Another gold stock dips a toe into lithium. And why wouldn’t they?
With prices for hydroxide and carbonate already up 265% and 345% year-to-date, insiders have reported to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence that some non-integrated spodumene converters (those without access to a mine) are beginning to run out of feedstock.
This could force some to switch to a tolling business model, “indicating potential for price rally reboot if fears over availability reignite”, Benchmark says.
There is a distinct supply crunch developing which sets this current lithium market apart from previous lithium price spikes, AS2 exec director Gino D’Anna says.
“This current pricing environment is becoming the new normal,” he says.
“Western Australia has always been the leading jurisdiction for hard rock lithium exploration, development and production and Askari Metals is now well placed to leverage its skills and experience in this exciting space.”
AS2 has pegged the ‘Red Peak’ and ‘Mt Deverell’ lithium projects in WA following a “search for under-explored lithium pegmatite projects located in proven geological settings”.
At least 11 significant pegmatites have been mapped at Red Peak, several more than 3km long and between 150m and 200m wide. The project is also prospective for uranium, another booming commodity.
Besides lithium, Mt Deverell also has lead-zinc potential, similar to the nearby ‘Abra’ deposit owned by mine developer Galena Mining (ASX:G1A).
The recently listed $7m market cap stock is up 20% on its IPO price of 20c per share. It had about $4.7m in the bank at the end of September.
