Venari Minerals (ASX:VMS) is building momentum towards delivering a maiden resource estimate this current quarter, for Red Mountain Lithium Project in Nevada, after receiving assays for four holes from a reverse circulation drilling program.
The latest assays include multiple thick zones of lithium mineralisation, demonstrating wide intersections of lithium mineralisation with internal high-grade zones in the central Red Mountain Project area.
Venari, which has a market capitalisation of $15.85 million, says the results are consistent in width and tenor with those intersected in previous drillholes mid-project.
Some of the latest results include 29m @ 1,460 parts per million (ppm) lithium from 44.2m; 24.4m @ 1,600ppm lithium from 4.6m; 6.1m @ 1,330ppm lithium from 74.7m; and 12.2m @ 1,697ppm lithium from 146.3m.
Chairman Tony Leibowitz says these results have further reinforced the potential of Red Mountain, returning broad intercepts with multiple “high-grade” zones.
Assays for the remaining seven holes from the campaign, which focuses on the northern project area, are expected in the coming weeks.
The Red Mountain Project is located in central-eastern Nevada and has broad mapped tertiary lake sedimentary rocks known locally as the Horse Camp Formation.
The downstream processing segment of the lithium market, encompassing the conversion of raw lithium into battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate, is experiencing significant transformation.
This evolution is driven by technological advancements, geopolitical shifts, and increasing demand for electric vehicles, clean energy storage, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), among others, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The critical battleground from now to 2030 will be downstream conversion – refining into lithium hydroxide or lithium salts, cathode precursor manufacture, and battery recycling. The raw ore business will increasingly act as a feedstock commodity.
Lithium hydroxide is gaining prominence due to its suitability for high-nickel cathode chemistries, which are prevalent in advanced EV batteries.
The market for lithium hydroxide is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23.51% from 2024 to 2029, reaching some 564.78 kilotons of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2029.
Recently speaking to this news service, Venari CEO Matt Healy says the rapid penetration of renewable energy into Western energy markets has resulted in excess electricity necessitating storage technology. For this reason, Healy says global BESS deployments in H1 2025 were up 58% over H1 2024, making BESS the ‘dark horse’ of lithium demand.
In Western markets like Australia, Canada, the US, and European Union, governments and OEMs are pushing for more domestic or regional processing to bolster supply security, manage carbon footprints, and capitalise on what is poised to become a high-value industry.
Venari Minerals is a diversified mineral explorer focused on discovering and developing critical and precious metals in Nevada, with a primary focus on lithium, gold, and silver.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Venari Minerals
