The next few months will be crucial for Venari Minerals (ASX:VMS) as it awaits results and advances towards a major catalyst for the company – a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at Red Mountain.
Venari says it’s making strong progress across its key lithium and gold-silver projects in Nevada, US, setting it up for a period of strong activity over the remaining months of the year.
The company is on track to round out 2025 with a maiden MRE for Red Mountain. Background work has started with a due diligence site visit by a JORC-competent person completed and exploration data being digitised to support the MRE.
The company has conducted 2,679m of reverse circulation drilling across 13 holes, with samples being followed up at ALS Laboratories in Elko.
Venari has engaged Hazen Research to conduct ongoing metallurgical testwork at Red Mountain to provide a technical grade of lithium carbonate product, before being upgraded in stage two to meet a battery-grade.
Results are expected in the next seven weeks.
Exploration at Red Mountain follows a reverse circulation drilling spanning eight holes for 1,073m at the Needles Silver-Gold Project completed in October, also located in Nevada.
The company has received soil sampling assays, though still awaiting drill assays, as well as helicopter-borne magnetic surveys and radiometrics survey results from Needles.
Precision Geosurveys conducted the geophysical campaign at Needles.
Chairman Tony Leibowitz applauds the team for its timely completion of the two drilling programs, pushing the company closer to a maiden resource estimate.
“All samples from the Needles campaign are in the laboratory, as are the samples from the Red Mountain drilling,” Leibowitz says.
“Together with ongoing metallurgical test work on material from Red Mountain and recently completed geophysical surveys at Needles, this sets Venari up for a busy and exciting period ahead as we await key results from both projects and advance towards a key catalyst for the company – a maiden mineral resource estimate at Red Mountain.”
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has commissioned a helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey over Eastern and Central Nevada, beginning in October. The USGS survey will cover the Red Mountain Lithium Project in its entirety and is expected to enhance geological understanding of the host rock package.
Formerly known as Astute Metals, Venari Minerals is a mineral explorer focused on developing critical and precious metals projects in Nevada.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Venari Minerals
