Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (OTCMKTS:PLLLY) has embarked on a 20,000-metre drilling program at its Piedmont Lithium Project located in Carolina, US.
This follows the company’s recent capital raising and is expected to build upon recent drilling success.
The project is located within the world-class Carolina tin-spodumene belt, a region that provided most of the western world’s lithium between 1950 and 1990.
Infill drilling aimed at defining a maiden resource
The new drill program will be focused on completing infill drilling for the definition of a maiden mineral resource.
It will also aggressively test the extensions of the pegmatites identified both along strike and down dip.
READ: Piedmont Lithium drill results extend lithium mineralisation further
Based on drilling results and geological modelling of the pegmatites, the company is expecting an initial exploration target of between 10 to 15 million tonnes.
Piedmont Lithium estimates lithium grades will be in a range between 1.00% and 1.25% as indicated by CSA Global.
Management confident of developing world-class integrated lithium operation
It is important to note though that the exploration target is conceptual in nature and there has not been sufficient exploration undertaken in order to estimate a classified mineral resource.
That said, management remains highly confident in its ability to develop a world-class integrated lithium operation in North Carolina and will continue its land acquisition strategy to capitalise on its first mover advantage.
The location of the project provides Piedmont with some key competitive strengths over some of its peers.
Proximity to processing facilities, end markets and essential infrastructure an advantage
These include it being the only independent spodumene project strategically located in the US with proximity to major downstream lithium processing facilities.
Importantly, the region is also well situated to service major US battery customers such as General Motors, BMW, Nissan and Tesla.
Piedmont Lithium also has ready access to low-cost gas and power infrastructure and major transport networks.