Eureka Lithium Corp. [ERKA-CSE; S580-FSE] has begun 2023 exploration targeting the first-ever discovery of lithium-bearing pegmatite deposits in this underexplored mineral-rich region known as Nunavik, northern Quebec.
Eureka, which raised $6.7-million in private placements in June, 2023, acquired 100% ownership of multiple lithium properties covering 1,408 km2 in three major districts in Nunavik from a syndicate led by Canada’s most famous prospector, Shawn Ryan, a technical adviser for Eureka. Former PDAC Prospector-of-the-Year, Mr. Ryan has multiple gold discoveries to his credit and has spearheaded gold rushes in both the Yukon and Newfoundland. Nunavik represents his launch into the lithium sector.
A total of 443 km2 at Raglan West beginning 33 km southwest of the community of Salluit; 229 km2 at Raglan South, within 20 km of KoBold Metals’ land package and 80 km southwest of the Raglan nickel mine; 736 km2 covering multiple claim blocks in the New Leaf camp in southern Nunavik.
Mr. Ryan’s research over many months has been instrumental in highlighting Nunavik’s high-grade lithium potential in a region that is resource-friendly and host to one of the world’s lowest-cost nickel producers, Glencore’s Raglan mine, served by a deep-sea port near Salluit.
Each of Eureka’s project areas has district-scale lithium discovery potential and features abundant outcrop and some of the highest lithium and cesium values in lake bottom sediments (99th percentile and above) in the Quebec government database. In addition, a review of historic data for the region reveals the presence of mapped pegmatites in multiple rock units, compelling overall geology and geophysical anomalies that point to deep-seated structures that may have created an ideal environment for the development of lithium mineralization across broad sections of Nunavik outside of the Cape Smith belt.
Phase 1 exploration has started in the New Leaf camp and will progress north, allowing Eureka to quickly complete first-pass mapping, prospecting and sampling over all areas in order to prioritize drill targets for phase 2 this summer.
Jeffrey Wilson, Eureka president and CEO, commented: “Nunavik has some of the most prospective geology anywhere in the world for new mineral discoveries as evidenced by a top-tier nickel belt with two producing mines. Up until now, lithium has never been on geologists’ radar screens in this part of Quebec. With what is now known about the geology, geochemistry and geophysics outside of this prolific nickel belt, thanks in part to Shawn Ryan’s meticulous research, the race is on for new lithium discoveries and Eureka is in the pole position with the financial and technical capacity to rapidly advance the company’s highly prospective project portfolio.”
Eureka has partnered with GroundTruth Exploration which has extensive experience carrying out successful exploration programs in remote areas of the world. A sizable, highly trained team for Nunavik will be sampling pegmatite outcrops across Eureka’s vast holdings. Zones of interest will be surveyed by drones producing high detail imagery and 3-D models to completely map the mineralized systems on surface as they are identified for follow-up program planning.
This strategy will quickly vector toward the most prospective areas for a targeted drilling program this summer using a lightweight and mobile rotary air blast GT RAB Drill for initial drill testing, leading to high confidence diamond drilling of the top priority targets. The samples collected during this program are being initially scanned and sorted in the field by using a hand-held SciAps LIBS analyzer and selected samples will be sent to the laboratories for analysis.
Active with a drill program near Eureka’s Raglan South project, in the Cape Smith nickel belt, is privately-owned KoBold Metals which recently completed a US$195-million raise.
Eureka Lithium is the largest lithium-focused landowner in the northern third of Quebec, known as the Nunavik region, with 100% ownership of three projects comprising 1,408 km2 in the emerging Raglan West, Raglan South and New Leaf lithium camps. These claims were acquired from prospector Shawn Ryan and are located in a region that hosts two operating nickel mines with deep-sea port access.
