Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) is stepping up exploration across its Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, launching a new field campaign at the underexplored Corona Pegmatite Field as part of a broader strategy to build a multi-deposit lithium district in Canada.
The ASX-listed company has mobilised field crews to the Corona target, about 4 kilometres north of the existing Mavis Lake Main Zone deposit, where it already hosts an inferred mineral resource of 8.0 million tonnes grading 1.07% lithium oxide.
Corona sits within the same lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite corridor as the main resource and is interpreted to extend across a strike length of about 5 kilometres that has seen limited modern lithium-focused exploration.
The company said the new program would focus on systematic prospecting, outcrop mapping and geochemical sampling to generate drill-ready targets ahead of a planned 2026 exploration campaign.
“Mavis Lake has the potential to evolve from a single-deposit asset into a multi-deposit lithium district. Corona has the potential to be a key part of that story,” managing director Tim Wither said.
“With systematic fieldwork now under way across this trend, we see a significant opportunity to define new drill targets and further support the development of Mavis Lake as a broader lithium district.”
Underexplored corridor emerges as growth focus
Critical Resources said surface mapping at Corona had already identified pegmatite bodies up to about 70 metres wide, while limited outcrop exposure due to overburden and wetland cover pointed to the potential for concealed spodumene-bearing systems beneath surface.
Newly identified concealed pegmatite at the Corona target area.
The exploration program will integrate multiple datasets gathered across the broader Mavis Lake project, including surface geochemistry, lithogeochemistry, LIBS-based pegmatite fractionation and high-resolution aeromagnetic surveys.
The company expects the field component to take around two weeks, with geochemical assay results anticipated three to four weeks after completion.
"We are advancing a targeted surface program to define the best possible targets before committing capital to mobilise the drills — a disciplined approach that gives us the best opportunity to identify new targets and expand our 2026 exploration program," Wither said.
Corona Pegmatite Field with traced out pegmatites and historical drill collar locations shown in yellow. The target area lies within the interpreted Spodumene-Beryl-Tantalite Zone trend.
Corona forms part of Critical Resources’ wider Northern Prospects exploration strategy, which also includes targets such as Gullwing, Tot, Little Wing, Coates and Drope.
Among those, Gullwing is emerging as one of the more advanced regional prospects, supported by an exploration target of 7 million–10 million tonnes grading 0.3–1.2% lithium oxide.
The broader Mavis Lake exploration target currently stands at 18 million–29 million tonnes grading 0.8–1.2% lithium oxide, highlighting the district-scale upside the company believes remains across the project area.
Critical Resources has steadily expanded its landholding at Mavis Lake since acquiring the project in 2022, with the tenure now covering more than 400 square kilometres across northwestern Ontario.
Mavis Lake Property Map with regional targets that require further exploration works.
Downstream battery strategy also advancing
Alongside its Canadian lithium exploration activities, Critical Resources continues to pursue a broader mine-to-market strategy spanning battery technology and thermal management systems.
The company said its amorphous solid-state electrolyte program, being developed with the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, had recently demonstrated stable electrolyte performance over more than 1,200 hours at room temperature.
Separately, Critical Resources recently secured an evaluation licence covering spray-cooling technologies for lithium-ion batteries and data centre infrastructure from NTUitive Pte Ltd, the commercialisation arm of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
The company believes the technology could help reduce energy and water consumption in high-density electronic environments while linking its upstream lithium exposure with downstream battery and thermal management applications.