Piedmont Lithium Inc. holds a 100% interest in the Carolina Lithium Project.
On November 18, 2024, Piedmont Lithium Inc. and Sayona Mining Limited announced the signing of a definitive agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) to combine the two companies to create a leading lithium business, resulting in Sayona being the ultimate parent entity (“MergeCo”).
Completion of the Transaction is subject to shareholder approval for both companies and is expected to close in the first half of CY2025.
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Summary:
The Project is situated in the Inner Piedmont belt near the Kings Mountain shear zone. The Inner Piedmont belt is characterized by Cambrian or Neoproterozoic gneisses, amphibolites, and schists of varying metamorphic grade. These rocks typically lack primary structures and the relationships amongst the rock types are generally undetermined. Several major intrusions occur in the Inner Piedmont, including the nearby Mississippian-aged Cherryville granite. Concurrent dike events extend from the granite, mainly to the east, with a strike that is sub-parallel to the northeast-trending Kings Mountain shear zone. As the dikes progress further from their sources, they become increasingly enriched in incompatible elements including lithium. The enriched pegmatitic dikes are located within a 3.5 km wide zone extending from the town of Kings Mountain through Lincolnton. This zone is known as the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (TSB).
Spodumene pegmatites on the Property are hosted in a fine to medium grained, foliated biotite, hornblende, quartz feldspar gneiss commonly referred to as amphibolite, and metasedimentary rocks including shists and mudstones. Massive to weakly foliated gabbro dikes are encountered over limited extents. Testing indicates that the metasedimentary rocks have the potential to generate acidic conditions.
Pegmatites at the Project include spodumene-bearing and spodumene-free dikes. Spodumene-bearing dikes host the lithium and by-product mineral deposits at the Project.
Spodumene-free pegmatite dikes have variable orientations. Some share the same trend as the spodumene-bearing dikes and in some instances, there is a gradational contact between them. Spodumene-free pegmatite dikes represent either: an early stage (pre-spodumene) fractionated magma; or a later barren pegmatite system. Intervals logged as barren pegmatite can also represent altered portions of the spodumene-bearing pegmatite.
On the Core Property, spodumene-bearing pegmatites are cut by steeply dipping west-northwest trending diabase dikes of 5 m to 10 m thickness at a coordinate northing of approximately 3,916,600 m.
MINERALIZATION
The spodumene-bearing pegmatites are un-zoned having no apparent systematic variation in primary mineralogy and range from fine grained (aplite) to very coarse-grained. Primary mineralogy consists of spodumene, quartz, plagioclase, potassium-feldspar, and muscovite.
ALTERATION
Several types of alteration are observed at the Project. Within the amphibolite and metasedimentary host rock, the most common types of alteration are chlorite, epidote, and potassic alteration.
Holmquistite alteration of the amphibolite occurs as a metasomatic replacement at the margins of lithium rich pegmatites. At the Project, holmquistite alteration is distinguished by a light blue color and acicular habit and is observed as both small veinlets and massive zones that usually occur within 2 m of the contact between amphibolite and spodumene pegmatite (Piedmont Lithium, 2017).
Within the spodumene pegmatites, spodumene shows varying alteration intensity from fresh to complete replacement. Spodumene is typically altered to a greater degree than other compositional minerals. The most common types of spodumene alteration are clay, muscovite, and feldspar replacement (Piedmont Lithium, 2017). The distinguishing features of clay alteration of spodumene are the softness and lack of cleavage planes in the spodumene crystals. Muscovite alteration of spodumene results in pseudomorphs of muscovite after spodumene.
DEPOSITS
Spodumene-bearing pegmatites on the Core Property are assigned to three major corridors: the B-G corridor and S corridor and the F corridor. Corridors extend over a strike length of up to 2 km and commonly have a set of thicker dikes of 10 m to 20 m true thickness at their core. These major dikes strike northeast and dip steep to moderately toward the southeast. Dikes are intersected by drilling to a depth of 300 m down dip. Dikes are curvi-planar in aspect.
At the Core property, dikes are commonly interconnected by flat to shallow-dipping sills and inclined sheets that are encountered over broad lateral extents but rarely outcrop at surface. These sills and sheets are tested by drilling over 600 m along strike and 500 m down dip where they remain open and can be projected between major corridors. The true thickness of individual sills and inclined sheets range from 1 m to 18 m. A representative closely spaced series of sills and inclined sheets typically has a cumulative thickness greater than 10 m.
Spodumene-bearing pegmatites, or a closely spaced series of such pegmatites, can be traced between drillhole intercepts and surface outcrops for over 1.7 km. Although individual units may pinch out, the deposit is open at depth. The Mineral Resource has a maximum vertical depth of 210 m from surface. Ninety-two (92) percent of the Mineral Resource is within 150 m of the topography surface.
Central
Spodumene-bearing pegmatites on the Central Property fall within a corridor that extends over a strike length of up to 0.6 km and contains a pair of 10 m to 20 m true thickness dikes These major dikes strike northeast and dip steeply to the southeast. Dikes are intersected by drilling to a depth of 225 m down dip. Although individual pegmatite bodies may pinch out, the deposit is open along strike and down dip and is primarily confined by the property boundary. The Central mineral resource has a maximum vertical depth of 275 m below surface. On average, the model extends to 200 m below surface. Seventy-five (75) percent of the Central Mineral Resource model is within 150 m of the topography surface.
Huffstetler
Spodumene-bearing pegmatites on the Huffstetler Property fall within a corridor that extends over a strike length of up to 0.4 km and form a stacked series of inclined sheets that range from 2 m to 18 m true thickness. Inclined sheets strike northeast and dip moderately to the northwest. Spodumene bearing pegmatites are intersected by drilling to a depth of 200 m down dip from surface; however, up-dip extents are limited by the southeastern edge of the permit boundary. Although individual units may pinch out, the deposit is open at depth and along strike. The Huffstetler Mineral Resource has a maximum vertical depth of 150 m below the ground surface.