Africa-focussed lithium exploration and development company Atlantic Lithium has received final assay results from the resource and exploration drilling programme completed at the Ewoyaa lithium project, in Ghana, West Africa, with drilling continuing to deliver high-grade drill intersections outside the current mineral resources estimate (MRE), interim CEO Lennard Kolff says.

Final assay results have been received for a further 10 052 m of exploration and infill diamond core (DD) and reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed at Ewoyaa, part of the now completed resource evaluation and exploration RC and DD programme.

Newly reported assay results confirm new mineralised pegmatites at the Grasscutter North, Kaampakrom North and Assan targets, outside the currently defined 30.1-million tonnes at 1.26% lithium oxide (Li2O) Ewoyaa Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant MRE.

Multiple high-grade drill intersections have been reported at the Kaampakrom North, Grasscutter North, Anokyi and Grasscutter West targets.

All assay results  have now been reported for the 47 000 m drilling programme completed.

A resource upgrade is being targeted for the first quarter 2023 to inform the definitive feasibility study, which is targeted for completion in mid-2023.

Atlantic also recently announced that a processing plant front-end engineering design (FEED) contract had been awarded to Primero to optimise the project’s flow sheet, identify long lead items, maximise the project’s long-term profitability, reduce execution risk and ultimately support the advancement of the project towards becoming a financially and operationally robust lithium-producing mine.

Also, a recently announced prefeasibility study is noted to deliver very good financial outcomes for a two-million-tonne-a-year operation, producing an average of about 255 000 t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate over a 12.5-year operation.

“With the prefeasibility study delivered, the mining licence application submitted, the FEED engineering contract awarded and the funding agreement with our partner Piedmont Lithium in place, we feel the company is ideally positioned to benefit from the ongoing lithium demand expected over the coming years,” Kolff comments.