Mt Ida Project
The Mt Ida Project is a 100% owned, shovel ready lithium and gold project covering approximately 170km2 of the Mt Ida-Ularring Greenstone Belt, located 100km west of Leonora in the Eastern Goldfields Province of Western Australia.
Acquired in September 2021, Delta has undertaken an aggressive exploration approach that has consistently delivered outstanding results. The Company’s exploration team has rapidly advanced the asset, identifying both a significant lithium resource and high-grade gold resource. Supported by seasoned geologists and well-accredited finance professionals, Delta continues to explore the high-quality asset with a dedicated focus to realising significant value for shareholders.
Mt Ida Resources.
Lithium
Delta’s world-class exploration team has undertaken extensive due diligence at the Mt Ida Project, completing multiple drill programs exceeding 1,000 holes and 200,000m of drilling since the initial acquisition.
The Company released a substantially upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in October 2023 following a maiden MRE a year earlier. Mt Ida’s combined Inferred and Indicated MRE is now 14.6Mt @ 1.2% Li2O (supported by a 136% increase in the Indicated category to 7.8Mt @ 1.3% Li2O).
The large increase in Indicated Mineral Resource competitively positions the Company to complete Scoping Studies and undertake detailed feasibility studies on the longer-term development potential at Mt Ida with design and engineering works ongoing.
In December of 2023, Delta received approval from the WA department of Energy, Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) for Phase 1 open pit mining operations at Mt Ida, marking the project as shovel ready. The Project is strategically geographically positioned and offers near-term production potential with ongoing mapping of tenure and target generation.
Delta’s upgraded JORC Mineral Resource Estimate completed on 3 October 2023 as follows:
| Resource category | (Mt) | (% Li2O) | (Kt) |
| Total Indicated | |||
| Total Inferred | |||
| Total | |||
Gold
As well as a significant lithium resource with upside potential, Mt Ida also hosts a significant high-grade gold resource.
A major Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) upgrade for gold at Mt Ida was announced in June 2024 and is outlined below:
| Indicated | Inferred | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut off | Deposit | Tonnes (000s) | Grade g/t Au | Ounces (000s) | Tonnes (000s) | Grade g/t Au | Ounces (000s) | Tonnes (000s) | Grade g/t Au | Ounces (000s) |
| Open cut Au 0.5 g/t | Baldock | 1,345 | 4.9 | 209.0 | 1,512 | 3.2 | 158 | 2,857 | 4.0 | 367 |
| Kestrel | - | - | - | 570 | 1.6 | 29 | 570 | 1.6 | 29 | |
| Golden Vale | - | - | - | 496 | 1.7 | 27 | 496 | 1.7 | 27 | |
| 0.0 g/t Au Cut off | Mt Ida Tailings | - | - | - | 500 | 0.5 | 8 | 500 | 0.5 | 8 |
| Underground 1.5 g/t Au | Baldock | 180 | 5.8 | 33.0 | 1,780 | 4.8 | 274 | 1,960 | 4.9 | 307 |
| Kestrel | - | - | - | 220 | 1.9 | 14 | 220 | 1.9 | 14 | |
| Golden Vale | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| All | Mt Ida Tailings | - | - | - | 500 | 0.5 | 8 | 500 | 0.5 | 8 |
| Baldock | 1,525 | 4.9 | 242.0 | 3,292 | 4.1 | 432 | 4,817 | 4.4 | 674 | |
| Kestrel | - | - | - | 790 | 1.7 | 43 | 790 | 1.7 | 43 | |
| Golden Vale | - | - | - | 496 | 1.7 | 27 | 496 | 1.7 | 27 | |
| Total | 1,525 | 4.9 | 242.0 | 5,078 | 3.1 | 510 | 6,603 | 3.5 | 752 | |
The resource upgrade represented an 82% increase in contained gold for Mt Ida. The Baldock Deposit, with a resource of 4.8Mt @ 4.4g/t gold for 674,000 ounces, is also one of only a handful of high-grade gold deposits exceeding 500,000 ounces currently un-mined in Western Australia.
All mineral resources at the Mt Ida Project are located on granted Mining Leases. Open pit mining is already approved, and underground mining approvals have been submitted and remain pending as at July 2024. A Scoping Level gold development study for Mt Ida is currently underway.
The growth in the gold MRE at Mt Ida presents significant optionality to monetise the resource, to deliver value to shareholders and help drive the core lithium business.
