Ophir Gold Corp. announces plans for exploration program at Pilipas Lithium Property
Ophir Gold Corp. is pleased to announce plans for its inaugural exploration campaign on the Pilipas Lithium Property, located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec. The Project is located proximal to existing hydroelectric power that flanks the Property to the east, an all-season road that crosses the western side of the Property, and is situated in greenstone terrain that is highly prospective for lithium pegmatite.
Shawn Wescott, CEO of the Company comments: "We are extremely excited for the commencement of the inaugural field exploration at Pilipas, which will see the first focused lithium exploration program on the Property to date. Having one of the best geological teams in Quebec and a strong balance sheet, which fully funds both the surface exploration and drill programs in 2024, puts Ophir in an enviable position."
The 2024 surface exploration program at Pilipas is planned to commence on May 20th, following completion of the annual goose harvesting season in James Bay. The program is planned to include three to four weeks of geological prospecting, rock sampling, and mapping, as well as a Property-wide LiDAR and orthophoto survey and interpretation. The total budget for the program is approximatively $500,000. Results from the initial phase of work will be used to prioritize drill targets for subsequent testing later in the field season.
The primary objective of the surface program is to evaluate the numerous high priority targets identified during a historical data compilation and satellite imagery analysis of the Property. Several large (up to 330 m wide) interpreted outcrops, historically described on the SIGEOM database as pegmatite dykes, as well as numerous satellite image derived pegmatite targets were identified (Figure 1). Several of the confirmed or probable pegmatite outcrops are proximal to the newly discovered 175-metre long by 42-metre wide Ninaaskumuwin spodumene pegmatite immediately to the south of the Property (Figure 2).
Management cautions that discoveries on adjacent properties (i.e., Ninaaskumuwin) may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Pilipas Property.
The documented pegmatite dykes at Pilipas lie within a favorable geological setting for Li-Cs-Ta ("LCT") type mineralization, proximal to greenstone contacts and major structural corridors (Figure 3). Additionally, several historically documented samples contain pathfinder elements that indicate potential for a fertile LCT geological setting. From historical literature, rock samples with anomalous concentrations of Ta (tantalum), Ce (cesium), Nb (niobium) and Sn (tin) geochemistry have been reported on the Property (Figure 2). Additionally, numerous white pegmatite dykes with tourmaline have been historically documented but not sampled (Figure 2). Collectively, the information is strongly suggestive of a fertile LCT environment that has yet to be fully evaluated for its lithium potential.
Figure 1: Pegmatite targets (pink outlines) on the Pilipas Property (red boundary), with examples of zoomed in target outcrops (upper/middle right). The Ninaaskuwumin spodumene pegmatite on Quebec Precious Metals' Elmer East Property (bottom right) is located approximately 1.5km south of the Pilipas Property boundary.
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