Resources Top 5: Chariot’s on fire with Black Mountain lithium strategy change

Chariot’s change of tact music to investors’ ears, Golden Mile shares rise on XRF results and Firebird progresses manganese plant.

Pic: Getty Images

• Chariot’s change of tact music to investors' ears – and wallets

• Golden Mile shares up on pearler copper and base metal pXRF results

• Firebird gets nod for battery-grade manganese sulphate plant designs

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in morning trade, Thursday, October 3. Prices accurate at time of writing.

Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9)

CC9 is up on announcing a tactical change to monetising its Black Mountain hard rock lithium project in Wyoming, USA.

The junior now envisions a shift from exploring for a large-scale resource to instead testing the viability of a pilot mine at the project that could rapidly produce spodumene concentrate to capitalise on the growing lithium supply deficit in the North American market.

The contemplated modular plant design is expected to reduce upfront costs and offer flexibility to scale up rapidly, and says the new long-term pilot mine strategy could provide short-term cash flow and optimise future development options – including its original large-scale mining plans for the project.

The new plan near-term consists of 4300m of Phase 2 RC drilling to define a high-priority, small-scale lithium resource to underpin the pilot mine and establish the foundation for future larger-scale resource definition.

Investors have poured in on the news, with the now $13.4m market-capped ressie rising over 45% today to trade at 17.5c per share.

Golden Mile Resources (ASX:G88)

pXRF results from preliminary field mapping at G88’s Ford prospect at the Pearl project have highlighted an 8m-wide fault zone at surface hosting visible copper and polymetallic mineralisation, with:

• Copper values up to 13.4%
• Lead values up to 1.29%; and
• Zinc values up to 7.22%.

The project is certainly shaping up as a polymetallic play, the news coming just days after the company reported exceptional rock chip assays of up to 930g/t silver, 10.05% copper, and 8.09% zinc from first pass sampling at the Odyssey prospect.

“These exceptional preliminary results underscore the high-grade potential and polymetallic nature of the Ford prospect,” G88 MD Damon Dormer said.

“The pXRF readings are consistent with historical data, further strengthening our confidence in the project’s exploration potential.

“We look forward to advancing Ford as a key drill target alongside the Odyssey prospect.”

Shares in the junior are up 16.7% on the news to trade at 1.4c.

Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB)

(Up on yesterday's news)

The design for FRB’s proposed battery-grade manganese sulphate plant in Jinshi, China has been approved – a crucial step in the Middle Kingdom’s development process for these types of projects.

Plans for the development of the plant will cover a total land area of 12.09 hectares, with a building area of 84,399km2 and a designated greening area of 11,960km2.

FRB says through the approval of preliminary design, ~80% of the requirements needed for the Building and Construction Permit have been completed.

“To be in the position we are in just over 12 months since establishing our China-based LMFP battery strategy is a huge testament to drive and dedication of the entire Firebird team,” FRB MD Peter Allen says.

“Through the hard work delivered over the last year, we have set a strong platform to work towards a Final Investment Decision in coming quarters.”

Meanwhile, geotechnical drilling has commenced on the proposed site, with results expected in October.

Those results will contribute to detailed engineering design work, ensuring comprehensive planning and adherence to project specifications.

Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7)

(Up on recent news)

LU7 recently released deets about its strategy to develop its planned Bécancour lithium refinery in Canada and reckons it can get it done for US$494m, with a NPV of US$779m internal rate of return (IRR) of 23.5%.

That's at price forecasts of US$1,170/t for 6% spod and US$20,970/t for battery grade Li2CO3, anticipating improved conditions in the market from current pricing of ~US$775/t for spodumene and US$10,680/t for battery grade lithium carbonate.

Offtake discussions with interested OEMs are underway and the company is now progressing towards a definitive feasibility study.

Shares in the lithium junior are up 16.6% to trade for 1.4c.

Variscan Mines (ASX:VAR)

VAR shares are through the roof today as it sets an AGM date and investors mull over a $2m entitlement offer it received underwritten support from major shareholder Zinc GroupCo.

Funds will be used to accelerate exploration and drilling programs and development studies at the high grade zinc Novales-Udias project in Cantabria, northern Spain.

"Key deliverables are drilling results, an updated resource estimate and the mine restart study," VAR CEO Stewart Dickson says.

"These are all value accretive development milestones."

Shares in the junior are up a sizeable >40% today to trade at 1c.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Golden Mile Resources, Lithium Universe and Chariot Corporation are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Resources Top 5: Chariot’s on fire with Black Mountain lithium strategy change