Junior miner Premier African Minerals Ltd (LON:PREM) has told investors that recent drill testing at its Zulu project in Zimbabwe has identified more lithium and tantalum than previously anticipated.
Premier has now completed 15 diamond drill holes for a total distance of 1,958 metres.
The current drill programme is for 2,500 metres, although the company said this will now be expanded in light of recent results.
So far, lithium-bearing pegmatites have been identified at vertical depths of over 200 metres, as well as along the strike length of some 3.5km on the Zulu concessions.
Some holes have shown visible lithium mineralisation over drilled widths of up to 37 metres, Premier added.
“The drill programme at Zulu is progressing very well and we are seeing significantly more lithium mineralisation from the drilling than originally anticipated,” said chief executive George Roach.
“The results to date warrant an extension of the current drilling programme and Premier believes that Zulu has the potential to rank as one of the best global hard rock lithium projects being explored at this time.”
The current drill programme at the project – which is located 80km east of Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo – is slated for completion in the middle of next month.
Elsewhere, financier Darwin has converted 19 of the 22 loan notes issued by Premier in December.
Each note is worth £25,000, so Darwin has been issued with 204.1mln shares at 0.233p each to cover the £475,000 par value.
The par value of the remaining loan notes is £1.575mln after today’s conversion.
Premier shares were down 1%, or 0.02p, to 0.3p.