Pan Asia Metals Ltd (ASX:PAM) has been granted a trading halt by the ASX as it prepares to make a capital raising announcement.
The halt will remain in place until the start of regular trade on Monday, September 6, or until an announcement is released to the market, whichever occurs earliest.
Shares have surged this week to a record of 66.5 cents on the back of strong news flow from the company’s Thai projects.
Thai projects shaping up well
The company’s Khao Soon Tungsten Project (KSTP) and its Reung Kiet Lithium Project (RKLP), both in southern Thailand, are shaping up very well, with exploration results in line with Pan Asia’s expectations.
Pan Asia Metals plans to continue drilling at RKLP, with the aim of reporting a mineral resource in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 later this year, with a scoping study anticipated soon after.
Once a mineral resource has been defined at RKLP, Pan Asia will consider moving the drilling rig and crew back to KSTP to undertake further drilling to report a mineral resource.
Activities so far
Reconnaissance diamond drilling at KSTP has intersected robust widths and grades associated with strong surface anomalies, from which exploration targets have been estimated.
Reconnaissance diamond drilling at RKLP has intersected extensive pegmatite swarms at both prospects, all containing lepidolite and/or muscovite with accessory tin and tantalum mineralisation.
Price catalyst
A major catalyst for the share price rise was news on Tuesday that Pan Asia is seeking to add geothermal lithium, hard rock lithium and tin exploration block to its Thai portfolio after lodging applications for the Kata Thong Lithium Project.
The company has lodged five special prospecting licence applications (SPLA) in the Phang Nga province in southern Thailand, to the north of RKLP.
This comes as PAM embarks on a new, complementary initiative that will focus on the potential for geothermal hosted lithium and associated geothermal energy in Thailand.
In addition to geothermal lithium, the areas the company has identified and made application for are also highly prospective for hard-rock lithium and tin deposits.