• Only 9 out of the 70 ASX lithium stocks on our list ended Friday in the green
  • Aruma, Kalamazoo, Askari and Latin the standouts

 All your ASX lithium news for Friday, February 11.

 

Benchmark Minerals Intelligence’s senior analyst Dr Cameron Perks reckons lithium is in a “party market.”

And it looks like deficits will be hanging around til 2030 when supply catches up to fill the gap.

But that’s only if investment keeps pace over the next 5 years. And prices will need to be high enough to incentivise new supply but low enough for cheap EVs.

After the party, the next step is the “hangover market” then a “parents’ market” before governments could potentially consider stepping in to secure supply.

Here’s Dr Perk’s lowdown:


BMI bossman Simon Moores says to prevent the shortfall new mines need to be financed now.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking today:

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Only 9 stocks are in the green today, 14 flatlined and a massive 47 are in the red amidst losses across the wider Materials sector.

Of those in the green, none had news out today, but they could be riding on high on the week that was.

 

Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ)

Earlier this week, the WA explorer began drilling its ‘Mt Deans’ lithium and rare earths project.

The project sits within the lithium corridor in southeast WA, where it is interpreted to sit within the same host rocks and structures as the significant nearby Mt Marion, Bald Hill, and Buldania lithium projects.

Fun fact: this project is just 1.44sqkm in size. A proverbial postage stamp.

A maiden 3,000m program is designed to confirm the presence of a thick pegmatite (lithium ore) pod and intersect an interpreted pegmatite chamber or ‘cauldron’.

The $16m market cap stock is up 56% year-to-date. It had $3.27m in the bank at the end of December.

 

Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR)

Kalamazoo became the first gold-lithium company operating in Australia to be certified ‘carbon-neutral’ under the Federal Government’s Climate Active Program this week.

This process, it says, has included the company establishing its carbon footprint and outlining its plans to measure and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions where feasible, as well as offsetting its remaining carbon-generating activity.

Climate Active – the certification KZR has received – is the “most rigorous and credible” carbon natural certification within Australia.

“This means that our carbon neutral status is based on best practice, international standards, and genuine emissions reductions,” the company said.

“The rationale for this commitment is that we are focused on minimising the impact of our exploration activities in Victoria and Western Australia.

“The continual reduction and offsetting of our emissions is a natural extension to building a sustainable business that incorporates leading ESG principles.”

 

Latin Resources (ASX:LRS)

This week the company reported that two drill rigs are on the ground and ready to go at LRS’ ‘Salinas’ lithium project in Brazil.

The 14-hole, 2000m program will test two target areas where sampling returned multiple high-grade results including 2.71% Li2O and 1.45% Li2O (anything ~1% Li2O and above is ore grade) “from highly weathered spodumene bearing pegmatites”.

The pegmatites have been mapped over a strike length of +1.2km within LRS’ tenure, but never drilled.

“We are extremely excited to be finally drilling our Salinas lithium projects,” managing director Chris Gale says.

“The team we have assembled on site will hit the ground running with drilling to start within a few days.

“We are very confident our exploration field work along with this drilling will deliver positive news over the next few months.”

 

Askari Metals (ASX:AS2)

Yesterday the company said that initial reconnaissance rock sampling at the company’s Barrow Creek project in the NT had identified outcropping LCT pegmatites up to 817ppm lithium, along with a new mineralised zone which remains open in all directions.

Askari VP exploration and geology Johan Lambrechts said the finds confirm the company is exploring in an area where LCT-type pegmatities host lithium.

“[This] gives us a high chance of discovering economic grade lithium mineralisation,” he said.

Detailed surface sampling and mapping will start next week, with RC drilling planned to follow up.