Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) shares are trading 12.5% higher at $0.018 in afternoon trade as the company has now started the reverse circulation drill spinning at the wholly-owned Ancasti Lithium Project in Catamarca, Argentina.
Over 20 million shares have traded on the highly anticipated news.
The program will cover circa 3000 metres over the next three weeks, with first assays expected before the end of February.
Ancasti has a history of small scale lithium production, and with Latin using modern exploration techniques, there is the potential a discovery can be made.
Chris Gale, managing director, commented:
"The drill targets have recently had surface assay results returned that confirmed economic grades of lithium are contained within the target prospects.
"We now need to prove this occurs at depth which will prove the viability of our lithium project in Catamarca."
Drill program
Drilling is targeting four of the nine prospects Latin controls in Catamarca.
The program aims to test the depth continuity and lithium content of the pegmatites that are exposed at surface both within old open pits and along strike extensions from the pit exposures.
The initial four targets are Ipizca II, Reflecto De Mar, Campo el Abra and Santa Gertrudis.
Latin's exploration team recently collected a total of twenty nine rock chip samples from seven prospects.
Thirteen samples were taken from Ancasti prospects Ipizca II and Santa Gertrudis and fourteen samples were taken from the Villisman prospects La Herrumbrada, Lay Joyita, Lomo Pelada, Reflejos de Mar and Campo el Abra.
The results returned have confirmed that economic grades of lithium are contained within the drill target prospects with 19 of the 29 samples being 1% lithium or higher.
The average grade of all samples being 1.42% lithium.
Adding further interest, analysis also shows that the pegmatites contain anomalous values of tantalum and niobium.
Several results were above what may be considered economic grades which raises the potential that tantalum and niobium could contribute to the project economics as well.