Frontier Lithium advances PAK project towards year-end prefeasibility

Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL; US-OTC: LITOF) continues to cut long intervals of high-grade lithium in infill drilling on the Spark pegmatite at its PAK project near Red Lake, in northern Ontario. The current drill campaign is focused on upgrading inferred open-pittable resources at Spark as the company works towards a prefeasibility study later this year. 

Highlights from the latest four holes reported include 357.5 metres grading 1.63% lithium oxide in hole DDH PL-060-22. That hole, which ended in spodumene-bearing pegmatite at a vertical depth of 345 metres, also hit an enriched tantalum-rubidium-tin zone, with 28 metres of 370 parts per million (ppm) Ta₂O₅, 0.62% Rb₂O and 328 ppm SnO₂ from 84 metres depth. 

Other highlights included 145 metres of pegmatite averaging 1.5% Li₂O in hole DDH PL-059-22; 280.7 metres averaging 1.42% Li₂O in hole DDH PL-061-22; and several 20 to 50 metre thick intervals grading between 1.42% and 2% Li₂O in hole DDH PL-068-22. 

“So far there have been no surprises with the drill intersections,” said Frontier’s VP Exploration, Garth Drever, in a release. “Our modelling beneath the central indicated resource appears solid and drilling to the west continues to intersect significant pegmatite zones.”  

As with previous results released in July, some of the holes ended in pegmatite. As the current two-drill rig program is focused on the central portion of Spark at depth and preparing the upcoming prefeasibility study, Frontier plans to extend those holes at a later date. 

In a note to clients, Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets mining analyst Katie Lachapelle referred to the 357.5-metre interval as “world-class.” 

“We continue to be encouraged by the consistency of Frontier’s results from its infill drill program at Spark. All holes were successful in intersecting high-grade in line with or above the current existing inferred resource, with the most recent set of results demonstrating high-grade over large meterage well above 1.38% Li₂O (the current M&I+I average grade),” Lachapelle wrote. 

The current inferred resource at Spark is 18.1 million tonnes grading 1.37% Li₂O. Frontier, which has so far completed 8,000 metres of its infill and delineation drill program in 24 holes, expects to release a prefeasibility study on PAK before year-end.  

A 2021 preliminary economic study for PAK projected a capital cost of US$685 million, an after-tax net present value (using an 8% discount rate) of US$974 million and an internal rate of return of 21%. The study forecast a 24-year chemical plant life producing 23,174 tonnes of battery-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate per year with an average selling price of $13,500 per tonne.  

Frontier’s stock traded up to 8.4% or 20¢ higher on the news reaching a morning high of $2.57 per share. The company has a market capitalization of $516.5 million.