One week is all it takes for James Bay Minerals to find worthy pegmatites for lab analysis at its La Grande project

• Maiden field exploration at the Aero prospect identifies large continuous pegmatite outcrops over 400m strike
• Aero is along trend from two large lithium resources

Thrusting itself into Canada’s James Bay lithium district with instant success from maiden fieldwork across its La Grande lithium project, James Bay Minerals has identified a massive outcropping pegmatite which will aid in the formation of a planned drilling campaign.

The company’s ‘Avro’ pegmatite outcrop is along trend from Winsome Resources’ (ASX: WR1) Cancet lithium project and Patriot Battery Metals (ASX: PMT) Corvette.

Additionally, the broader Aero property contains ~12km of deformation zones which are highly prospective for lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites and are similar to deformation zones that run through Cancet and Corvette.

With tenure totalling ~224km2, newly-listed James Bay Minerals’ (ASX:JBY) La Grande project consists of three prospects – Aero, Joule and Aqua – with the Troilus project further to the south.

All the properties have the three key ingredients required to host massive LCT pegmatites:

• Neo Archaean rocks
• Placement along major regional faults; and
• Lying on greenstone belts in proximity to granites.

The Avro pegmatite outcrop

Exploration at the Aero prospect, consisting of 89 continuous claims across 4,365 hectares, has discovered a large, continuous pegmatite outcrop dubbed ‘Avro’ over a 400m area and up to ~20m wide in sections.

Call it lucky, but wildfires that disrupted exploration work in the region recently have cleared away much of the shrub and brush which has led JBY to almost instantaneously discover the target pegmatite and collect samples for testing.

The Avro pegmatite dyke stands out as a ridge several metres above the surrounding schist it’s embedded in and consists of coarse-grained crystals of plagioclase (albite), quartz, tourmaline and muscovite which are contiguous to lithium mineralisation.

While the interpretation and extent of the pegmatite is in its early stages, initial observations of the tourmaline could represent a fractionalised pegmatite – a key indicator of hosting high grades of lithium.

Next steps

Portable XRF analysis is beginning on-site immediately to test this theory, as further desktop studies, satellite and data analyses are being conducted by project partner Breakaway Exploration Management to assess additional pegmatites in the area.

JBY says the Avro pegmatite outcrop is “interpreted to remain open in both directions and concealed beneath cover”.

“Field work is continuing to focus throughout this part of the property considering the discovery of the Avro pegmatite, road access, and general ease of accessibility due to recent fires clearing ground cover and making outcrops easily visible,” JBY says.

JBY exec director Andrew Dornan says the team is excited about the almost immediate results from exploration.

“This is a fantastic result for the company to have identified a large pegmatite dyke at our Aero Property so early in the exploration program,” Dornan says.

“This result is well ahead of expectation but not surprising considering that our properties were carefully selected due to their geological features being ideal for the formation of LCT pegmatites.

“We are very much looking forward to making further discoveries across the Aero property as our inaugural field program continues.”

The field program will continue until first snow arrives, which is pegged for mid-October to collect further rock chip samples and complete channel sample analysis.

This article was developed in collaboration with James Bay Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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