionation, the Glacier Lake batholith.
The exploration program consisted primarily of detailed sampling and mapping at the Gathering Lake South project which led to the discovery of three new beryl-bearing pegmatites with elevated Li muscovite samples. The Company also identified and mapped fifteen new pegmatites and established two new trends following the regional batholith-sediment contact orientation.
Regional samples in the Georgia Lake area were collected in 2008 by Frederick W Breaks Ph. D. for the Ontario Geological Survey1. Results of his research into the rare-element pegmatite and related S-type peraluminous granites in the area outlined an anomalous zone of Cesium (Cs) greater than 15 ppm and Rubidium (Rb) greater than 300 ppm which coincides with most of the known rare-element mineral occurrences in the Gathering Lake area. The two newly identified trends at Beyond Lithium's Gathering Lake South project also envelops samples with Cs of greater than 15 ppm and Rb greater than 300 ppm extending Breaks' rare-element anomalous zone in the area for the potential to explore for new rare-element or LCT pegmatites within the Gathering Lake South project.
"A total of twenty-five samples were collected across our three Gathering Lake projects in June as part of our Phase 1 exploration program (Figure 2)," said Lawrence Tsang, VP Exploration for Beyond Lithium. "Of particular interest were four muscovite samples collected from pegmatites outcrops at the Gathering Lake South project which showed assays up to 1,477 and 2,075 ppm (0.148% and 0.208%) in lithium."
"The results published today are significant as they suggest these samples are likely related to beryl-spodumene pegmatites as lithium contents for muscovite from a spodumene pegmatite is usually greater than 1,000 ppm Li and lithium contents for muscovite from a fertile granite is greater than 200 ppm Li. These estimates are based on data collected by Frederick W. Breaks in 2003 and published in a report published by the Ontario Geological Survey2."
Mr. Tsang added: "After evaluating the results which showed the elevated lithium in the muscovite samples and the higher fractionated samples in the southern part of the project, a five day follow up program was carried out by Beyond Lithium team for detailed mapping and sampling at the Gathering Lake South project. The follow up program mapped 15 new pegmatites with local pegmatites measuring up to 20m wide around the south-central area. The crews also discovered three new beryl-bearing pegmatites marked as green stars in the Figure 4 below. The follow up program also collected an additional of 49 grab samples which have been sent to the lab and 86 LIBS samples taken."
Figure 1. The Georgia Lake District
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"I could not be more pleased with the progress made by our technical team thus far in 2023," said Allan Frame, President and CEO. "During my 47-year career in the investment business I had the benefit of financing and being associated with multiple major discoveries, including the Snip Deposit now owned by Skeena Resources Ltd. All of these discoveries had one thing in common: an experienced technical team focused on the long-term success of the company. We have such a team at Beyond Lithium. The progress they are making on several of our 64 properties is clearly refining our exploration plans which in the fall will include drilling."
He concluded: "It is important for our shareholders to keep in mind that while we are as anxious as they are to share all assay results as they come in, it is sometimes a better course of action to first consolidate our land position either through staking, optioning or both in certain districts. This can take several weeks, most of which is now behind us. We look forward to sharing additional assay results in the near term."
Geological information on the Gathering Lake area
According to 2003 Ontario Geological Survey report by Breaks2, the northeastern Glacier Lake batholith, where the Gathering Lake projects are located, is significantly more peraluminous or in other words is more fractionated with higher rare-element contents than the southwestern region with A/CNK value varies between 1.00 to 1.98 and is linked to the Gathering Lake pegmatite group including the Nelson and the Koshman spodumene bearing pegmatite showings with grab samples up to 3.22% and 2.88% Li2O illustrated as the Li Showing in the map below (Figure 2)3.
Figure 2. Location of the Gathering Lake Projects and Phase 1 Samples Location
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Potassium (K) over Rubidium (Rb) expressed as a ratio (K/Rb) versus Cesium variation plot of samples is a common and convenient diagram to display the fractionation trend or the relative degree of evolution of S-type, peraluminous granites and related pegmatite granites and the rare-element pegmatite groups that fractionated from the parent granitic rocks. With increasing fractionation of the pegmatite-forming melt, the compositions of the potassium feldspar and mica become more enriched in rubidium and cesium thus the fractionation trend points to the lower right corner of the plot as the higher fractionated area.
The K/Rb vs Cs plot of the 25 samples in comparison with the samples collected by Breaks1 from the SW and the NE Glacier Lake batholith and the Gathering Lake pegmatite group established a gradual fractionation trend at the Gathering Lake projects in relation to the Glacier Lake batholith and outlined a higher fractionated sample with 192 ppm Cs was located in the south-central part of the Gathering Lake South project closely related to the highly fractionated sample from the nearby known Gathering Lake pegmatite group (Figure 3).This sample supports the potential presence of more fractionated pegmatites with higher rare-element contents in the Gathering Lake South area.
Figure 3. K/Rb vs Cs Plot of the Gathering Lake Project Samples with Glacier Lake Batholith and Gathering Lake Pegmatite Group (Breaks 2008)
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Moreover, the detailed mapping from the follow up program mapped out two East-West trending sediments packages in contact with the batholith. These batholith-sediments contacts coincide with the greater than 15 ppm Cs zone established by Breaks in the area and the three newly discovered beryl bearing pegmatites on the project. The alignment of these beryl pegmatites with the elevated Li muscovite samples and the higher fractionated sample following the batholith-sediment contact delineated two new E-W exploration trends at the Gathering Lake South project outlined in orange in Figure 4.
These E-W orientated contacts between the batholith and sediment are good host and fluid pathway for the formation and the fractionation of pegmatites. As most LCT pegmatites bodies that have been discovered so far show some sort of structural control. Pegmatites tend to be intruded along faults, fractures, foliation and bedding or concordant with the regional foliation in the metamorphic host rock, like the metasediment in contact with the batholith in the Gathering Lake area4. These batholith-sediment contacts and the main foliation orientation in the host rocks become the obvious follow up exploration direction in the area.
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