- Lithium Plus Minerals (ASX:LPM) sends off spodumene samples to a Chinese lab run in part by CATL
- CATL, a Chinese battery chemicals behemoth, runs the lab alongside Canmax
- Canmax is listed on the Shenzhen Exchange, not unlike China’s NASDAQ
- Drilling continues at the Lei project in the Northern Territory
- The company will publish a maiden resource before the end of CY2023
- Shares last traded at 48.5 cents
Lithium Plus (ASX:LPM) has sent off lithium ore samples from its flagship Lei project to a metallurgy lab led in part by Chinese EV and battery chemicals giant CATL.
The Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry Co will work with materials plucked from diamond drill hole BYDD004.
The lab is run between CATL and Shenzhen-listed Canmax Technologies.
The Shenzhen exchange acts something like the Chinese NASDAQ, with heavy exposure to tech companies.
Management comment
“This metallurgical test work program is an important step in the advancement of the Bynoe Lithium Project towards future production,” LPM Executive Chair Dr Bin Guo said.
“Our primary goal is to confirm the properties of spodumene from our Lei Discovery which will allow for the design of a mineral processing flowsheet to produce a marketable concentrate.”
In the meantime, Guo flagged that the company continues to run the rigs at its Lei project in the Northern Territory.
Once a maiden resource is published, the company will turn its attention to the Perseverance asset.
Maiden resource incoming
In the background, the company remains on track to a maiden high-grade lithium resource before the end of CY2023.
The company previously highlighted a 13-metre thick intersection grading at 1.36 per cent lithium from a hard rock target.
A second intersection came in at 81 metres thick grading at 1.59 per cent lithium.
Earlier in the month the company also reported a 94 metre thick intersection.
While depths were considerable – some at over 600 metres below surface – the company’s chief expressed confidence in the company’s overall trajectory at the MiningNews Select Conference in Perth back in September.
LPM shares last traded at 48.5 cents.