++Trek Metals (ASX: TKM)++ has reported a potentially significant high-grade manganese discovery at its wholly owned Christmas Creek project in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
The find follows Trek’s completion of a Phase 2 campaign where it drilled 75 holes for a total 10,169 metres to test for orogenic gold and intrusion-related copper-gold at the Martin, Zahn, Turner, Coogan, Brockhurst, and Jobs prospects.
Analysis of rock chip samples returned a minimum 47% manganese and a peak value of 58% from a cluster of outcrops over a 750m strike before disappearing under recent sand cover.
Larger Hydrothermal System
Those grades are close to the theoretical maximum 63% manganese content of pure manganese oxide, and include a moderate-to-high iron content of 50%, representing potential for a much larger hydrothermal manganese system.
The location of both minerals in a close proximity is a common feature of similar hydrothermal systems such as the world-class Woodie Woodie deposit in the state’s Pilbara region.
Manganese is an essential component in the manufacturing of alloys for the steel industry and is included on Australia’s critical minerals list due to its role in the production of lithium-ion batteries and other industrial applications.
Despite rising demand, Western nations remain heavily dependent on China for battery-grade manganese, with over 90% of global refining still taking place there.
‘Walk-Up Drill Target’
Chief executive officer Derek Marshall said the discovery was a “very exciting” development in a greenfields setting.
“These grades are impressive for a target that has never been drill tested and where the geology has been obscured by recent Aeolian sand cover, which potentially allows for a much larger system to be present,” he said.
“We have discovered a walk-up drill target which has become a priority due to the exceptionally high grades and the apparent scale of the system.”
Trek has completed follow-up rock chip sampling, with assays expected later this year, and is currently preparing a drill program to test beneath the manganese outcrop.
