The Patriot Battery Metals Inc (ASX: PMT) share price is floundering after plunging almost 10% in early morning trade.
At the time of writing, shares in the ASX lithium stock are changing hands for $1.505 apiece, down 6.52%.
Here's what ASX investors are considering.
Why is the Patriot Battery Metals share price under pressure?
Patriot Battery Metals shares are in the red after the miner reported on its maiden mineral resource (MRE) estimate for the CV5 spodumene pegmatite at its Corvette property, located in Quebec, Canada.
The company said the MRE at CV5 has "firmly established" it as "the largest lithium pegmatite mineral resource in the Americas". The miner also said it's the eighth largest globally, returning 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 inferred, at a cut-off grade of 0.40% Li2O.
That works out to a total of 3.84 million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent.
The ASX lithium miner noted the "significant potential for growth" at CV5, which remains open at both ends along strike and to depth along "a significant portion of its length".
And in other potentially good news for the longer-term outlook for the Patriot Battery Metals share price, this MRE is only for the CV5 spodumene pegmatite. The miner also has numerous other known spodumene pegmatite clusters at the Corvette Property.
Indeed, there's little in the MRE to clarify today's sell-off.
After four consecutive trading days of gains last week, investors may be taking some profits off the table. Or perhaps market expectations were sky high for CV5.
What did management say?
Commenting on the MRE that's ailed to lift the Patriot Battery Metals share price so far, vice president of exploration Darren Smith said, "We believe we have only just begun to demonstrate the scale of the lithium mineralized pegmatite system at the Corvette Property."
Patriot Battery Metals CEO Blair Way added:
We could not be happier with the result of this maiden mineral resource estimate at CV5, which will be the first of multiple resource estimates for the Corvette Property over the coming years. This Property is now officially host to at least one deposit that is definitely a world class asset with respect to the size, grade, and metallurgy when compared to its peers.
How has this ASX lithium share been tracking?
The ASX lithium share kicked off trading on the ASX on 7 December 2022.
So far in 2023, the Patriot Battery Metals share price is up 99%, despite today's retrace.
