The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is catching the eye with a strong gain on Thursday morning.
At the time of writing, the lithium miner's shares are up almost 10% to 17 cents.
This compares favourably to a 1.2% decline by the ASX 200 index.
Why is the Core Lithium share price jumping?
Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it announced an update to the mineral resource estimate of its 100% owned Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.
According to the release, Core Lithium has delivered a 58% increase in the Finniss Lithium Project mineral resource estimate to 48.2Mt at 1.26% Li2O. This reflects the culmination of all drilling undertaken by the company's exploration team in 2023.
Management notes that the reverse circulation and diamond drilling program was the largest program undertaken by the company to date. The program was conducted at both known deposits and at new prospects within the Bynoe Pegmatite Field.
It also highlights that the measured and indicated resource categories have increased to 27.9Mt @ 1.32% Li2O. Approximately 58% of the mineral resource estimate is in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories.
But the lithium miner isn't finished with its drilling. It notes that the Lees and Booths deposits represent a continuous series of dipping pegmatite sheets that are located midway between the existing Carlton and BP33 mineral resources. It believes the location of these resources, together with further nearby targets that will be tested throughout 2024, adds to the possibility of future shared development opportunities.
'Excellent outcome'
Core Lithium's interim CEO, Doug Warden, was pleased with the news. He said:
This significant increase to the Finniss Mineral Resource is an excellent outcome for Core and our shareholders. The 2023 exploration program was the largest in Core's history and these outstanding results justify the continued exploration of the Finniss region.
In particular, the 429% increase in the combined Mineral Resource at Lees & Booths to 14.4Mt, supports our view that the Finniss region has the potential to host large clusters of lithium deposits. At Lees, the pegmatites remain open in multiple directions with the high chance that further pegmatite sheets exist within the system. Our 2024 exploration program will target both larger standalone deposits, as well as clusters of smaller deposits that have the potential to be mined with shared infrastructure.
The Core Lithium share price remains down 80% over the last 12 months.
