Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) Managing Director Shanthar Pathmanathan and Geological Consultant Dr Edward Max Baker discuss the significance of the company’s latest drill results.
Peter Milios: North American lithium explorer Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) has released results today. These were the first round of results from the company’s previously announced drill program at the Black Mountain Project in Wyoming. To discuss these results, I’m joined by the company’s Managing Director, Shanthar Pathmanathan, and Geological Consultant, Dr Max Baker. Welcome Shanthar and Max.
Shanthar Pathmanathan: Thanks for having us, Peter.
Dr Max Baker: Thank you, Peter.
Peter Milios: So, Shanthar, can you tell us about these results?
Shanthar Pathmanathan: Resounding results. First major lithium discovery in Wyoming. Opens up a whole new lithium pegmatite province. We have now discovered a real lithium pegmatite system which shows the outcrops to continue at depth. All the drill holes have intersected lithium so far. There’s also been some base metal shows, which are interesting, signifying a separate potential. Our focus will nevertheless be on lithium for the foreseeable future. We will come back in the North American summer for a comprehensive drill-out. These results are comparable to our West Australian lithium peers and developers with their first drill hole results as well.
Peter Milios: Thanks, Shanthar. And, Max, over to you. Can you tell us how significant these results are?
Dr Max Baker: Very significant. These first three holes tick all the boxes for us. They confirm everything we expected from surface sampling. And, as Shanthar said, they confirm the continuity of the dykes to depth. More than that, they’ve helped us understand the geometry of this folded dyke system. Now that we have a handle on that, we’re ready to plan our next comprehensive resource definition phase of drilling, which will start in the second half of the year. I’m looking forward to it. It should be an exciting time.
Peter Milios: And, Max, what do these results show about the project?
Dr Max Baker: As you can see from the table for the first three holes, we get intercepts of 14m, 15m at roughly 1 per cent lithium oxide. They’re good results. They’re comparable with our peers. I think that’s enough to justify a fully fledged exploration program on Black Mountain. This first phase of drilling, it’s a short program, and it was really just to test the viability of the tenure of the property. And it’s done that already, so we’re ready to forge ahead with this project.
Peter Milios: Thanks, Max. Turning back to you, Shanthar. Obviously, further drilling is underway, but what can investors next expect to see from Chariot Corporation?
Shanthar Pathmanathan: Investors can expect to see continuous activity from the company going forward. So, we will complete the Phase 1 program in the coming weeks. We will then take a break. We have notably a five-acre limit on disturbance. Five acres is a very small area. We’re applying through Max’s team for a plan of operation with the relevant regulatory bodies, which will give us 2,500 acres of disturbance for a full-fledged exploration program. These first dozen or so holes have already told us a lot about the property, the lithium pegmatites. Very promising. We’ve intersected the real lithium system comparable to the West Australian lithium projects. We’ll go back in the North American summer and look to embark on a more significant drilling program. So, looking to drill about 5,000m to 10,000m in the North American summer. So, investors can expect continuous drilling throughout the year, except for from April to June, and a flow of results from the drilling activity. Short term, investors can expect to see the remaining assays from the Phase 1 drilling program to be published, and that’ll come out in the coming weeks and months.
Peter Milios: Shanthar, Max, thank you both for joining us today. We look forward to the next update.
Dr Max Baker: Thank you.
Shanthar Pathmanathan: Thanks, Peter.
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