Cornwall Mining Alliance member, MétAmpère, has recently conducted a lithium exploration programme in Cornwall as part of a project to build a quarry and processing plant capable of producing 20,000 tonnes of the highly sought-after metal each year – sufficient to power ~350,000 electric vehicles.

Having successfully completed 6 exploration drill holes, MetAmpere’s team of geologists are digging kilometres of trenches to establish continuity of the discovered ore body. Laboratory analysis of that drilling revealed over 200 metres of continuous lithium mineralisation from surface. The trenching and further drilling will allow a definitive resource assessment next year.

Lithium has never been extracted from the mica in Cornish granite before and the experts behind the project say they are very excited about what they’ve so far discovered.

The results from the drilling we’ve done to date are staggeringly good,” said MétAmpère Chair Roderick Smith, who has built and officially opened five mines of different kinds worldwide. “We’ve spent the last two years undertaking a range of reconnaissance activities and are looking at another three years before construction is planned. Our approach is always to research thoroughly and ensure feasibility before moving on to design, build and operation. I can’t emphasise enough how very excited we are about this project – its extraordinary potential will bring huge economic benefits for Cornwall.”

Cornwall has a very proud mining heritage and, from what we can see, a global future in lithium production,” said MétAmpère Chief Executive Officer Andrew Smith, who previously ran a large international mining team for the Cinovec lithium project in the Czech Republic.

MétAmpère is planning to undertake more drilling in the next two months. For more information, visit https://www.metampere.co.uk/

Article provided by: MétAmpère and Sue Bradbury, SBPR Ltd, 01326 567184