Venari Minerals Eyes Sevenfold Drilling Expansion at Nevada Lithium Project
Key Takeaways
- Venari Minerals has issued its Exploration Plan of Operations (EPO) for public notice, targeting a sevenfold expansion of permitted surface disturbance at Red Mountain from 5 acres to 35 acres in Phase 1, with approval expected by end of 2026.
- The current Notice-level disturbance cap is nearly exhausted at 4.75 acres of 5 acres permitted, making EPO approval a near-term operational necessity for the company's drilling ambitions.
- Phase 1 of the EPO would authorise 124 drill sites across 17 east-west traverses spaced at 400m intervals, enabling simultaneous resource expansion, JORC category upgrades, and exploration drilling across the full project strike.
- An active 12-hole, 3,360m diamond drilling campaign is already underway, with two holes submitted for assay and a third nearing completion, focused on upgrading the high-grade northern zone (47.9Mt at 2,193ppm Li) from Inferred to Indicated.
- Red Mountain's Exploration Target of 2,020–2,690Mt at 1,000–1,300ppm Li represents a conceptual upside of 10.7–18.6Mt LCE, in a Nevada geological setting that hosts regional comparators including Lithium Americas' 62.1Mt LCE Thacker Pass project.
Drilling footprint set to grow sevenfold as VMS advances Red Mountain permitting
Venari Minerals (ASX: VMS) has issued its Exploration Plan of Operations (EPO) for public notice, a key permitting milestone that would expand the authorised surface disturbance at the Red Mountain Lithium and Strategic Minerals Project in Nevada from 5 acres to 35 acres in Phase 1. That represents a sevenfold increase in permitted drilling footprint, and the timing matters: current disturbance across the project already stands at 4.75 acres, meaning the existing Notice-level cap is nearly exhausted.
EPO approval is expected by end of 2026, though the timing remains subject to the public notice process and the relevant regulatory agencies. In the meantime, an active 12-hole, 3,360m diamond drilling campaign is already underway, with the third hole approaching completion and two holes submitted for assay.
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What the EPO unlocks for Red Mountain
Phase 1 of the EPO will authorise, once approved, 35 acres of new disturbance, encompassing 124 drill sites arranged across 17 east-west traverses spaced at approximately 400m intervals. This configuration was designed to span the full strike length of the project, giving the company genuine flexibility to run multiple workstreams simultaneously:
- Mineral Resource expansion through extensional drilling into new areas
- JORC category upgrades from Inferred to Indicated via in-fill drilling
- Exploration drilling across the project’s substantial Exploration Target
The EPO was submitted under expedited National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment provisions introduced under the Trump Administration, which represents a regulatory tailwind for faster permitting timelines. Phase 2, completing the 100-acre total, will open up infill drilling between the traverses to support future feasibility-level study work.
Executive Chairman Tony Leibowitz
“The expansion of Red Mountains permitted exploration disturbance from 5 acres to 35 acres will be an important development for VMS. It provides for a significantly enhanced scope to advance our exploration program, assess multiple targets and plan our activities more efficiently. With the Exploration Plan of Operations now in its final stages, we are focused on moving quickly toward the commencement and expansion of exploration activities across the enlarged area.”
Understanding Nevada lithium clay projects and why scale matters
An Exploration Plan of Operations is a formal permit required by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) before a company can disturb more than five acres of federal land for exploration purposes. Surface disturbance limits matter because they directly constrain how many drill pads can be constructed, which in turn caps the pace and scale of any drilling program.
JORC resource categories reflect confidence levels in a mineral estimate. An Inferred resource is based on limited data with low geological confidence, while an Indicated resource is supported by closer-spaced drilling and carries sufficient confidence to inform preliminary economic assessments and attract institutional financing. Upgrading resources from Inferred to Indicated is a meaningful de-risking step for any project.
An Exploration Target, by contrast, is not a Mineral Resource. It represents a conceptual upside range based on geological interpretation and early-stage data, indicating where mineralisation may exist but has not yet been confirmed by adequate drilling. The JORC Code requires that any Exploration Target be accompanied by a cautionary statement, and investors should note the cautionary statement included below.
The Red Mountain project sits within Nevada’s tertiary lacustrine sedimentary rocks, a geological setting that hosts some of the world’s largest lithium clay deposits. Regional scale comparators include Lithium Americas’ (NYSE: LAC) Thacker Pass project at 62.1Mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and American Battery Technology Corporation’s (NASDAQ: ABAT) Tonopah Flats deposit at 18.7Mt LCE, both located elsewhere in Nevada. These deposits demonstrate the proven lithium endowment of the district and the scale potential that clay-hosted lithium systems in this jurisdiction can carry.
The scale of Red Mountain’s resource and exploration upside
Red Mountain’s maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) stands at 500Mt at 1,139ppm Li for 3.03Mt contained LCE at a 700ppm Li cut-off grade. The project includes a high-grade northern zone of 47.9Mt at 2,193ppm Li for 560kt LCE at a 1,300ppm Li cut-off, which is the current focus of the infill drilling campaign.
The Exploration Target represents the blue-sky upside the EPO is designed to help unlock:
| Exploration Target | Tonnage (Mt) | Grade (ppm Li) | LCE (Mt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Mountain | 1,200 – 1,600 | 1,000 – 1,300 | 6.39 – 11.1 |
| Red Mountain Extension | 816 – 1,090 | 1,000 – 1,300 | 4.35 – 7.53 |
| Project Total | 2,020 – 2,690 | 1,000 – 1,300 | 10.7 – 18.6 |
Cautionary Statement: The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Targets set out above is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration in the target areas to date to estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.
The project’s infrastructure position further supports its development potential:
- Located immediately adjacent to transcontinental Route 6
- 20km west of a 525kV high-voltage transmission line
- Water rights secured: 592,000m³ per annum from a 113-acre private property located 6km from site
- Leachability of up to 98%; test-work has produced 99.5% battery-grade lithium carbonate directly from mineralised rock
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What’s next for VMS investors
EPO approval is expected by end of 2026, subject to the public notice process and regulatory agency decisions. The current infill diamond drilling campaign remains active, with the third of 12 planned holes nearing completion and two holes already submitted for core cutting, density measurements, sampling, and delivery to the assay laboratory. This campaign is focused on upgrading the high-grade northern sector of the MRE from Inferred to Indicated category.
Near-term catalysts to watch include:
- Assay results from the first two holes of the current 12-hole drill campaign
- Completion of the EPO public notice process and receipt of regulatory approval
- Commencement of expanded exploration across the 35-acre Phase 1 disturbance area
- A potential Mineral Resource update following infill and extensional drilling results
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