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The Pilbara is an iron ore powerhouse but other riches lurk under the surface

• 11.2Moz Hemi deposit and world class Pilgangoora lithium mine prove Pilbara’s untapped potential
• Areas such as the Mosquito Creek Basin still underexplored despite surface gold and right geology
• Northern and eastern margins of Pilbara craton are also underexplored despite mineral endowment

When one talks about the Pilbara’s mineral wealth, one typically thinks of iron ore, with the red dirt in WA’s north accounting for more than half of our $230 billion resources export industry.

But dig deeper and it’s not the only mineral the Pilbara hides between its auburn soil.

The giant mineral province is also known to host rich deposits of gold, lithium and copper.

De Grey Mining’s landmark 11.2Moz Hemi gold discovery played a key role in shifting the market’s expectations. The intrusion-hosted deposit now owned by Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) parked off a mini rush to find similar deposits in the region in 2020.

Lithium is headlined by Pilbara Minerals ‘(ASX:PLS) major Pilgangoora operation, Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and Albemarle’s Wodgina and the SQM-Gina Rinehart owned Andover.

Having made so many fortunes in recent years, emerging juniors are confident more are ready to be discovered.

Moho Resources (ASX:MOH) exploration manager Graeme Hardwick – whose employer recently acquired the exciting Bush Chook project in the Mosquito Creek Basin – told Stockhead the past decade has seen the Pilbara deliver some of Australia’s best new deposits.

“Conventional wisdom says Australian exploration is going deeper and deeper undercover, however these Pilbara discoveries were found within 40m of the surface,” he said.

“This tells you something about the exploration maturity in the region.

“To put it another way, when the industry started to invest in lithium exploration, it found world class lithium deposits.

“When the revamped De Grey Mining started investing in the Mallina Basin again, they found the world class Hemi deposit.

“It’s a simple thesis based on the recent trends, investing in these under-explored, overlooked, belts in the Pilbara has the potential to deliver major, near-surface discoveries.”

Hardwick is not alone in that view.

GreenTech Metals’ (ASX:GRE) Jozsef Patarica said the success of De Grey and Pilbara Minerals proved there’s more underneath the surface than just iron.

Ignored by explorers in part due to the history of discovery in WA’s Goldfields, more are willing to get their boots dirty in the remote climes of the Pilbara.

“Despite being geologically similar, the deeply weathered terrain of the Yilgarn is very different to the exposed rocky terrains comprising large areas of the Pilbara and as a consequence the exploration techniques can be very different,” Patarica said.

“Although late to the party, diligent exploration is beginning to pay dividends with large mineral systems and deposits being discovered.”

Source: Stockhead