The company is wasting little time in ramping up its production bid and will send 200kg of core material to laboratories in Westen Australia in the next week for metallurgical tests. Plans have also already been drawn up to pepper Black Mountain with up to 43 holes for 4300m of reverse-circulation (RC) infill drilling, which will allow it to build up a complete 3D model of the deposit.
A key takeout from Chariot’s strategy review was the decision to use a modular plant design, which was originally sourced from South Africa and is expected to significantly accelerate construction and reduce up-front costs. In essence, the modular design also offers the flexibility to scale up quickly at low cost if demand surpasses initial expectations, providing management with the ability to adapt swiftly to market conditions and capitalise as the expected demand for lithium grows.
Chariot has been methodical in consolidating a big, contiguous claims package area showing evidence of outcropping spodumene for its Black Mountain lithium project through direct claim-staking and strategic acquisitions. In 2022, the company staked 105 claims, followed by agreements with Black Mountain Lithium Corp. and Vesper Resources to acquire an additional 29 claims.
A further expansion by staking 218 claims seven months ago has now brought the company’s total holding to 352 claims.
Since then, it has plunged three diamond holes into the highly fractionated structures, with each one hitting high-grade spodumene close to surface, confirming lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite swarms. Grades included 15.48m at 1.12 per cent lithium oxide from 2.74m including 4.27m at 2.46 per cent from 9.94m.
It is the core from those diamond holes that will be sent to WA for the metallurgical testing next week.
Although the timeline has yet to be fully articulated by Chariot, the new strategy appears to have many merits, including lower costs and a shortened route to cash flow – and that should be music to the ears of shareholders, who have endured a substantial pullback in lithium prices that have also dragged down the share price of lithium explorers with it.
At some stage, lithium prices have been widely predicted to bounce back with a third wave of success and if they do, Chariot has stamped its mark on a low-risk and low-cost strategy that could result in early free cash flow.
And that could put the company in just the right place at just the right time.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
