TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Shares in TSX-quoted Canada Lithium Corp (CLQ) vaulted 14% higher on Thursday, after the company announced early results from a drilling programme at its Quebec project, and said it was on track to produce the battery-making ingredient by late 2012.
The company said that once it had all the assays from the 56 holes it drilled this year, AMC Mining Consultants would prepare a new mineral resource model, set for completion in October.
Through the new model, CLQ hopes to increase the Quebec project’s lithium resource and reduce the strip ratio of the planned openpit mine.
CLQ said detailed engineering design work for the mine and process plant was on schedule, being about 80% complete.
“The recent drilling continues to demonstrate the continuity of the Québec lithium deposit,” CEO Peter Secker said in a statement.
The drill results came from 15 holes out of the 56 the firm sent down, and included an intersection of 15.6 grading 1.21% lithium oxide.
Earlier this year, CLQ was forced to restate the resources at its Quebec project, near Val d'Or, after its geologists included rock that should have been counted as waste material.
The company lost about half of its market value as a result of the error, and the share price took a further hit after London, Ontario-based Siskinds announced it was bringing a $50-million class action lawsuit against CLQ and certain of its management.
The company said the claim was meritless and that it would “vigorously defend” itself against the suit.
The Quebec lithium mine originally operated as an underground mine and processing plant that produced spodumene, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate, from 1955 to 1965.
CLQ’s stock climbed 14% to trade at C$0.53 apiece by 14:46 in Toronto, less than a quarter of its 52-week high.
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