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High-tech fleet detects 'white gold' in NT

Marion RaeAAP
Core Lithium's Finniss mine is situated just south of Darwin. (FLEET SPACE TECHNOLOGIES)
Camera IconCore Lithium's Finniss mine is situated just south of Darwin. (FLEET SPACE TECHNOLOGIES) Credit: AAP

Australia's newest lithium mine is using what could be the "holy grail" of exploration technology as it tackles extreme conditions in the Top End.

Lithium, a vital ingredient for electric car batteries and energy storage, is a hot commodity amid the push for practical ways to run a cleaner economy.

Known as "white gold" for its rising value and colour, those who prospect for it first look for pegmatite.

A landmark field trial using earth-scanning technology has detected bodies of the large crystal-containing rock indicating lithium deposits to depths of over 500 metres at Core Lithium's Finniss Project just south of Darwin.

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The equipment developed by Adelaide-based nano-satellite firm Fleet Space Technologies could revolutionise exploration across vast, difficult terrain by providing safe, fast, accurate data to bolster dreams of discovery.

"Core had been looking for a geophysical technique to assist with the detection of pegmatites for many years," the company's exploration manager Andy Bennett tells AAP.

"We had experimented with the usual magnetics, gravity and passive seismic, and so on."

While useful information was gained, none of the methods were able to directly detect pegmatite.

"The general consensus amongst geophysicists was that direct detection of pegmatite was impossible and doing so would be like finding the holy grail," Mr Bennett says.

"When Fleet Space approached us about their concept, I started to do some background research."

He realised if the velocity of the pegmatite - measured by the rate of waves pulsed through it by survey equipment - contrasted enough with the surrounding rock, it might work.

"So we purchased a sonic velocity tester and tested our core samples," he says.

"Sure enough, we found a velocity contrast."

Then, Core tested it with a field trial at a known deposit and found a "whopping" low velocity zone exactly where their pegmatite occurs.

"Now, with the ability to detect pegmatites and doing so almost in real-time during the survey, we can see the potential to revolutionise our exploration programs and discover new pegmatites, particularly those buried beneath cover," Mr Bennett explains.

Fleet Space hopes the Exosphere technology can support mineral discovery for the energy transition and the changes needed in the mining industry.

Huge swathes of Australia are pocked by drill holes, scooped out and abandoned.

"We created ExoSphere to provide a sustainable, faster and more economically viable alternative to current exploration practices," Fleet co-founder Matt Pearson says.

The technology could help meet soaring global demand, and support clean-air transport and more sustainable industrial practices, he says.

Analysts at Fitch Solutions expect lithium prices to "remain extremely elevated" for 2022 and 2023 on accelerating demand for lithium-ion batteries and tight supply.

"In the longer term, lithium prices are likely to be impacted by green premiums due to heightened priority of sustainable lithium extraction techniques," Fitch said in a research report this week.

It's tipping a "lithium supply deficit" to persist through to 2031 but also expects an increase on the market within the next several years led by new sources from Australia, Canada and the United States.

"Australia remains one of the most attractive mining markets in the world, has a government invested in supporting the development of its lithium and critical minerals industries, and the world's best commercially-viable reserves of spodumene at present," according to Fitch.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King says Australia's potential in critical minerals is immense.

They underpin nearly every key technology which will support the transition to net zero carbon emissions, she told a mining audience in Brisbane on Thursday.

The International Energy Agency predicts a further 60 mines will be required by 2030 to meet global decarbonisation and electric vehicle targets.

Core's chief financial officer Simon Iacopetta, speaking at the recent Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum, says he expects the first shipment by year's end and commercial production to begin in the first half of 2023.

China's world-leading producer Ganfeng Lithium and the country's industrial group Sichuan Yahua are on board - each locking in supply of 300,000 tonnes over four years in offtake agreements.

A four-year deal has also been signed with electric car maker Tesla for up to 110,000 tonnes.

Some 88km by road from Darwin port, Core Lithium has tenure over 500sqkm of what it says is the most prospective ground for lithium in the Northern Territory.

With operations still under construction, it's forecast to be the fourth-largest ASX-listed lithium miner, behind Pilbara Minerals, Allkem and Liontown Resources.

But Core's exploration manager is trying not to get too excited, saying the firm is "cautiously optimistic".

"Despite the early promise, it is early days so it remains to be seen what pegmatite geometries we can detect," Mr Bennett says.

Meanwhile Core Lithium's share price has almost doubled in the past month.

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