The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is in focus on a large upgrade to its Pilgangoora lithium resource.
Pilbara Minerals is one of the largest ASX lithium shares in Australia.
Large resource upgrade
The ASX lithium share said that its FY23 drill program has led to a substantial increase in the mineral resource for the Pilgangoora operation.
The company said there was a 36% increase in the total measured, indicated and inferred resource to 413.8 million tonnes (mt), containing 4.75mt of lithium oxide and 101.8 million pounds of tantalum oxide (Ta2O5).
There was also a 64% increase in the total measured and indicated resource to 337.3mt, containing 3.94mt of lithium oxide and 80.9 million pounds of tantalum oxide.
Pilbara Minerals said that there is enhanced overall resource confidence with 80% of the mineral resource now classified as measured and indicated.
The ASX lithium share said that the updated mineral resource will underpin an ore resource update that is currently being progressed for release in the September 2023 quarter.
Management commentary
The Pilbara Minerals Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson said:
This significant Resource upgrade reinforces our 100% owned Pilgangoora Operation as one of the largest hard rock lithium deposits globally. The upgraded Mineral Resource is consistent with our strategy to grow our operating base and therefore maximise value by achieving the full potential from our world class operation.
We have added 109Mt of additional Mineral Resource at a direct exploration cost of only 13 cents per tonne of additional resource – an outstanding result.
We are looking forward to completing an updated Ore Reserve this Quarter that will underpin operations for many years to come and may provide an opportunity to further expand production capacity beyond P1000. The FY23 drilling campaign has also identified further prospective target areas including areas in close proximity to the East and Central pits which will be drill tested in our FY24 drill program.
Final thoughts on the Pilbara Minerals share price
I’m not surprised that the ASX lithium share is up 3% in response to this, it’s good for the long-term that there is more confirmed lithium for it to dig up over time, which means the company can generate more earnings from the project. It is not cheap at today’s price, but with lithium demand expected to keep rising, things are looking promising.
