Critical adds golden string to Canadian lithium bow

Critical Resources has added a gold string to its lithium bow, staking new claims over a historic high-grade gold target within its 100 per cent-owned Mavis Lake project in north-western Ontario, Canada.

The savvy move sees the company consolidate its ground position over the Red Hat gold target, prompted by historical drill hole records that reportedly intersected 9.174 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 1.2 metres. The addition of a gold play seems particularly timely, with the precious metal continuing to trade strongly and currently consolidating around the US$4300 (A$6100) level.

Critical’s two new claims cover 40 hectares and are situated along the interpreted strike of the Red Hat mineralised system. The company says the ground was secured through simple staking, with no purchase consideration or vendor royalty payable beyond normal government maintenance costs.

The historical intercept that caught Critical’s eye was drilled in 2011 and returned the spicy gold hit from a depth of 133.8m. The company says that the historical intercept has not been independently verified and was not reported in accordance with the JORC 2012 code.

However, a result of that tenor provides a compelling target for follow-up work with Critical flagging geological mapping, geochemistry, geophysics and eventually confirmation drilling as potential next steps.

The Red Hat prospect forms part of a bigger, under-explored 14-kilometre-long polymetallic trend hosted within the Mavis Lake project area clearly bolsters the project’s potential beyond its primary focus on lithium.

Whilst the new gold target adds an intriguing dimension, Critical’s main game at Mavis Lake remains firmly on lithium. The project already hosts an inferred mineral resource of eight million tonnes grading a solid 1.07 per cent lithium oxide.

On top of that, the company has defined a JORC-compliant exploration target of a much bigger 18 to 29Mt at a grade of between 0.8 and 1.2 per cent lithium oxide, pointing to the significant growth potential across the company’s now increased 400-square-kilometre landholding. Recent mapping and sampling work at the Corona prospect, 4km north of the existing resource, identified a swarm of 14 separate pegmatite bodies, including six new discoveries. At the Gullwing advanced target, Critical has outlined a hefty exploration target in its own right of 7-10Mt at 0.3-1.2 per cent lithium oxide.

The project is well-positioned in a tier-one jurisdiction that is currently enjoying significant government and industry support. Canada has been actively backing its domestic critical minerals sector, with the federal government recently committing up to C$165.2 million (A$167.8 million) to 22 projects spanning exploration, infrastructure, development and processing. Ottawa is also pushing ahead with a C$2 billion Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund aimed at accelerating strategic projects through equity investments, loan guarantees and offtake agreements.