Fish Lake, Nevada

American Lithium (CVE:LI) put together a C$1.5 mln fundraising early in January 2017 primarily to help it move forward with planned exploration work at its Fish Lake project in Nevada. Previously it had been intended to earmark some funds towards a project in nearby Clayton Valley, but the deal on that property fell through.

Accordingly, the plan for the first part of 2017 is now to drill Fish Lake. And it could prove to be a very rewarding campaign.

Commanding position Fish Lake

Fish Lake Valley is one of the most promising and largely undeveloped lithium brine basins in the state of Nevada, itself one of the most lithium-rich of all the US states. The geological and geophysical characteristics are similar to the famous Clayton Valley to the southeast, home to the only producing lithium mine in the US and one of the principal areas of activity in the recent lithium rush.

But American Lithium is the dominant landholder in the Fish Lake Valley, with 18,552 contiguous acres of ground. This means that it has the chance to develop the leading project there and to play a commanding role in the development of the entire district.

Fish Lake results show real promise, with San Emidio coming along behind

Already, Fish Lake has yielded promising results.

A total of 54 holes were drilled by auger at Fish Lake, with the best sample showing 426 milligrams per litre (mg/L) lithium.

In the most recent batch of 29 holes, 26 showed grades of more than 150 mg/L with the average across all holes running even higher at 254 mg/L.

These are good numbers, and a good basis from which to move forward.

Meanwhile, the company’s 2,240 acre San Emidio project, 60 miles north of Reno, Nevada also looks promising.

Experienced directors remain upbeat

Both chief executive Michael Kobler and fellow director Alan Abrams have brought major projects into production in the past, so if any of the company’s projects do go all the way, they should be in safe hands. However, it’s more than likely that any American Lithium asset which has demonstrated real economic potential will have been snapped up long before then.

Kobler: talks of the “robust lithium distribution throughout the near surface of the North Playa” as a good early indicator. But there are deeper holes to drill now, into the heart of the aquifier. And that could really set the market moving.