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Pan Asia grabs more Thai land to boost lithium plans
Brought to you by BULLS N’ BEARS
By Doug Bright
Pan Asia Metals has secured an option agreement over 42 hectares of tenure within its RK lithium project and resource in Thailand, paving the way for feasibility studies completion and mining lease applications.
The option area also includes the historical Reung Kiet tin mine and its southern extension, in addition to a substantial chunk of the land east of the project’s mineralised zone. It falls within one of the mining zones declared in the area as part of the Thailand Government’s Mineral Management Master Plan. which was implemented in April last year.
Pan Asia Metals’ RK lithium project in Thailand includes its KT prospect where pegmatites feature abundant pale-pink lepidolite lithium micas.
The designation means Pan Asia can lodge applications for mining leases and undertake mining-related activities on its project. The government’s plan also provides for investment promotion, facilitation mechanisms and policies for mineral exploration, resource extraction and downstream industries.
‘Securing the landholding over the RK Lithium Prospect is an important step for discussions with potential strategic partners.’
Pan Asia Metals managing director Paul Lock
Additionally, education programs are also included to improve public knowledge and understanding of the master plan.
Pan Asia Metals managing director Paul Lock said: “Securing the landholding over the RK Lithium Prospect is an important step for discussions with potential strategic partners and for lodgement of a Mining License application.”
The company’s tenement area encloses three mining zones.
The southernmost zone features the RK lithium prospect where the new option agreement is in effect. It contains a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 14.8 million tonnes at 0.45 per cent lithium oxide, containing 165,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
The northernmost zone holds the BT lithium prospect that has a JORC-estimated exploration target of between 16 and 25 million tonnes grading 0.4 to 0.7 per cent lithium oxide. The RK project also contains the KT East (KT) lithium prospect which has a bigger footprint than both the RK and BT lithium prospects combined and the company has already begun soil sampling on a 100m-by-25m grid, along with rolling out a rock chip sampling and mapping.
At KT, it has identified a zone of lepidolite (a lithium-rich mica) pegmatites in an area measuring about 1.5km by 500m, with many pegmatite dykes ranging from 7m to 10m and up to 20m wide, while its rock chip sampling results provide ongoing encouragement.
Additionally, old mine dumps in the north reveal extensive lepidolite pegmatites, which management views as enhancing prospectivity in that direction.
Pan Asia says it sees KT as a substantial extension to its RK and BT prospects, with the potential to add significant resource tonnage.
The company has already paid an initial $143,000 as part of its new land agreement and expects to hand over a further payment of $122,500 by October 1 and another $143,000 by December 31. The option is slated to expire on February 28 next year.
Management says it has held initial meetings with a potential strategic partner, an Asia-based lithium chemicals processor, and discussions are ongoing with a view to developing the RK project. It also plans to continue to explore the KT prospect in a bid to establish the extent of the dyke swarm through its geochemical sampling and mapping.
Grid-based soil and rock chip sampling, geochemistry and geological mapping has already begun and Pan Asia is looking to drill KT later in the year.
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