Chariot prepares to resume next phase of Black Mountain lithium hunt
Recent ASX listing Chariot Corporation (ASX: CC9) is preparing to return to action in its northern USA winter drilling program with weather conditions improving significantly at the Black Mountain project in Wyoming.
Phase 1 drilling at Black Mountain has been on hold due to the year-end holiday period and inclement weather.
The unexpected conditions in late November and early December last year included freezing of diesel lines and the water source for drilling operations, water truck breakdowns and blocked access roads from fresh snowfall and snow drifts.
Despite these challenges, Chariot has completed six diamond drill (DD) holes for a total core of 652 meters.
With forecasts predicting an unseasonably mild winter by Wyoming standards, the company is now laying the groundwork to commence drilling as soon as possible.
If the weather remains moderate, the company expects drilling will recommence in early January and continue until 1 March 2024.
Phase 1 drilling program
The Black Mountain phase 1 drilling program has been designed to complete 2,000m to 3,000m and 23 DD holes with Major Drilling Group International as the drill rig contractor using a Boart Longyear LF90 surface diamond core drill rig.
The winter drilling program includes the completion of between seven and ten holes from seven drill pads with the objective to continue testing lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite targets identified by the company’s earlier surface geochemistry surveys and geological mapping campaigns, along with data from the initial six drill holes.
While the adverse weather has impacted the Phase 1 schedule, the drilling and sampling programs have been conducted without incident.
The current drilling operations follow up on a surface geochemistry survey during which 22 surface rock chip samples were collected and returned assays up to 6.68% lithium oxide with an average assay result of 2.16% lithium oxide.
Core handling facility
To cater for core handling and storage, Chariot has set up a facility in nearby Jeffrey City where drill core is photographed, logged and measured for density and recovery.
After initial work is undertaken on the drill core samples, they are transported from Jeffrey City to American Assay Labs (AAL) in Reno, Nevada.
The first batch of drill cores have been dispatched to AAL with the initial assay results expected later this month.
Recent listing
Chariot listed on the ASX in late October 2023 after completing a $9 million initial public offering (IPO) at 45 cents per share that closed oversubscribed.
Funds raised from the IPO are being utilised to execute the phase 1 DD hole program at Black Mountain.
The company also plans to continue early exploration activities at the Copper Mountain project (hard rock lithium) and the Resurgent Project (claystone lithium) to define targets for future drilling.
On 21 August 2023, the Company received formal approval from the United States Bureau of Land Management to execute phase 1 of the Black Mountain drilling program.