Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL, OTC:PLLTL) is celebrating the news that the North American Lithium (NAL) Project, in which it has a 25% stake, has expanded its mineral resource estimate (MRE) by a considerable 51%.
Major resource expansion
Partner Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX:SYA) has announced that the resource now amounts to 87.9 million tonnes at 1.13% lithium oxide (Li2O) at a 0.60% Li2O cut‐off grade.
The updated MRE reflects extensive drilling efforts from 2023 and 2024 and cements the Quebec-based project's position as one of North America’s largest lithium resources.
Of the total resource, 82% is classified under the more reliable measured and indicated categories, amounting to 72.1 million tonnes at 1.14% Li2O.
The resource expansion comes as the companies continue to explore the full extent of mineralisation within the project, kicking off an additional 30,000 metres of drilling which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
This drilling is funded by flow-through shares raised in March 2023 specifically for exploration and resource definition.
The companies say that the increase in NAL’s mineral resource is likely to have “a significant influence on any future update of economic and technical studies of the operation”.
Immense potential
Speaking for Sayona, that company’s CEO and managing director Lucas Dow said: "Today's announcement of the updated mineral resource estimate at our North American Lithium operation underscores the immense potential of this strategically significant asset.
“The expansion of our Quebec lithium resource base, with 87.9 million tonnes at 1.13% Li2O, firmly establishes this project as a cornerstone of Sayona’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue hub in western Quebec."