Piedmont Lithium (ASX:NASDAQ:PLL, OTC:PLLTL) Inc has celebrated the efforts of its partner Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX:SYA), which completed infill and extensional drilling at the North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Quebec, Canada.
Sayona drilled 36 new holes across more than 8,800 metres, generating broad, high-grade lithium results of up to 25.35 metres at 1.76% lithium from 269.25 metres of depth.
These results originate from outside the planned pit shell for the project, with results being both thicker and higher grade than those previously encountered.
Sayona is planning an additional 30,000 metres of exploration drilling for the project to be completed this year.
Inflation Reduction Act-compliant concentrate
"The latest drill results underscore the importance of North American Lithium as the only lithium mine in North America producing IRA-compliant spodumene concentrate," Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL, OTC:PLLTL) president and CEO Keith Phillips said.
"The continued positive results of the NAL drill program demonstrate the potential of this highly strategic asset, and we look forward to a future update to the mineral resource estimate both in terms of mineral resource quantity and classification."
NAL is jointly owned by Piedmont (25%) and Sayona Mining (75%) and represents one of the largest lithium operations in North America.
Piedmont says the operation has achieved record quarterly spodumene concentrate volumes since restarting production in March 2024, targeting steady-state production by the second half of this year.
Assay results of note
Assays of note from this round of drilling include:
North-West Extension - new pegmatites
- 21.00 metres at 1.55% lithium oxide from 352.90 metres;
- 25.50 metres at 1.64% lithium oxide from 308.20 metres;
- 25.35 metres at 1.76% lithium oxide from 269.25 metres; and,
- 18.40 metres at 1.54% lithium oxide from 356.05 metres.
Resources Area - potential resources upgrade or conversion
- 26.05 metres at 1.66% lithium oxide from 324.25 metres; and,
- 19.90 metres at 1.52% lithium oxide from 52.20 metres.
“We are delighted to have another strong set of drilling results from North American Lithium which continue to highlight the superb quality of this mine,” Sayona Mining interim CEO James Brown said.
“The results reported today have shown that mineralisation continues outside of the existing mineral resource estimate (MRE) pit shells so the next key step will be to complete a recalculation of the MRE to include recent drilling.
“Additionally, we will also complete a further 30,000 metres of drilling throughout 2024 to better understand the full potential of the NAL mineralisation.”