Eye on Lithium: Sayona and Piedmont boost NAL’s future production potential by pegging more ground in Quebec

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• Zenith Minerals’ drilling at the Splits Rocks Project hits up to 26m at 1.2% Li2O
• Askari Metals receives results from reconnaissance exploration at the Uis Lithium Project
• Pilbara Minerals flags inaugural dividend on the back of strong operating performance

All your lithium news, Wednesday November 16.

Sayona Quebec, 75% owned by Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) and 25% by Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL), has expanded its land position around the near-term North American Lithium (NAL) operation with the acquisition and earn-in of the Valle Lithium project.

Under the acquisition and earn-in agreement with Jourdan Resources Inc, Sayona Quebec will acquire 20 claims of Vallee outright, which will be added to NAL’s existing 19 claims on the adjacent property.

Sayona Quebec can earn into a 51% equity interest in the remaining 28 claims by making a series of staged investments and in addition, can acquire around 9.99% ownership interest in Jourdan – including a right to a seat on Jourdan’s board of directors.

We continue to focus w/our partners at @SayonaMining on jumpstarting #spodumene concentrate production at North American #Lithium as early as H1 2023 & claims from the Vallée #Lithium Project offer potential to expand the #NAL operations over time. https://t.co/9oIJrwg2t7 https://t.co/Z4W8QRXgUf

— Patrick Brindle (@Patrick_at_PLL) November 15, 2022

Piedmont president and CEO Keith Phillips says the company remains focused on near-term production of spodumene concentrate as NAL advances toward the restart target of H1 2023.

Commercial shipments could begin as early as Q3, 2023 providing Piedmont with revenue generation from the operation as well as product sales through Piedmont’s offtake agreement.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking:

33 companies finished in the green, 40 closed flat and 60 tumbled into a sea of red.

Who’s got news out?

ZENITH MINERALS (ASX:ZNC)

Drilling at the Splits Rocks Project in WA has returned ‘very pleasing’ results over two intervals totalling 49m thickness at the Rio pegmatite.

These intersections — including 26m at 1.2% Li2O including 13m at 1.9% Li2O, and 23m at 0.8% Li2O including 8m at 1.3% Li2O — are 200m to the south and 200m east of previously reported holes.

Drilling will now shift focus from the wider scout program to defining the higher-grade lithium zone with mineralisation remaining open to the north, south, east and at depth.

ASKARI METALS (ASX:AS2)

Results from an initial phase of reconnaissance exploration at the Uis Lithium Project in Namibia, Africa demonstrate the high-grade nature of the LCT-type pegmatites after lithium was identified in numerous pegmatites at surface, AS2 says.

Around 196 rock chip samples were collected from the Uis Project during the due diligence phase of the acquisition of the project and followed by sampling over a large number of exposed pegmatites .

This included several old mine workings where the pegmatites were historically mined for either tin or semi-precious stones.

The sample results validated and supported the field observations by returning several high-grade lithium, tin, tantalum and rubidium results.

“Field sampling has returned numerous high-grade results including up to 2.1% Li2O, 1.3% Sn, 685 ppm Ta and 4,214 ppm Rb from surface,” AS2 vice president of exploration and geology says.

“These results are hosted in dominant spodumene rich LCT-type pegmatites and further strengthens our belief in the mineralisation potential of the Uis Project.

“We have signed a 10,000m drilling contract with the initial phase of 3,000m set to get underway shortly.

“The future is bright.”

PILBARA MINERALS (ASX:PLS)

PLS shareholders rejoice! A maiden dividend is coming, thanks to strong operating performances and cash flow.

A new Capital Management Framework is designed to establish an appropriate structure that allocates available capital between investment into the existing business, sustainability commitments, strategic growth opportunities, as well as the provision of sustainable returns to shareholders.

A target dividend payout ratio has been established at 20-30% of free cash flow along with an inaugural fully franked dividend payment, which will be applied to FY23.

The Framework prioritises allocation of capital first to maintaining safe and reliable operations, as well as near term productivity initiatives designed to maximise cash being generated from existing operations.

PLS says excess cash flow above and beyond these priorities could then be allocated to further investment to improve the company’s operations, investment in organic and inorganic growth and acquisitions opportunities, debt reduction and/or further returns to shareholders.

ESSENTIAL METALS (ASX:ESS)

ESS says while pressing ahead with its strategy to get the Dome North lithium resource ready for development, the company is very much focused on making new lithium discoveries over what is describes as a “very large prospective” land position.

“This corridor already hosts five of Australia’s 14 lithium (spodumene) mineral resources within a 90km radius, including our own,” managing director Tim Spencer says.

“This is an exciting time for Essential as we advance our development to the next level and begin to unlock the broader potential of the Pioneer Dome Project.”

Already more than 40 targets have been identified and ranked with field checking now in progress.

Results of the structural geological study have been incorporated with other exploration data including geophysical surveys, soil geochemistry, drilling, and field mapping, allowing targets to be defined and ranked by an external consultant.

C29 METALS (ASX:C29)

C29 has received all regulatory notices and has secured a drilling contractor to complete the maiden reconnaissance exploration wells over the Salar Projects in Argentina where a program of up to five holes has been planned.

Three or four of these holes will be drilled in the initial program to test the hydrogeological conditions of the significant low-resistivity zone at depth, which were identified using TEM-VES (Transient Electromagnetic Vertical Electrical Sounding) profiles.

These areas are interpreted as being a large aquifer hosting the target lithium-charged brines.

It is envisaged that these holes will help establish a JORC compliant mineral resource estimate by middle 2023.

Geochemical samples of the brines will be taken from all aquifers to confirm the lithium prospectivity and provide adequate sample for processing via the Ekosolve DLE technology process.

LITHIUM ENERGY (ASX:LEL)

LEL is exploring for what it has posited could be an extension of the lithium rich brines that sustain Allkem’s (ASX:AKE) nearby Olaroz project, one of the western world’s biggest lithium carbonate suppliers.

The first drill hole has now been completed, delivering significant cumulative intersections of up to 235m of lithium brine mineralization across its upper and lower aquifers.

Completed within the Mario Angel concession at Solaroz to a depth of 337.5m, the hole encountered lithium grades increasing at depth.

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