Solonopole Lithium Project Brazil
Historic Mines
- Solonópole permits cover historic artisanal mining sites previously mined for lithium, Coltan (tantalum and niobium) and tin
- Over 20 historical small-scale mines have been identified in field exploration. Mining was only undertaken to less than 10 meters vertical depth due to restrictions of hard pegmatite material requiring blasting
Large-scale opportunity, Significantly underexplored
- 10 permits covering 124km2 of highly prospective ground
- Detailed field mapping by Oceana’s Brazilian subsidiary Ceara Litio has identified an approximate 20km outcropping mineralized Pegmatite corridor within the Oceana tenement holding
- Regional geological assessment of the Solonópole Pegmatites was initially completed in 2012 by the Brazilian geological survey department (CPRM). Analytical results (XRD) confirmed Lepidolite, Amblygonite and Spodumene being the main Lithium Minerals
- Outcrop grab samples confirm mineralized pegmatites with anomalous results for lithium, tin, tantalum and niobium
Ideal project location
- Historical lithium mining region in Brazil
- Only 3–4-hour drive on sealed roads to port (Fortaleza)
- The topography, land use and vegetation at Solonópole is well suited for exploration activities
- Arid, sparsely populated farmland, No rain forest
- Northern Brazil provides easy shipping routes to North American and European battery chemical markets
Historical Sampling 2018
- Outcropping Pegmatite swarms were identified during detailed geological mapping
- A regional sampling program resulted in the collection of 246 grab samples
- Geochemical results show LCT pegmatites enriched in Li, Be, Ta, Nb & Sn over the full strike length of the recognized mineralized Pegmatite corridor with the best results shown below
- Lithium > 9% Li2O
- Tantalum > 1% Ta (detection limit)
- Niobium > 1% Nb (detection limit)
- Tin > 1000 ppm
- Beryllium > 2.5% Be (detection limit)
- Thin residual soil cover suited for exploration via traditional soil sampling and geochemical analysis
- A regional soil sampling program was conducted on a wide spaced 400m x 400m grid with some infill sampling
- Initial soil sampling results highlight significant Lithium soil anomalies within the mineralized corridor
Ongoing Exploration Work Program & Access
- Oceana has a large, dedicated in-country team to execute on the exploration strategy (over 30 people)
- A large-scale infill soil sampling program has commenced in March 2023 over prioritised wider spread 2017 anomalies identified by previous explorer Cougar Metals NL, as well as CPRM mapped pegmatites and artisanal workings. The sampling grids are along 200m spaced lines with 25m sampling stations, aligned north-south in order to cut across all typical pegmatite strike directions in this area. About 5,500 soil samples have been collected until September 2023
- First pass 2,000m RC drilling program across priority targets completed in August 2023
- Ongoing geological mapping, trenching and sample preparation on-site
- Other activities include trial hyperspectral remote sensing survey, and high-resolution magnetics and radiometrics geophysics surveys over selected pegmatite and soil grid targets
- An all-weather drying greenhouse has been set up at Oceana’s Solonópole field base, as well as an XRF for the assaying of Li pathfinder elements. Two containers are also on site to provide secure lock-up sample storage
RC drilling in progress at Solonópole Project, July 2023