Patriot shares jump on discovery of new high-grade zone at Corvette

Shares in Patriot Battery Metals (TSX: PMET; US-OTC: PMETF; ASX: PMT) surged 20.6% to $8.12 apiece Tuesday on the discovery of a new, high-grade zone at its CV13 target in Quebec.

The company reported just one hole from CV13 that returned 34.4 metres of 2.9% lithium oxide (Li₂O) from 130.9 metres depth, including 21.9 metres grading 3.58% Li₂O from 143.5 metres downhole. The interval (CV24-470) included 15 high-grade samples of more than 3% Li₂O, eight samples at more than 4% Li₂O and five grading higher than 5% Li₂O. The highest-grade interval cut 6.33% Li₂O over 0.9 metre.

Hole CV24-470 was among 166 holes drilled at CV5 and CV13 as part of Patriot’s 2024 winter drilling program. The assays came almost one week after the company reported similarly high-grade assays from CV5.

“To put it mildly, the team is very excited about this new high-grade discovery at CV13, which is open in multiple directions and broadens our view on potential in the area significantly,” Darren L. Smith, Patriot’s vice-president of exploration said. “This hole (CV24-470) is the widest, most well-mineralized drill hole to date from CV13 and includes multiple samples over 5% Li₂O. This discovery supports our belief that we continue to only scratch the surface of what Corvette has to offer.”

An initial resource for CV13, which extends for at least 2.3 km, is slated for the third quarter. It’s located about 3 km southwest of the main CV5 pegmatite on Patriot’s Corvette project, in Quebec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

CV5 holds 109.2 million inferred tonnes at 1.42% Li₂O, and 160 parts per million tantalum, according to an initial resource from last June. That amounts to 1.6 million tonnes of contained Li₂O, or 3.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. It’s said to be the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and is in a province with almost 200 active lithium exploration projects, the most in Canada. Quebec also hosts the producing North American Lithium mine, a 75:25 joint venture between Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA; US-OTC: SYAXF) and Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL).

Hole CV24-470, which is open in several directions, was a follow-up hole to CV23-365 which cut 19.7 metres at 0.43% Li₂O, including 6.3 metres at 1.22% Li₂O.

Of the 166 holes (62,518 metres) in the winter drilling program at Corvette, now complete, 121 (or 50,961 metres) were at CV5 and 45 (11,557 metres) were at CV13. Another 131 holes remain to be reported.

The program is in support of an updated resource that will include upgrading the resource category at CV5 and an initial resource for CV13, expected to be released in the third quarter. Patriot has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of $5.77 and $9.04.