Zenith Minerals Limited announced that Drilling is underway to test a large-scale lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite target at the Waratah Well joint venture project in Western Australia. Waratah Well is the first target to be drilled under the recently announced ZNC-EVM lithium joint venture, where, among other terms, EVM may earn a 60% interest in the lithium rights in the Waratah Well project by sole funding the completion of a feasibility study within 24 months, with Zenith retaining a 40% project share. Extensive outcropping, highly fractionated, prospective LCT pegmatite dykes with very high-grade tantalum (up to 1,221 ppm Ta2O5) and local high-grade lithium (up to 2.09% Li2O) extend over large surface area (3km x 2km) at Waratah Well.

Drilling will target conceptual deeper lithium (spodumene) bearing pegmatites below the surface tantalum-lithium rich pegmatite dyke swarm, akin to zonation observed in other lithium deposits in Western Australia. A total of 7 initial wide-spaced (1km spacing), 200m deep RC drill holes are planned to be completed over a 2-week period with assay results anticipated 8 weeks thereafter. The Waratah Well Project is located approximately 20km northwest of the regional town of Yalgoo in the Murchison Region of Western Australia.

The coastal town of Geraldton is situated 190km west of the project where a port facility is used for the export of mining concentrates. In addition, the Dampier to Bunbury Gas pipeline runs parallel to the Geraldton ­ Mt Magnet Road that lies immediately south of the project. Tantalum and locally lithium bearing pegmatite sills and dykes crop out over a 3km x 2km area with a range of dips from 600 to flat lying and thickness from 0.5m to 21m: Lithium rock chip sample grades up to 2.09% Li2O in the north-western portion of the target area.

At the north-eastern end of the pegmatite outcrop area 14 closely spaced stacked dykes occur where surface composite rock chip sampling has returned tantalum grades including 262, 299, 360, 366, 421 & 573 ppm Ta2O5; this zone is open ended to N, NE & SE where it runs under surface soil cover. A second area of dykes returned similarly high tantalum values such as 207, 250, 323, 518, 616, 1184 ppm Ta2O5. A third zone of narrower dykes occurs in the northwest of the pegmatite belt but with very high grades of 708, 995, 1007, 1166 and 1221 ppm Ta2O5.

The key lithium target is to drill for blind lithium spodumene mineralisation beneath the tantalum bearing dykes a geological architecture similar to that noted at the Bald Hills lithium mine. A similar picture is also noted at Liontown's Kathleen Valley lithium project whereby relatively narrow surface pegmatite dykes merge at depth to form a thick flat lying lithium spodumene rich sill.