Pure Resources hits large lithium pegmatite outcrops at new Laforge Project in Canada

Pure Resources (ASX:PR1) on Thursday reported its discovery of large lithium pegmatite outcropping at its recently acquired Laforge lithium project in Canada. 

Pure Resources only listed on the ASX in April last year and remains one of few companies to IPO in 2022 which is trading above its float price. 

Now, multiple new pegmatite outcrops are on the geotechnical team’s radar at Laforge as the company gears up for a busy 2023 and an environment that still sees intense interest in battery metal companies.  

Pure Resources purchased the land package in late November, right before the winter season hit hard. Its existing projects include a polymetals play in Western Australia called Killarney. 

The project area contains a number of greenstone belt formations referred to as the Canadian Superior Province Region.

Nearby is a project run by Canada’s TSX-listed Patriot Battery Metals, a proven lithium play called Corvette only 65 km northeast. 

All in all, Pure is hopeful it can replicate the same discoveries made by Patriot’s team 65 km away at Pure’s Laforge project. 

Winter a hindrance 

The intense northern winter hitting North America right now has hampered exploration activity on-site, with only 5% of surface area covered by the team so far. The exploration team uses a helicopter. 

Some 240 samples were collected and are now with an assay laboratory in Quebec. The company expects grades to come back “in the next 8 weeks,” which takes us out to early-mid March. 

Three samples, the company says, contained visible spodumene. 

Worth considering is that pegmatite outcrops have been encountered in only that first 5%, leaving open the possibility further outcrops are hidden beneath snow. 

Once the snow clears 

What pegmatites it did uncover were previously unknown, effectively representing fresh future drill targets for the company. 

“Some pegmatite samples contained tourmaline and small red fluorescent minerals of visual spodumene with further investigation required to fully evaluate the mineralogy of the rock samples”, Pure Resources Chairman Patric Glovac said. 

“We maintain the belief that the Laforge Lithium project represents a genuine opportunity to discover a significant lithium deposit in a Tier-1 jurisdiction…[and] we look forward to accelerating exploration once the snow clears.” 

Battery metal stock performance in 2023

Whether or not battery metal enthusiasm will continue into 2023 remains to be seen.  

But with spodumene prices still high and decarbonisation still on the agenda, it’s not a thematic likely to die down without protest. 

Case in point: in the second hour of Thursday trade, Pure Resources’ shares were up over 19%. 

A look at Pure's six month charts