Newly listed Patriot Battery Metals launches huge 2023 lithium pegmatite drill run using five rigs

As the exploration team waits for 38 lithium pegmatite assay results from last year, Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) on Friday revealed the commencement of its 2023 drilling campaign at the Canada-based Corvette Project. 

Patriot is one of few companies that listed on the ASX in December last year. The company’s share price almost instantly took a hit, though strong interest in a fresh lithium explorer was palpable at its debut. 

The explorer is sniffing out a lithium spodumene pegmatite system, the holy grail of lithium pegmatites. The second most common, lepidolite, poses more onerous downstream processing implications. 

The existing strike length attached to the so-called ‘CV5’ pegmatite system currently sits at 2.2km. 

Patriot wants to prove it can grow CV5 out to the east and west across winter drilling, as well as collect more infill data on the target to enhance geological models attached to the project. 

This, Patriot notes, opens up the pathway to a pre-feasibility study. The company expects an initial mineral resource to be published for the CV5 target in 1H 2023. 

Growing out CV5 

To do this, it will utilise no less than five drill rigs to maintain an aggressive pace. 

What that will look like remains to be seen as other companies in Canada are currently doing fieldwork using helicopters due to snow cover. 

Patriot Battery Metals’ plan is to start off with three rigs this month and add another two between February and April, depending on initial drilling. 

Also on the company’s radar is the recently discovered CV13 pegmatite system 4.3km away. Another cluster of pegmatites, ‘CV4’, is on the cards too. 

Corvette overview 

The Corvette project is 100% owned by Patriot, which describes it as an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered in 2017. 

Investor advisory firm Next Investors notes projects with lithium concentrations in cores over 1% total density are considered high-grade.

Previous drill intercepts sunk at the CV5 pegmatite target have included: 

• 40m @ 3.00% lithium oxide

• 159m @ 1.65% lithium oxide

• 152m @ 1.22% lithium oxide

• 86m @ 2.13% lithium oxide 

The project is located in the James Bay Region of Quebec and also holds a gold prospect, the Golden Gap Trend.  

Rock chip samples conducted on outcrops at Golden Gap turned over eye-catching results, but investors should note gold rock chip grades are typically more dramatic than what drilling allows. 

Keep in mind investor information provider Undervalued Equity classify high-grade gold as that above five grams of gold per tonne of ore (5g/t). 

The company found one rock chip at Golden Gap coming in 108.9g/t gold, while another was on the other side of the scale, at 3.1g/t.

Corvette transformative and “something special” 

“This is a significant milestone for the Company as we embark on the second winter drill season on the Corvette Project. The 2022 drilling has defined something very special,” company chief Blair Way said. 

“The year 2023 will be a transformative year for the Company as we advance to an initial mineral resource at CV5.

Will the results of 2022 drilling turn this ship around? A look at Patriot's charts since listing in December