The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is gaining today, up 3.33% at the time of writing.
This comes after the ASX lithium explorer announced its latest gold drilling results.
Gold?
Yes, gold.
Core Lithium, as its name implies, remains primarily focused on developing its Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.
However, as part of its search for lithium-bearing pegmatite resources at Finniss, it identified numerous signs commonly associated with gold deposits in nearby locations.
What gold results did Core Lithium report?
The Core Lithium share price is gaining after the company announced promising gold results at its Bynoe Gold Project in the NT.
According to the release, quartz veins at Core's Toolebuc Prospect are identical to ones hosting gold immediately to the north at Far East. The new results have increased the strike potential at the prospect from 1,600m to 2,500m.
The company said visible coarse gold and gold nuggets were contained in some of the samples at Toolebuc.
Of those samples it reported "numerous high-magnitude assays with results in excess of 100ppb Au". The top result came in at 32g per tonne of gold.
The company has begun a second gold assay program to analyse roughly 3,000 historical samples from the area.
The Core Lithium share price also got a lift when the company revealed its application for co-funding through the NT Government's Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program was successful.
The $134,810 grant will cover half the costs of drilling 2 diamond core holes to test a defined target zone at Far East.
Management commentary
Core Lithium's managing director Stephen Biggins said:
While Core is maintaining a clear focus on the main game of expanding the lithium resource inventory and subsequent development of our first lithium mining operations at Finniss, we believe a dedicated gold effort is warranted following the outstanding results achieved in 2020 by the company's exploration team.
The company is awaiting the assay results from its recent rock chip and soil sampling programs at Toolebuc.
Core Lithium share price snapshot
Core Lithium's shares have gained 360% over the past 12 months. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 24% over that same time.
Year-to-date the Core Lithium share price has continued to march higher, up 35% so far in the calendar year.
