Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF)’s lithium spinout has flagged a major expansion to its flagship Thompson Brothers property just weeks after it transitioned to a public company.
Nova owns the majority of Snow Lake Resources Ltd, which hit the NASDAQ board in late November following a US$24 million initial public offering (IPO).
Snow Lake has since hit the ground running, expanding its Manitoba landholding by staking more acreage claims next to its existing Thompson Brothers project.
Before the expansion, the lithium stock had 13,828 acres to its name.
However, by planting its flag on a further 22 claims — comprising 7,875 acres of land known as the Herb Block — Snow Lake has increased its footprint to 21,703 acres.
The expansion marks a 57% increase in the NASDAQ-lister’s exploration claims by acres, giving it plenty of room to grow as a newly minted public company.
Nova owns 57.52% of the lithium explorer, which issued shares at US$7.50 a pop as part of its November IPO.
When the lithium spinout first rang the bell, Nova’s stake was valued at roughly US$70 million.
About Snow Lake
Snow Lake’s cornerstone Thompson Brothers asset sits just 20 kilometres east of the eponymous Snow Lake in Manitoba, Canada.
To date, only 3% of the 21,703-acre block has been explored, and it’s reported to contain 11.1 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resource, grading 1% lithium oxide.
The lithium stock plans to use its IPO spoils on resource development activities and technical studies as it looks to bring a new lithium hub online.
However, Snow Lake expects to kick off mining activities in the first quarter of 2024, meaning there’s a way to go before it’s shovels down at the Thompson asset.
The company is working through a preliminary economic assessment but also has permitting and environmental studies on the cards.
What’s more, Snow Lake has at least 20,000 metres of drilling in the pipeline to support the imminent economic study.