PUR expands 1.26MT LCE lithium project in Argentina ahead of drilling program
Our Investment Pursuit Minerals (ASX: PUR) just expanded its lithium project in Argentina.
PUR added another ~1,362 hectares of ground right next to its biggest block on the edge of the Rio Grande Salar (salt lake).
The deal means PUR's total project footprint is now ~10,595 hectares across the Rio Grande Salar.
Right next to the target PUR plans to drill in the coming weeks…
(source)
PUR’s project already has a ~1.26Mt Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) JORC resource at grades of ~424mg/L Li.
Earlier this year PUR also completed a PFS for a 5,000tpa operation, which returned a US$364M NPV (rising to US$601M with a 30% lift in lithium prices).
See our deep dive on the PFShere.
The next drillhole is the one we think could add serious scale to PUR’s project - primarily because it will be on PUR’s biggest blocks.
PUR’s theory is that the blocks sitting on the edge of the Rio Grande Salar - could actually hold extensions to the lithium brine reservoirs underground.
PUR came up with this concept after geophysical surveys on the project which showed the conductive zones running ~250m to 1.1km below ground all along the salt lake margins.
(source)
Today PUR confirmed field preparations are complete, the exploration camp is established, and the first hole (DDH-3) is scheduled to start "shortly". (source)
PUR’s plan is to drill three priority holes for ~3,200m total to test that theory.
We have written about PUR's neighbour NOA Lithium which drilled this same “salar-margin” theory back in 2023 and hit grades as high as ~925mg/L Li.
IF PUR can deliver a significant resource expansion on top of its existing 1.26Mt LCE, we think the size and scale of the lithium project could be transformed.
IF PUR can hit similar holes on its ground (and especially after today’s expansion) we think the size and scale of the lithium project could be transformed:
(source)
What we want to see next from PUR
🔲 Drilling at PUR’s lithium project in Argentina
PUR now has all the field preparation complete, the exploration camp is established, and the first hole (DDH-3) is scheduled to start "shortly".
Next, we want to see some drilling on its largest tenement (Mito), which has never been drilled and where nearby NOA hit grades as high as ~925mg/L Li.
(source)
🔲 Drilling at PUR’s gold-silver project in Argentina
PUR also owns 100% of an earlier stage gold-silver project in Argentina.
On that project PUR is hunting an 8M ounce "Cerro Negro lookalike" gold discovery.
Cerro Negro is the 8 million ounce mine owned by US$105BN capped Newmont, ~100km north of PUR's ground.
On that project~55% of priority mapping was complete and an IP survey was underway to define targets - with maiden drilling to follow "in the near term". (source)
See why we like that project from the acquisition in a Deep Dive here: PUR: Acquires Gold Project in Argentina - Gold price smashing records
