Patriot Battery Metals hits high grade lithium in Canada

Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT), a company which only recently listed on the ASX, reported a high grade lithium drill intersection over 50m in length at its Canadian acreage on Monday. 

The prospect target responsible for the find was the “CV5” pegmatite. 

Earlier this month, the company highlighted its exploration team was most interested in CV5 after finding evidence the pegmatite system extended for 2.2km further than known. 

What sort of grade are we talking? 

Lithium concentrations over 1% in drillcore samples are classified as high grade by investor advisory firm Next Investors.

Compare that to the following result from CV5: 

• 52.2m @ 3.34% lithium oxide from 219m to 271m depth, including 

  • 15.0m @ 5.10% lithium 

The way Patriot’s exploration team see it, this finding “further [delineates a] high-grade zone previously identified.” 

The CV5 target sits in a cluster of spodumene pegmatites which the company are now referring to as the “Nova Zone.” 

Promising signs at Nova 

“We have exceeded all of our program objectives, expanding the known mineralized system from a few hundred metres along-strike in 2021, to at least 2.2 km in 2022, remaining open and demonstrating high-grades at both ends,” Patriot CEO Blair Way said. 

The company previously reported the following intersection from Nova: 

• 131.2m @ 1.96% lithium oxide from 250m to 382m depth

Spodumene name of the game

Spodumene pegmatites are the holy grail of lithium pegmatites. The second most common form, lepidolite, poses more onerous downstream processing implications. 

It is still early days for Patriot at its Canadian project, so no word yet on how the company intends to access lithium mineralisation at depth. 

Should the company find shallower high-grade material, it could lend itself to a large open pit operation in the future. 

An underground mine could also be feasible, but can often be more expensive than open pit operations.

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