PMET Resources (ASX:PMT) has reported a series of high-grade lithium, caesium and tantalum discoveries from surface exploration programs across its James Bay properties in Quebec, highlighting the broader prospectivity of its flagship Shaakichiuwaanaan project and surrounding regional assets.
The company identified new mineralised pegmatites at Shaakichiuwaanaan, Pontois and Pontax, with standout results including 16.43% caesium oxide (Cs₂O), 2.94% lithium oxide (Li₂O) and 3,768 parts per million tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅) from surface sampling.
Executive vice president of exploration Darren Smith said the discoveries reinforced the scale and growth potential for lithium, caesium and tantalum across the company's land package in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.
Location of the company’s portfolio of properties in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec.
High-grade discoveries extend prospective trends
At the Shaakichiuwaanaan project, PMET discovered the new Cosma caesium-rich pegmatite approximately 22 kilometres west of the CV5 deposit.
Initial grab samples returned 9.42% Cs₂O, while follow-up channel sampling delivered 4.4 metres at 3.61% Cs₂O and 609ppm Ta₂O₅, including 0.5 metres grading 16.43% Cs₂O.
The company also identified the Felix spodumene-bearing pegmatite near the western edge of Shaakichiuwaanaan. Surface sampling returned grades of up to 1.80% Li₂O and 1.21% Li₂O from multiple mineralised outcrops spread across a 450-metre trend.
Together with the nearby Drakkar pegmatite on the adjacent Pikwa property, the discoveries extend the prospective Mickel lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite trend to around 10.5 kilometres in length.
Elsewhere, the newly discovered Skald pegmatite at the Pontois property returned a surface sample grading 2.94% Li₂O, while the Overload discovery at Pontax delivered 7.53% Cs₂O and 3,768ppm Ta₂O₅ from a pegmatite dyke more than 50 metres long.
Compilation of surface sampling results along the Mickel LCT Pegmatite Trend (part of the greater CV Lithium Trend) at Shaakichiuwaanaan, now extending onto the adjacent Pikwa Property.
More than 400 samples collected
The discoveries stem from PMET's 2025 surface exploration campaign, which included geological mapping, prospecting and rock sampling across Shaakichiuwaanaan, Pontois and Pontax.
At Shaakichiuwaanaan alone, 355 rock samples were collected, returning values of up to 4.51% Li₂O, 16.43% Cs₂O and 2,580ppm Ta₂O₅.
The company also collected 69 samples at Pontois and 54 at Pontax, with exploration focused on identifying new lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites across its regional property portfolio.
Building on a world-class lithium asset
Shaakichiuwaanaan remains PMET's flagship project and hosts one of the world's largest lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite systems.
The company completed a positive feasibility study for the CV5 deposit in late 2025, outlining a probable reserve of 84.3 million tonnes grading 1.26% Li₂O and positioning the project as a potential major North American lithium development.
Across CV5 and CV13, the project hosts a consolidated mineral resource of 108 million tonnes at 1.40% Li₂O in the indicated category and 33.4 million tonnes at 1.33% Li₂O inferred.
Next steps
PMET plans to follow up the new discoveries with additional surface exploration during 2026, including further work at Shaakichiuwaanaan and an inaugural exploration program at the recently acquired Pikwa property.
The company is also assessing the next phase of exploration at Pontax, where several highly mineralised pegmatite showings remain untested by drilling.