Patriot Battery Metals’ maiden resource from its Canadian Corvette property is in, revealed at 109.2Mt at 1.43 per cent lithium oxide and as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas.
The resource comes after the explorer was forced enter a trading halt and fend off a short report from American short seller Night Market Research, which cited the lack of an established resource as part of its case against the Australian, a problem no longer as Patriot now boasts the 8th largest global resource of its kind.
There is plenty of meat left on the bone at Corvette, the maiden resource is only inclusive of the CV5 spodumene pegmatite which remains open at depth along both ends of strike, and there are several more known spodumene clusters remaining on the property.
Patriot Vice President of Exploration Darren L. Smith said it was nothing less than a team effort, and the maiden resource was the culmination of an aggressive 20-month drill campaign which kicked off with a discovery hole in the fall of 2021.
“This first resource has firmly established CV5 as a Tier 1 spodumene pegmatite asset, already ranking as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas, as well as in the top 10 resources globally.”
Mr Smith added there remained significant potential for growth.
“There are multiple known spodumene pegmatite clusters yet to be drill tested at the Property and more than 20 km of prospective trend yet to be explored,” he said.
“In the case of CV13, the 2022 and 2023 drill programs are anticipated to underpin a maiden mineral resource estimate in 2024 at that spodumene pegmatite cluster. We believe we have only just begun to demonstrate the scale of the lithium mineralized pegmatite system at the Corvette Property.”
Patriot President and Chief Executive Blair Way said the company could not be happier with the maiden resource which would be the first of multiple over the coming years.
This Property is now officially host to at least one deposit that is definitely a world class asset with respect to the size, grade, and metallurgy when compared to its peers,” Mr Way said.
“It firmly positions the Company as a leading candidate to provide long-term spodumene supply to the North American
and European markets. This is a key milestone for the Company and will underpin future economic and development studies as we look to aggressively advance this asset on the path to production.
“I would like to thank our shareholders for their support, and moreover, thank the exploration team for their focus and determination in delivering one of the largest spodumene pegmatite resources in the world.”
Patriot acquired its flagship asset for just $8 million in 2021 and its share price had fired from the very outset of public trading. The company now holds a market cap of over $650 million as the eminent explorer in a firing James Bay region further established as a new globally eminent hard rock hub in North America.
The lithium land grab is well and truly underway in the Great White North, and Corvette is likely to get some more attention, with Macquarie believed to have been tapped for a deal as global mining companies begin the lithium buy-in.