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Lithium Plus hits thick spodumene bearing pegmatite ahead of early 2023 JORC resource

Thu 11 Aug 22, 2:07pm (AEDT)
An image of an outback sealed road in remote Australia, Northern Territory
Source: Unsplash

Key Points

  • Lithium Plus has found a thick spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatite at the NT Bynoe Projects’ flagship Lei prospect
  • Existing RC data returned evidence of high grade lithium elsewhere on-site
  • Now confirming extensive mineralisation underground, the company awaits assay results ahead of a Q1 2023 maiden lithium resource

Lithium Plus (ASX:LPM) shares are up 7% in early afternoon trade to 65c as the company announces fresh lithium pegmatite intersections at the Lei prospect onsite its NT Bynoe lithium project. 

The latest intersects come on the back of a diamond drill run launched last month. The company continues to drill its second diamond drill hole onsite. 

Its aim?: to follow up on an existing RC drillhole which intersected 12m of lithium bearing geology at a relatively high grade. 

The outcome?: so far, successful.

Investor information provider Undervalued Equity states high grade lithium is that with concentrations of over 1% per sample. 

Lithium Plus’ early drill core boasts a concentration of 1.43%. 

As for today’s discovery, the company is reporting 43m of pegmatites intersected downhole BYDD001. Investors should note the impressive thickness of the pegmatite is offset somewhat by the depth it took to reach it, between 191m and 234m depth. 

While the company may not be able to boast shallow deposits, the news does confirm the original thesis that pegmatite mineralisation is present elsewhere at the acreage, and will be used to form a lithium resource.

Also worth noting is the presence of spodumene in the sample. 

A look at the core in question pulled from downhole BYLDD001
A look at the core in question pulled from downhole BYLDD001 (Source: Lithium Plus)

Back to the RC rig 

Management notes the company is now confident in its upcoming second run of RC drilling at the Lei prospect, situated within the  northwest corner of one tenement comprising the Bynoe project.

Its Bynoe project tenements all straddle acreage owned and operated by Core Lithium (ASX:CXO)

“We are pleased with samples which have validated [a] spodumene-bearing pegmatite system at depth,” Lithium Plus chairman Dr. Bin Guo said. 

“We look forward to receiving assay results in the coming weeks, as well as results from the second cored hole and delineating a maiden lithium resource by Q1 2023.”

How is Lithium Plus going? 

While the company’s assay results will determine further the likelihood of market enthusiasm for the project, it’s worth noting that at 65c, Lithium Plus is one of the higher valued junior explorers on the bourse, and, in the region. 

A recovery in sentiment for lithium stocks is no doubt lifting the share price; that enthusiasm is evidenced in part by the results of Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX:PLS) latest spodumene auction, whose most recent iteration hit fresh record prices

Further evidence of enthusiasm for lithium can be deduced through a surface look at the performance of Lithium Plus shares at this moment in time: 

  • One week returns up 56.53% 

  • One month returns up 44.44% 

  • Year to date (YTD) performance up 160% 

The company had $9.1m in cash at the end of June. 

The one thing shareholders will no doubt be waiting for are pending assay results due to drop in the next two months. 

Another big question is how, exactly, Lithium Plus intends to access mineralisation so far underground. But, in these early days, the market will just need to wait to find out. 

Not many people are selling off Lithium Plus in the last three months, as the share price continues to climb
Not many people are selling off Lithium Plus in the last three months, as the share price continues to climb

 

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Written By

Jonathon Davidson

Finance Writer

Jonathon is a journalism graduate and avid market watcher with exposure to governance, NGO and mining environments. He was most recently hired as an oil and gas specialist for a trade publication.

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