By Shane Lasley
Mining News
NWT fires force stoppage of Li-FT drilling
Company demobilizes exploration camp; monitors conditions North of 60 Mining News - August 15, 2023
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Last updated 8/24/2023 at 2:43pm
NWT Fire
Wildfires have created hazardous smoke conditions in and around Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Li-FT Power Ltd. Aug. 15 reported that it is temporarily demobilizing personnel, essential equipment, and key drill core from the Hidden Lake Camp due to wildfires near the company's Yellowknife Lithium Project in Northwest Territories.
Currently, two fires are burning near Li-FT's Hidden Lake Camp – the Ingraham Trail Fire about 18 kilometers (11 miles) to the northwest and the Dettah Fire about 26 kilometers (16 miles) to the southwest.
Although the Hidden Lake Camp is not considered at immediate risk, smoky conditions are interfering with routine drilling operations, and winds are expected to present challenging conditions for firefighting crews over the coming days.
A small maintenance crew remains in the camp.
Li-FT is working with the Government of the Northwest Territories to support local firefighting efforts and has released a helicopter to assist in the campaign.
"Our thoughts are with the people who have been evacuated from their homes and communities and with the fire crews that are working tirelessly to protect the Northwest Territories," said Li-FT Power CEO Francis MacDonald.
In June, Li-FT launched a 45,000-meter drill program focused on building an initial resource at the large outcropping pegmatites found on some of the properties that make up the 141,572-hectare (349,832 acres) land package it has assembled east of Yellowknife, NWT.
In July, the company reported that the first batch of assays from this inaugural drill program has begun to confirm the grades and widths of lithium mineralization historically identified on the company's properties.
Overall, Li-FT planned to test eight different lithium-bearing pegmatites with 45,000 meters of drilling this year.
It is currently unclear whether the fire disruption will affect drill meterage or the targets the company hopes to drill.
"We are monitoring the fire situation closely and will resume normal operations as soon as possible," said MacDonald.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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