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Murray Ward
Critical Resources has kicked down the door on a previously underexplored area of its flagship Mavis Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada, identifying a swarm of 14 separate pegmatite bodies, including six new discoveries during a recently completed field program.
The 10-day program at the Corona prospect, 4km north of its existing 8-million-tonne resource grading 1.07 per cent lithium oxide, involved systematic prospecting, geological mapping and structural data collection.
The work included mapping 161 outcrops, collecting 106 rock samples for analysis, and recording 74 structural measurements.
Management says the program has confirmed the presence of a bigger pegmatite system across the northern Mavis Lake corridor than previously recognised, with the target area lying within the interpreted spodumene-beryl-tantalite zonation corridor.
‘What we’re building at Mavis Lake is not just a resource, it’s the upstream anchor of a fully integrated lithium strategy.’
Critical Resources managing director Tim Wither
The results, expected in four weeks, are expected to advance the company’s strategy of turning Mavis Lake from a single-deposit asset into a multi-deposit lithium district.
Critical Resources managing director Tim Wither said: “The northern corridor at Mavis Lake is significantly underexplored relative to the scale of the Mavis Lake LCT pegmatite system. This program has confirmed that 14 pegmatite bodies identified, six of them new, across ground that had not been systematically prospected.”
The discoveries at Corona slot into a much broader strategic picture. The project sits within Ontario’s emerging Wabigoon-Winnipeg River pegmatite field, a region that is getting plenty of attention from lithium hunters, including Green Technology Metals’ Seymour lithium project, which hosts a significant 14.6 million tonnes grading 1.21 per cent lithium oxide.
This regional prospectivity is underpinned by a major push by North American governments to build a secure, local electric vehicle supply chain, from mine to mobility.
Initiatives like Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy and the US Inflation Reduction Act are funnelling billions into the sector, creating ideal conditions for Canadian lithium explorers.
And with lithium prices showing signs of a sustained recovery after a recent downturn, the timing for new discoveries could hardly be better.
Critical’s work in the northern corridor at Mavis Lake appears to be just one part of a much bigger Canadian lithium puzzle the company is trying to solve.
Management has already defined a massive project-wide exploration target of between 18 million and 29 million tonnes at a grade of 0.8 to 1.2 per cent lithium oxide at Mavis Lake.
That exploration target is spread across several prospects, including the Gullwing target, which also lies in the project’s northern corridor and is considered one of the most advanced exploration targets in the area. Gullwing has its own exploration target of between 7 million and 10 million tonnes at 0.3 to 1.2 per cent lithium oxide.
While Mavis Lake is the flagship project, Critical is anything but a one-trick pony. The company holds a diversified portfolio that includes the Halls Peak base metals project in New South Wales and a growing gold and critical minerals portfolio in New Zealand.
At Halls Peak, the company has an existing inferred resource of 840,000 tonnes at 3.7 per cent zinc, 1.5 per cent lead and 0.44 per cent copper. However, it’s the spectacular silver grades that is causing pulses to quicken, with one historical drill hole returning a stunning 1.15m intercept at a bonanza 3.780 kilograms per tonne silver.
Across the ditch in New Zealand, the company holds an extensive 1694-square-kilometre ground package prospective for gold, antimony and tungsten.
However, it’s the company’s move into downstream battery technology that perhaps sets it apart from the pack of conventional lithium explorers. In parallel with its exploration work, Critical is advancing an integrated solid-state battery evaluation program in the United States to access the full lithium value chain.
With a swag of newly identified pegmatites at its main game in Canada and a pipeline of high-grade prospects bubbling away in the background, Critical has certainly opened up the potential of its northern corridor at Mavis Lake. Now, with assays from more than 100 rock chips pending, all eyes will be on the lab to see exactly what lies on the other side.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
