Following a positive prefeasibility study in 2016, along with a successful infill drilling programme, SRK was once again commissioned to undertake a mineral resource estimate update for the Sonora project as part of the feasibility study released in 2018. Sonora has few other analogue deposits to assist with the understanding of the ore genesis and mode of emplacement of lithium on such a large-scale. The unique bullseye pattern of mineralisation, with lithium grade reducing from a high-grade core at the centre of the deposit, also required detailed geostatistical analysis and out-of-the-box thinking. High-quality mapping, drilling, and trenching has enabled continuous and extensive lithium-bearing clay beds, bearing economically feasible grades, to be delineated and has led to one of the largest lithium mineral resources in the world being declared to high levels of confidence.
