Argentina tripled lithium carbonate production capacity in last two years
Argentina, the world's No. 4 lithium producer, has four projects in production.
Patriot Battery Metals (TSX: PMET; ASX: PMT) announced on Monday the discovery of a new spodumene pegmatite, named CV14, along the geological trend of the CV9 and CV10 clusters at its Corvette property in Quebec.
Grab sample assays from CV14 revealed concentrations of 0.94% lithium oxide (Li2O) and 0.86% Li2O, with the outcrop measuring 33 metres by 9 metres in size.
“The discovery highlights the extensive nature of the spodumene mineralized system along the CV lithium trend, which extends across the property where a large portion remains unexplored for lithium pegmatite,” Darren Smith, VP of exploration said in a statement.
“We are excited to follow up this area with systematic surface exploration as this local prospective lithium pegmatite trend has now been extended to approximately 3.6 kilometres.”
Additionally, the 2023 surface exploration program uncovered a mineralized pegmatite boulder (0.53% Li2O) located about 450 metres up-ice to the northeast of CV14.
Based on interpreted glacial ice direction in the area, it may suggest the potential for a yet-to-be-discovered lithium pegmatite to be present to the north-northeast of the primary CV9-CV10-CV14 trend, the company said.
“The scale and the location of the Corvette project imply that it’s going to be a useful project to help underwrite the balance of the supply chain that’s required to support value-added chemicals the energy transition requires,” CEO Ken Brinsden told The Northern Miner in an interview in February.
Corvette, the eighth largest lithium pegmatite globally, hosts large spodumene crystals, enhancing processing efficiency and recovery rates, Brinsden said.
With C$133 million ($98 million) in funds as of the second fiscal quarter — much of it from Albemarle, which invested C$109 million ($80 million) last year — the company said it is well-financed to push forward with exploration, technical studies and the permitting process.
Shares of Patriot Battery Metals fell 2.7% by 12:02 p.m. EDT Monday. The lithium developer has a market capitalization of C$1.56 billion ($1.15 billion).
