Key Highlights

  • Core Lithium reported 74.0 metres at 1.32% Li2O from 209 metres in hole NMRD108 at Blackbeard.
  • Volt Resources received the first US$225,000 instalment of a US$5.4 million US Department of War contract for graphite production.
  • Vita Resources lodged a revised application with the Ross River Dena Council for a Class 1 exploration programme at its ICE Project.
  • No drilling is proposed under Vita's revised application, and field work is targeted for the 2027 Yukon season.

Three ASX-listed critical minerals companies issued updates on 6 November 2026. Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) released further assay results from its Blackbeard prospect, Volt Resources (ASX:VRC) confirmed the start of US government funding for graphite work, and Vita Resources (ASX:VTA) advanced an exploration application in Yukon, Canada.

Core Lithium Extends the Blackbeard Intersection

Final assays for hole NMRD108 extended an earlier partial intersection of 29 metres at 1.35% Li2O to 74.0 metres at 1.32% Li2O from 209 metres, equal to roughly 43 metres of true width. It is the second-longest downhole mineralised intersection at Blackbeard after NMRD104, which returned 92 metres at 1.25% Li2O from 92 metres. The hole sits about 50 metres along strike from SRC117, which returned 41 metres at 1.63% Li2O.

Hole NMRD110 intersected mineralised pegmatite, including 21.7 metres at 1.28% Li2O from 63.3 metres and 6.0 metres at 1.20% Li2O from 114 metres, within a broader zone of 76.7 metres at 0.77% Li2O. Blackbeard is part of the 100%-owned Finniss Lithium Operation, less than 20 kilometres from the Finniss processing plant. Managing Director Paul Brown said geological and structural interpretation will refine the true thickness of the NMRD110 intersection, and drilling continues with results to be released progressively.

Volt Resources Receives US Funding

Volt Energy Materials LLC, the company's US subsidiary, received the first US$225,000 instalment under its US Department of War contract for Low-Cost Domestic Graphite Production. The total award of US$5.4 million is paid in 24 equal monthly instalments, following an announcement on 15 September 2026.

Funds will be used to expand the US team, buy and install preparation equipment for high-purity and ultra-high-purity graphite, including a specialised chemical reactor, furnace and fume hoods, and to acquire characterisation tools. The activities support development of Volt's US Customer Application and R&D Center and a planned US Graphite Refinery. Chief Executive Prashant Chintawar described the instalment as a step in advancing the company's US graphite capabilities.

Volt describes itself as an established graphite producer and advanced materials developer, and the work is designed to provide a technical foundation for Downstream graphite activities in the United States.

Vita Resources Lodges a Revised Yukon Application

Vita lodged a revised Tū Łidlini Assessment Process application with the Ross River Dena Council for the ICE Polymetallic Project, seeking consent for a lower-impact Class 1 exploration programme in the 2027 Yukon season. Planned work includes ground geophysical surveys, soil geochemistry, geological mapping and prospecting, with an expanded electromagnetic survey under evaluation. No drilling is proposed.

The council has advised that consent for higher-impact Class 3 activity is not presently available while regional land-use investigations continue. Separately, the Yukon Government granted a five-year Class 3 Quartz Mining Land Use Approval effective until 6 October 2031, following a positive recommendation from the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board. The government approval and the council's consent are separate processes. Historical drilling at ICE comprised 121 holes for 10,584 metres, testing less than 1% of the project area, and 11 priority targets have been identified beyond the existing copper resource. Field work remains subject to council consent and funding.

A February 2026 independent re-evaluation identified gold, silver, cobalt and indium mineralisation associated with the copper resource, broadening the project from copper-gold to a polymetallic system. Electromagnetic surveying is used to identify conductive massive sulphide mineralisation, and new zones would provide drilling targets. Chairman Gavin Rutherford said a drilling programme comparable to the historical one would now require a multi-million-dollar Investment in such a remote location.

Where Each Project Stands

Core Lithium's drilling programme is ongoing, Volt's funding runs in monthly instalments over two years, and Vita's field plans depend on consent that has not yet been granted.