The Zenith Minerals Ltd (ASX: ZNC) share price is having a stellar day after returning from a trading halt.
In afternoon trade, the lithium explorer's shares are up 12% to 33 cents.
Why is the Zenith Minerals share price surging higher?
Investors have been bidding the Zenith Minerals share price higher today after the company released drilling results from the Split Rocks project in Western Australia. This project is part of the Zenith Lithium Joint Venture with EV Metals Group.
According to the release, step-out drilling to establish the extent of lithium mineralisation in the northern part of the Split Rocks project has been a success.
Lithium mineralisation has now been outlined over >1200m of strike, remaining open to the north, south, east and at depth. Of the 22 holes drilled to date, 15 have either ended in pegmatite or are deemed to be too short to fully test the target zone.
What's next?
Zenith advised that exploration will now be accelerated with the addition of a diamond drill rig that will enable testing of the full thickness of the lithium pegmatite target zone.
The company also advised that it has now received permits for a further 84 reverse circulation (RC) and 84 diamond holes, with its joint venture partner, EV Metals, approving the budget for a further 60 RC and 10 diamond holes that are aimed at initially defining the size of the Rio Pegmatite system.
Zenith's managing director, Michael Clifford, was delighted with the results. He said:
I am delighted to report on lithium exploration success at the Split Rocks project. New results from an initial 22 holes, that are part of an ongoing follow-up drill campaign, confirms we are onto a very significant lithium mineralised pegmatite.
RC drilling over the past 6 weeks has been slower than planned, impacted by frequent high-rainfall events which necessitated moving the rig away from the Rio prospect to more accessible areas. The plan is to now accelerate drilling at Rio with a clear runway of greater than 160 permitted holes ahead of us. The RC rig will focus on 400m spaced step-out sections, working our way south, whilst a diamond drill rig explores the eastern and depth extents of the system.
