The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price spent most of the day lower, before slightly rebounding during late-afternoon trade. This comes despite the company announced an update at its wholly-owned Finniss Lithium Project located in the Northern Territory.
At the time of writing, the emerging lithium producer's shares are flat 24 cents.
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What did Core Lithium announce?
According to its release, Core Lithium advised it has recommenced drilling operations at the Finniss Lithium Project. The diamond core drilling campaign kicked off this week, focusing on resource expansion drilling and exploration activity. A Reverse Circulation (RC) rig and Rotary Air Blast (RAB) rig is expected to commence follow-up drilling later this month.
Diamond drilling is a more efficient way for precise sampling and analysis, whereas RC drilling is used for extracting bulk samples. When it comes to speed, RC drilling is the faster method, however, diamond drilling is employed when seeking accurate results.
Rotary Air Blast drilling, also known as "down-the-hole drilling", is an open-hole technique that employs a pneumatic hammer with tungsten "teeth" that chew away the rock surface. Debris is then blown up and out through the excess space surrounding the rod.
The company highlighted that this is the biggest lithium resource expansion drilling campaign in its history at the Finniss Project. It is projected that drilling operations will bring lithium rich pegmatites into spodumene resources in coming months.
In addition, Core Lithium noted that gold exploration activities are underway in the Northern Territory, at the Bynoe Gold Project. Early-stage geological mapping and geochemical surveys are currently underway before gold discovery drilling programs begin later this year.
Core Lithium managing director, Stephen Biggins commented:
We are excited to be recommencing fieldwork at the Finniss Lithium Project, this time being the most extensive exploration and drilling campaign we have ever conducted at our flagship asset.
We are confident that, through this program, we will be able to significantly upscale the lithium resources and mine life at Finniss, making Australia's next lithium mine an even more attractive investment opportunity.
Core Lithium share price summary
It's been an impressive 12 months for Core Lithium shares, rising by more than 450%. Year-to-date performance has also presented strong gains, up 60% in 2021.
Core Lithium has a market capitalisation of roughly $278 million, with approximately 1.1 billion shares on its registry.
