Litchfield Minerals Launches Major Airborne Survey at Lucy Creek Manganese Project

Exploration Takes Flight at Lucy Creek

Litchfield Minerals Limited (ASX, LMS) is advancing its manganese exploration ambitions with the imminent start of a large-scale airborne magnetic and radiometric survey at its Lucy Creek Project, located in the southern Georgina Basin of the Northern Territory. The survey, covering approximately 5,523 line kilometres, is designed to provide high-resolution geophysical data that will sharpen geological understanding and help pinpoint priority targets for follow-up work.

A Basin Ripe for Discovery

The Lucy Creek Project spans around 1,600 square kilometres within the Georgina Basin, a largely underexplored sedimentary basin known for its complex geological history and potential for high-grade manganese mineralisation. Despite historical reconnaissance and limited drilling, the area remains relatively virgin ground for systematic manganese exploration. Previous explorers have identified multiple manganese occurrences with rock chip samples returning impressive grades, including a peak of 54.2% manganese.

Drawing Parallels with Bootu Creek

Litchfield Minerals draws a conceptual analogy between Lucy Creek and the Bootu Creek manganese deposit, a well-known strata-bound, hydrothermally modified sedimentary manganese system in the Northern Territory. Bootu Creek’s history of hydrothermal fluid activity upgrading sedimentary manganese deposits offers a compelling model for Lucy Creek, where similar geological and mineralisation features have been observed. This analogy underpins the company’s optimism about the potential scale and grade of manganese mineralisation at Lucy Creek.

Survey Objectives and Next Steps

The airborne survey aims to refine the understanding of the project’s structural architecture, regolith patterns, and alteration signatures that may be associated with manganese-bearing systems. By integrating new geophysical data with historical datasets and recent field sampling, Litchfield plans to generate and rank exploration targets. Follow-up activities scheduled for 2026 include targeted ground mapping, geochemical sampling, gravity surveys, and ultimately drill testing of the highest-priority targets.

Balancing Opportunity with Caution

While the early-stage exploration results are promising, Litchfield Minerals emphasises that no mineral resource has yet been defined at Lucy Creek. The company acknowledges the inherent risks and uncertainties in exploration, noting that further work is required to determine the economic significance of identified anomalies. Nonetheless, the scale of the project, combined with strong manganese grades and favourable geological setting, positions Lucy Creek as a compelling opportunity in the critical minerals sector.