Targa Exploration Corp. announced that it has completed its limited field work program on the 43,596ha lithium exploration project located in the James Bay region of Quebec. Targa contractors have collected a total of 994 deep till samples on the Opinaca Project.

Multiple pegmatites were observed by geotechnicians during till sampling activities. The 2023 till sampling program at Opinaca was organized, supervised, and executed by Kenorland Minerals with the help of a field team from GroundTruth Exploration. A temporary camp was set up alongside the Trans-Taiga road, 45 kilometers north of the Opinaca Project.

The helicopter-supported till sampling program consisted of sample lines spaced 1km apart with samples taken every 150m down the lines. A total of 994 till samples were taken over the course of the program covering an area of approximately 35km in length by 6km in width. The location of the till sampling grid was selected to cover an east-west trending structure that roughly follows the contact of the Laguiche Sediments and Feron Suite Granites as well as the occurrence of the Vieux Comptoir granitic suite of rocks identified on local geology maps.

Multiple historic lake sediment samples also occur within the sample grid area with anomalous values for lithium and cesium. The till and rock samples collected in the field recently arrived at the Bureau Veritas lab in Timmins, Ontario to undergo multi-element analysis, with results expected in November. Results of the till sampling program will be used to identify areas on the 43,596ha property that are most prospective for lithium-cesium-tantalum rich pegmatites to assist in planning for the 2024 field season.

While conducting the till sampling program, the geotechnicians observed multiple white pegmatites in the southeastern area of the sample grid. The field team took multiple samples of the pegmatites which were later observed by Targa geologists and found to contain garnet, muscovite, and in some cases apatite. Presence of these minerals suggest a peraluminous content of the pegmatites and their parental granite, a very encouraging sign in the exploration of LCT pegmatites.

Targa has submitted some of the collected rock samples for analysis and will plan for a more detailed mapping and rock sampling program as part of the 2024 field program.