Arkle Resources finds lithium in Ireland

Diversified explorer Arkle Resources (AIM:ARK) said on Thursday it had found lithium bearing pegmatites at its Mine River Block gold project in southeastern Ireland.

Of 34 rock chip samples taken from the site late last year, six returned lithium grades of more than 0.02%, with one returning 0.09%, said the company, which until 2019 was known as Connemara Mining. 

The six samples that showed elevated lithium were all boulders of pegmatite rock collected around mapped granite bodies.

Geochemical results also showed clear pathfinder elements for lithium – caesium, rubidium and tantalum – which can be used to target a coarse type of igneous rock in future soil surveys, Arkle said.

The company, which has so far focused on gold in Ireland, said its directors believe these results are “compelling” as they suggest the Mine River Block is fertile for lithium caesium tantalum (LCT) pegmatite deposits

“These are exciting results,” chairman John Teeling said in the statement. “We have discovered lithium on our licences. We found the rock type needed, pegmatites, and in the pegmatites found lithium and other indicator minerals. This opens compelling new opportunities for our Mine River Block. Prospecting will resume in the near future.”

Shares in the company jumped as much as 21% to 69p ($1.12) after the announcement, but later fell sharply, changing hands at 56p in the afternoon — 2.6% lower than at Wednesday’s close. This leaves it with a market capitalization of £2.21 million (about $3.4 million).

Ankle Resources’ gold and zinc projects in the Wicklow granite have been ongoing for more than two decades, but searching for lithium in hard rocks has only been viable since 2018, the company said.

Lithium prices have softened after an outstanding two-year rally labelled “insane” by Elon Musk and “unreasonable” by China’s electric vehicles maker BYD. 

Producers believe the cool-off is momentary and that prices will pick up in the coming months, despite market fears over a possible cooling-off of China’s two-year lithium buying spree.