Top 5 ASX Lithium Stocks (Updated February 2023)

1. Prospect Resources

Year-to-date gain: 58.33 percent; market cap: AU$97.07 million; current share price: AU$0.19

Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC) is a battery metals explorer and developer focused on Zimbabwe and sub-Saharan Africa. The company is currently exploring its two lithium projects: the Step Aside lithium project in the Harare greenstone belt in Zimbabwe and the Omaruru project in Namibia.

After completing a Phase 1 drilling program at Step Aside last year, on February 6 Prospect announced the commencement of Phase 2 drilling at the project. It will consist of up to 2,000 metres. In the days following that release, the company’s share price spiked and stayed elevated; it climbed further to a year-to-date peak of AU$0.22 on February 13, when the company said it had completed Phase 1 drilling at Omaruru.

2. Essential Metals

Year-to-date gain: 50 percent; market cap: AU$132.45 million; current share price: AU$0.495

Essential Metals (ASX:ESS) is a lithium-focused company with its flagship Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia, near Kalgoorlie. The company has two gold projects in that region as well.

Essential Metals’ share price spiked to AU$0.48 early in the year, when the company announced on January 9 that it had entered into a scheme of arrangement with Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), a joint venture between Tianqi Lithium (OTC Pink:TQLCF,SZSE:002466) and IGO (ASX:IGO,OTC Pink:IPDGF). TLEA is looking to acquire 100 percent of Essential for AU$0.50 per share, and Essential's board has unanimously recommended the deal. Essential was trading at AU$0.345 the day before the announcement, and it passed AU$0.50 to peak at AU$0.54 on February 1.

With regards to progress made at Pioneer Dome, on February 6 Essential Metals announced that a scoping study for the project’s Dome North area “demonstrates the potential viability of a standalone mining and processing operation,” which the company believes supports moving towards more detailed studies. Two weeks later, Essential was granted a 21 year mining licence for the Dome North mineral resource.

3. Jindalee Resources

Year-to-date gain: 29.97 percent; market cap: AU$141.15 million; current share price: AU$2.45

Jindalee Resources (ASX:JRL), previously an Australia- and US-focused explorer, has repositioned as a pure-play US lithium company focused on its McDermitt lithium project in Oregon, which it describes as “one of the largest lithium deposits in the United States.” The company separated all of its Australian assets into Dynamic Metals (ASX:DYM), which began trading on the ASX on January 16.

On February 13, Jindalee signed a memorandum of understanding with POSCO (NYSE:PKX) for the latter company to undertake metallurgical testwork on ore from McDermitt using three different processes. According to the release, the two companies will “jointly evaluate the commercialisation of the Project following completion of the testwork.” Jindalee's share price, which was already trending upwards throughout the year, jumped to a year-to-date high of AU$2.70 following the news.

At the end of February, the company shared an updated resource estimate for McDermitt following its 2022 exploration. The project now has indicated and inferred resources that combine for a contained 21.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. According to Jindalee, this updated resource makes it “the largest Lithium deposit in the US by contained lithium in Mineral Resource.”

4. Argosy Minerals

Year-to-date gain: 20.69 percent; market cap: AU$1.01 billion; current share price: AU$0.70

Argosy Minerals’ (ASX:AYX) goal is to become a lithium producer in South America’s Lithium Triangle, and its Rincor lithium project in Argentina’s Salta province is currently ramping up to commercial production. The company also has its Tonopah lithium brine project in Nevada, US, just 4 kilometres from the Silver Peak lithium operation, owned by Albemarle (NYSE:ALB).

Argosy’s news this year has come in the form of monthly reports on progress at Rincor. The company’s share price moved in the week following its February report, reaching a year-to-date high of C$0.78 on February 8.

The company’s latest report at the time of this article came on March 1. In it, Argosy shared that Rincor is in the midst of production throughput and scaling trials as commissioning nears completion. Full ramp-up towards steady state production is expected to be achieved by the end of Q2 2023, and it has already produced 5 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate.

5. Critical Resources

Year-to-date gain: 16.67 percent; market cap: AU$77.93 million; current share price: AU$0.049

Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) is a lithium and base metals exploration and development company focused on its Mavis Lake lithium project in Northwest Ontario, Canada; its goal is to support the North American EV supply chain.

According to the company, it “completed over 19,500 meters of drilling in 2022 and delivered some of the highest lithium assay results reported by any ASX listed hard-rock lithium company.” It also has the Halls Peak base metals project in New South Wales and the Sohar copper project in Oman.

Critical Resources is performing a 20,000 metre diamond drill program at Mavis Lake in 2023, and it is also continuing its metallurgical test work program, which saw its first concentrate produced in late January. Company shares rose significantly following this news, climbing steadily from AU$0.043 the prior trading day to ultimately peak at AU$0.063 on February 2.

On February 3, Critical Resources announced the commencement of its scoping study study for Mavis Lake, which will be based on the test work program, previous exploration and an in-progress maiden mineral resource estimate delimitation. The company anticipates completion of the study in mid-2023. In terms of its drilling, mid-February results from its 2023 program revealed a new mineralised zone, now known as the South zone. On February 27, the company shared assays from its 2022 drilling program, with highlights including intercepts of 3.2 to 4.3 percent lithium oxide.