Lithium Australia NL (ASX:LIT) has revealed the grant to the company of Exploration Licence 70/4825 in the Donnelly River area in Western Australia.
This complements the recent grant of Exploration Licence 70/4824.
Earlier in the year, LIT advised divestment of its graphite assets to Graphite Australia NL, currently a wholly owned subsidiary.
LIT intends to extend a priority entitlement in the proposed float of Graphite Australia NL early in 2017.
Adrian Griffin, managing director, commented: "Graphite Australia NL is well advanced in preparing its significant graphite portfolio for public listing. The recent appointment of Tom Revy to head Graphite Australia is a great advantage."
Donnelly River
The Donnelly River Project is located in the far southwest of Western Australia, immediately to the north and northwest of the regional town of Manjimup.
The Donnelly River area has a long history of small scale graphite mining dating back to 1904.
Graphite was exploited from two locations at various times between 1904 and 1943.
Donnelly River, originally known as Graphite Hill, from which most production has occurred, is within a 120m wide schist zone in meta-sedimentary gneisses.
Exploration in the area during the 1980s yielded grades of up to 30%.