Shares in Metals Australia Ltd. (ASX: MLS) are surging 49% into the green today to now trade 7.6 cents apiece.
Investors are responding well to a company announcement that sees Metals Australia announce assay results from the company's Manindi Lithium Project.
Metals Australia shares have broke away from the broad index over the past 5 days of trading, and are now close to doubling in that time on last check.
It has also surpassed the S&P/ASSX 200 Metals & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) in that time, even as all commodities are at decade long highs, as shown on the chart below.
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What did Metals Australia announce?
The ASX mining company announced the release of assay results from the "systematic rock chip sampling program testing key pegmatites" at Manindi, located in WA.
Metals Australia says that it undertook a systematic rock chip sampling program over a 500m strike length within nearby pegmatites, including the recently discovered "Foundation Pegmatite".
"Over 1.2km strike length of Lithium-CaesiumTantalum (LCT) bearing pegmatites have been sampled at an average spacing of approximately 40 metres", the company said.
From its results, the company says that "outstanding" sample results were collected and that lithium mineralisation has been confirmed along the entire 500 metres strike length of this Foundation Pegmatite.
"Highly anomalous lithium (Li), Tantalum (Ta), Caesium (Cs) and Rubidium (Rb) results were produced from
all pegmatites sampled…including up to 2.30% Li2O and 0.70% Rb with an average of 1.29% Li2O and 0.51% Rb over the entire 500 metre strike length", it remarked.
The company also advised that it is currently testing a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program of up to 3,500 metres at the site that has already intersected up to 16 metres downhole of mineralised pegmatite.
Now Metals Australia is waiting on the samples of this above RC program to be submitted to the laboratory for examination.
The announcement follows on from an update on 28 February where Metals Australia advised it had intersected "high-purity flake-graphite concentrate results" at itsLac Rainy High-Grade Graphite Project. Tests there showed results were up to 96.8% total graphitic carbon (Cg) following the flowsheet development program.
Metals Australia share price summary
In the last 12 months, the Metals Australia share price has exploded 9% and is up another 97% this year to date.
During the past month of trading, shares have soared further into the green such that Metals Australia is thus leading most ASX shares in 2022.
