Lithium exploration company Patriot Battery Metals on Monday announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the CV5 deposit at Corvette, in Quebec, establishing it as the biggest lithium pegmatite mineral resource in the Americas.

With a resource of 109.2-million tonnes at 1.42% lithium oxide and 160 parts per million tantalum pentoxide for a total of 3.84-million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent, CV5 is also the eighth-largest lithium pegmatite resource globally.

The maiden MRE includes only the CV5 spodumene pegmatite, and does not include any of the other known spodumene pegmatite clusters on the property – CV4, CV8, CV9, CV10, CV12 and CV13.

“We could not be happier with the result of this maiden MRE at CV5, which will be the first of multiple resource estimates for the Corvette property over the coming years,” said CEO Blair Way.

The CV5 resource estimate is supported by 163 diamond drill holes completed over the 2021, 2022 and 2023 programmes, for a collective total of 56 385 m, as well as 11 outcrop channels totalling 63 m.

“This maiden MRE at CV5 is the culmination of an aggressive 20-month drill campaign that kicked off with our discovery hole in fall 2021, and is nothing less than a team effort to get us here,” commented VP of exploration Darren Smith.

There remains significant potential for growth, with the resource open at both ends and to depth along a large portion of its length providing a clear path forward for further resource expansion, he added.

Further, there are multiple known spodumene pegmatite clusters yet to be drill tested at the property and more than 20 km of prospective trend yet to be explored.

In the case of CV13, the 2022 and 2023 drill programmes are anticipated to underpin a maiden MRE in 2024 at that spodumene pegmatite cluster.

“We believe we have only just begun to demonstrate the scale of the lithium mineralized pegmatite system at the Corvette property,” said Smith.

Emphasising Corvette’s development potential, Way explains: “It firmly positions the company as a leading candidate to provide long-term spodumene supply to the North American and European markets. This is a key milestone for the company and will underpin future economic and development studies as we look to aggressively advance this asset on the path to production. I would like to thank our shareholders for their support, and moreover, thank the exploration team for their focus and determination in delivering one of the largest spodumene pegmatite resources in the world.”