Caprock Mining (CSE: CAPR) has confirmed the Ackley property in southeast Newfoundland contains zinnwaldite, the same type of lithium-bearing mineral as the Cinovec lithium project in the Czech Republic.
Several surface samples tested by SGS Natural Resources assayed 1% lithium oxide (Li2O).
Cinovec, owned 51% by the Czech government and 49% by European Metals (AIM: EMH; ASX: EMH), is the biggest hard rock lithium project in the European Union.
“We see zinnwaldite as an extraordinary mineral that is a superior host to lithium than the highly sought-after mineral, spodumene,” said Caprock CEO Vishal Gupta in a release. “The production of lithium hydroxide from zinnwaldite requires considerably less energy and capital than from spodumene, as has been demonstrated by the successful zinnwaldite mining and processing operation at the Cinovec project in the Czech Republic, and the PEA-stage Zinnwald project in Germany.”
Caprock shares rose 1¢ or 50% on the news to 3¢. The junior has a market cap of $1.3 million.
Caprock was granted an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Ackley lithium-tin-molybdenum-rare earths property from a private vendor in January 2023.
Whereas spodumene concentrate must undergo two separate high-temperature roast cycles prior to the production of lithium hydroxide, zinnwaldite concentrate only undergoes a single medium-temperature roast cycle in order to produce lithium hydroxide.
Zinnwaldite is a potassium-lithium-iron-aluminum-silicate-hydroxide-fluoride phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group that typically occurs in greisens, pegmatites, and quartz veins, and is often associated with tin ore deposits.
Unlike spodumene which tends to lose its lithium content when exposed to ambient weather conditions, zinnwaldite is less subject to weathering, allowing for greater certainty of supply and control of production.
The company says recent magnetometer surveying over part of three Main claim block indicates that the altered contact zone may cover several square kilometres.
Caprock also holds several gold properties in Ontario’s Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt.
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