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Lithium development company Critical Resources Limited ASX:CRR (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce a maiden JORC Code 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its100%-owned Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.
Highlights
- Maiden JORC Code 2012 compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) defined for the 100% owned Mavis Lake Lithium Project – Ontario, Canada
8.0 Mt at 1.07 % Li2O
- The Mineral Resource is based on drilling on approximately 2% of the Mavis Lake Project area and includes drilling results completed by the Company between April 2022 to March 2023
- Drilling from April 2023 has not been included in the MRE, and will be included in any future Mineral Resource upgrade
- Significant potential for further Mineral Resource upgrades have been identified with the Mavis Lake Main Zone mineralisation remaining open both along strike and down-dip
- Multiple, mapped spodumene-bearing outcrops across the Mavis Lake Project are yet to be drill tested
- Spring exploration works will also be conducted on the contiguous Gullwing and Tot Lakes prospects, located immediately north of the Mavis Lake Main Zone
- 2023 drilling campaign to continue in parallel with development studies
- Critical Resources is now one of only two ASX-listed companies with a JORC Code 2012 compliant Lithium Mineral Resource in Ontario, Canada
The maiden Inferred Mineral Resource of 8.0Mt grading 1.07% Li2O has been estimated following a continuous drilling program over the last 11 months. This reflects Critical Resources’ strategy to rapidly establish a significant inventory of high-quality, hard-rock lithium resources at Mavis Lake, setting the foundation for the Company to play a significant role in the North American critical minerals sector.
Critical Resources Managing Director, Alex Cheeseman, said:
“This is a significant milestone for our company and an accomplishment our staff, management and shareholders should be very proud of.”
“Critical Resources only began drilling at Mavis Lake 11 months ago and to have defined and declared a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in such a short time is testament to the diligence and focus of our team and the high quality nature of the project.”
“Critical Resources is now just one of two ASX-listed companies with a JORC Code 2012 compliant Mineral Resource in Ontario putting us in an enviable position as we begin to engage with potential strategic and off-take partners, whilst continuing to advance the project.”
“A key message for investors is that this Resource is just the beginning of the Mavis Lake story.”
“The deposit itself remains open both along strike and down-dip, with significant potential to add further tonnes to the MRE with continued drilling.”
“In addition, the Gullwing/Tot Lakes prospects offer outstanding potential for new discoveries, supporting the already impressive MRE at Mavis Lake.”
“We expect that we will be able to continue to grow the Resource while working in parallel on the development aspects of the project in the years to come.”
Requirements for Material Mining Projects
The following subheadings are provided to satisfy the requirements applicable to reports of Mineral Resources for material mining projects under ASX Listing Rule 5.8.
Classification Criteria
The Mineral Resource has been classified in accordance with guidelines contained in the JORC Code. Key criteria that have been considered when classifying the Mineral Resource are detailed in JORC Table 1.
This classification is based on assessment and understanding of the deposit style, geological and grade continuity, drill-hole spacing, input data quality (including drill collar surveys and bulk density).
The Mineral Resource was classified as Inferred, accounting for the level of geological understanding of the deposit, quality of samples, density data, drill-hole spacing and sampling, analytical and metallurgical processes. Material classified as Inferred was considered sufficiently informed by geological and sampling data to imply geological, grade and quality continuity between data points.
The classification reflects the level of data available for the estimate, including input drill-hole data spacing, and high level of confidence in geological continuity for this particular style of deposit.
Geology and Geological Interpretation
The Mavis Lake Lithium Project consists of a large Main Zone and multiple smaller zones proximal to the Main Zone. The Main Zone pegmatite area has a dominant 1km E-W strike that has a shallow dip to the north that has been tested to a down-dip depth of ~300m (~250m vertical depth). The Main Zone is a complex structure that is associated with multiple stacks of pegmatites and bifurcation. Spodumene is the main lithium-bearing mineral and occurs in varying concentrations within pegmatites of the Main Zone.
Multiple smaller zones have been identified through present and historical drilling. These are known as: Pegmatite 18, Main Zone East, and South Zone (Figure 1). All these zones were included in the MRE.
Figure 1: Plan Map of Mavis Lake Lithium Property highlighting all zones to date defined by historical and recent drilling
Sampling and Sub-Sampling Techniques
All samples in the 2023 MRE are from diamond drill cores. The sample lengths within mineralised rocks were from 0.3 m to 2.9 m or to match logged lithologies (Figure 2).
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This article includes content from Critical Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
CRR:AU
Beneficiation Delivers 4,480ppm Lithium Clay Concentrate at Red Mountain Project, USA
Key Highlights
- Follow-up Falcon C beneficiation testwork completed on diamond drill core samples from the Red Mountain Project.
- Sample upgraded from 3,245ppm to 4,481ppm Lithium.
- Successful removal of 51.8% of dense material and concurrent 38% increase in lithium grade.
- Reinforces the April 2025 results indicating that Red Mountain mineralisation may be upgraded using beneficiation.
- Attrition Scrubbing beneficiation testwork now underway for comparison with the Falcon testwork results.
- Leaching testwork to be undertaken on Falcon and Attrition Scrubbing products to confirm reduced acid consumptions.
Following on from the results announced on 22 April 2025, this second phase of Falcon Beneficiation testwork was designed to concentrate lithium-bearing clay and remove unmineralized gangue (waste) in order to decrease mass and increase lithium grade. In a mineral processing context, a reduction in tonnes and volume processed with an increased head-grade typically results in lower processing costs.
This second Falcon testwork program was conducted by Sepro Laboratories (Sepro) and utilised high- clay drill core samples from hole RMDD002 (which intersected 86.9m @ 1,470ppm Li from 18.3m4). This follow-up test was designed to establish how high-clay material performed using the Falcon method, for comparison with results from the previous test conducted on lower grade mineralisation from Red Mountain.
The latest result indicates a strong ability to upgrade mineralisation, achieving a reduction of sample mass by 51.8% with a concurrent increase in lithium grade of 38% (from 3,245 to 4,481ppm Li), with an overall 66.6% lithium recovery. These results compare favourably with the previous round of testwork, exhibiting both a greater upgrade in lithium and reduction in mass, with a substantial 43% reduction in calcium and carbon (interpreted as calcite removal) expected to result in a significant reduction in acid consumption. The Company has commissioned Attrition Scrubbing testwork – another method of beneficiation – for comparison with the Falcon results. Once complete, sample products from both the Falcon and Attrition Scrubbing tests will be assessed for acid consumption in future leachability tests.
Astute Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, said:“The demonstration of a commercial pathway to a lithium product is the natural complement to the establishment of a Mineral Resource. It is for this reason that Astute has actively advanced workflows for both exploration drilling and metallurgical testing at Red Mountain, in tandem. These positive results, which reinforce the previous results from the project, represent the systematic de-risking of what continues to emerge as an important US- based critical metals project.”
Figure 1. Clay-rich RMDD002 drill-core from 160-165ft (3,280ppm Li) used in Falcon beneficiation testwork.
Background
Located in central-eastern Nevada (Figure 4), adjacent to the Grand Army of the Republic Highway (Route 6), which links the regional mining towns of Ely and Tonopah, the Red Mountain Project was staked by Astute in August 2023.
The Project area has broad mapped tertiary lacustrine (lake) sedimentary rocks known locally as the Horse Camp Formation1. Elsewhere in the state of Nevada, equivalent rocks host large lithium deposits (see Figure 4) such as Lithium Americas’ (NYSE: LAC) 62.1Mt LCE Thacker Pass Project2 and American Lithium (TSX.V: LI) 9.79Mt LCE TLC Lithium Project3.
Astute has completed substantial surface sampling campaigns at Red Mountain, which indicate widespread lithium anomalism in soils (Figure 3) and confirmed lithium mineralisation in bedrock with some exceptional grades of up to 4,150ppm Li1,5.
A total of 19 RC and diamond drill holes have been drilled at the project to date for a combined 3,666m. Exploration drilling has been highly successful, with strong lithium mineralisation intersected in every hole for which assays have been received9.
Scoping leachability testwork on mineralised material from Red Mountain indicates high leachability of lithium of up to 98%, varying with temperature, acid strength and leaching duration, and proof-of- concept beneficiation testwork has indicated the potential to upgrade the Red Mountain mineralisation6,8.
About Beneficiation
The primary purpose of beneficiation is to optimise the value of mineralised material by separating unwanted waste material (gangue) from valuable minerals.
Testwork conducted to date at Red Mountain indicates that clay-hosted lithium mineralisation may be upgraded through beneficiation, which seeks to remove coarser grained material, such as particles of sand, that do not contain appreciable lithium8. Successful beneficiation can result in reduced reagent consumption, reduced plant wear and tear, and a reduced environmental footprint.
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This article includes content from Astute Metals NL, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Pursuit Dispatchs 99.5% Lithium Carbonate Samples to Potential Strategic Partners as Feasibility Studies Progress
HIGHLIGHTS
- Final product assays confirm 99.5% lithium carbonate purity, upgraded from pilot output via bench scale processing.
- Certified samples dispatched to multiple potential offtake and strategic partners for qualification.
- Feasibility study progressing for low cost, 5,000tpa operation at Rio Grande Sur.
- Ongoing small batch lithium carbonate production to support offtake qualification while preserving capital discipline in current market conditions.
- Pursuit continues to advance its dual-pronged growth strategy progressing Rio Grande Sur while accelerating the evaluation of strategic gold, silver, and copper acquisitions in Argentina.
Figure 1 – Pursuit’s 99.5% Li₂CO₃ Sample Ready for Dispatch to Potential Offtake Partners
In relation to the dispatch of samples, Pursuit Managing Director & CEO, Aaron Revelle, said:
“Achieving 99.5% lithium carbonate purity is a major technical milestone for Pursuit and a clear demonstration of the capability embedded within our flowsheet, team, and pilot plant infrastructure. It not only validates the compatibility of our process design with Rio Grande Sur brines but also confirms our ability to deliver a consistently high-quality product suited to a wide range of industrial and energy storage applications. Dispatching these samples to potential offtake partners is a critical first step in our commercialisation pathway, enabling product qualification and accelerating engagement with strategic customers in tough market conditions. As we transition into the next phase of development, our focus is firmly on advancing feasibility for our 5,000tpa operation and securing long-term partnerships that will underpin the future production and growth of the Rio Grande Sur Project.”
Initial pilot production at Pursuit’s 250tpa Pilot Plant in Salta successfully produced 15 kilograms of lithium carbonate at 98.9% purity, validating both the compatibility of the Rio Grande Sur brine and the efficiency of the Company’s conventional processing flowsheet. To enhance product quality and simulate potential refinement steps at commercial scale, a portion of this material was further treated at bench scale using fractional crystallisation (FX) and ion exchange (IX) techniques. These post processing steps upgraded the product to 99.5% purity, meeting established benchmarks for technical-grade lithium carbonate.
The final product assays confirm not only the effectiveness of Pursuit’s downstream purification strategy but also the scalability and robustness of its broader flowsheet. This achievement represents a critical milestone on the path to commercial readiness supporting key feasibility assumptions, validating end product quality, and enabling active engagement with prospective offtake partners.
Pursuit is well positioned to undertake additional small-batch production as required to meet partner qualification needs and advance strategic discussions. Furthermore, it demonstrates Pursuit’s capability to produce high-purity lithium carbonate suitable for industrial use, with potential to meet battery-grade specifications through additional refinement.
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This article includes content from Pursuit Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
