Drilling Commences On Lithium Targets At Willcox

VANCOUVER - MAX Power Mining Corp. reported that Phase 1 drilling has commenced at the Willcox Playa Lithium Project in Arizona. Compilation of historical data combined with results from MAX Power’s 2023 geophysics program has given geologists a model for a potential significant discovery at the Playa where first-ever systematic diamond drilling is now in progress.

MAX Power is targeting both a property-wide claystone sequence below the Willcox Playa, which has a thickness of up to 1,600 metres, and trapped non potable fluids with the potential to host lithium brines. It has defined pervasive and significant resistivity low anomalies across most of its 3,754-acre property. Extreme resistivity lows, detected through a recent HSAMT Survey, most probably represent clay-rich sediments, which could comprise lithium targets extending from near-surface to depth.

The HSAMT Survey suggests these anomalies are persistent to depths of at least 600 metres below the surface with the thickness of the clay sequence estimated to be 1,200 to 1,600 metres. In addition to the anomalies, the geophysical cross section highlights what appears to be a series of sub-vertical parallel structural controls, possibly faults, that are known in similar settings to concentrate lithium in desert playa environments. A comprehensive review of historical data suggests that illite and montmorillonite, associated with the weathering of silicic volcanic ash tuffs, are the most common clay minerals under the Willcox Playa. Illite at Willcox is described as the “dominant” clay mineral in a PhD thesis. Its formation in a geothermally active, alkaline environment is often significant and can aid in the concentration of lithium. This clay mineral is known to contribute to high-grade lithium values in other claystone lithium deposits.