The Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX: AOU) share price has been a very strong performer on Thursday.
At the time of writing, the junior lithium explorer's shares are up 29% to 7.5 cents.
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Why is the Auroch Minerals share price up 29%?
The catalyst for the rise in the Auroch Minerals share price today has been the release of an update on the company's 80%-owned Nevada Lithium Project in the United States.
According to the release, the company's senior management conducted a site visit in late June and early July to further assess the geology of the key prospect areas, together with meeting key stakeholders.
The release reveals that while at the site, the company has established an experienced Nevada-based team. This includes geologists, land management and legal counsel. They will be tasked with driving the project forward.
What is the Nevada Lithium Project?
The Nevada Lithium Project comprises a large area that is considered highly prospective for large sedimentary-hosted lithium deposits across four prospect areas.
It is located close to the mining town of Tonopah in the mining-friendly counties of Nye and Esmeralda in the State of Nevada. The region is home to some very large sedimentary-hosted lithium deposits including the Rhyolite Ridge Project owned by Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR) and American Lithium Corporation's TLC Lithium Project.
An initial 1,000m reverse-circulation (RC) drill programme has been designed to selectively test stratigraphic targets within the project area. Drill-holes have been planned in areas of mapped Siebert Formation, the same geological formation which hosts the large TLC Lithium Project.
Permitting for the maiden drill programme has commenced and the approvals process is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
Finally, local drilling contractors have been approached and the company is in the process of awarding the drilling contract.
Auroch's managing director, Aidan Platel, commented:
We are pleased with the progress we have made at our Nevada Lithium Project (NLP). Having an experienced local team is critical to the success of the Project, and since establishing our team they have been very busy reviewing all historic data and completing detailed field mapping of our key prospect areas, as we work towards a maiden drill programme.
After reviewing this work to-date and seeing the geology first-hand, we are very excited by the potential of the NLP to host significant lithium mineralisation, especially when looking at the success of our neighbours in the region, most notably American Lithium Corporation's large TLC Lithium deposit which is very close to our project area. As such, we are working hard to progress through the permitting process towards commencing a maiden drill programme at the NLP.
