Gravel Work, Drilling at Lithium-Boron Asset To Be Finished Soon

Canter Resources Corp. (CRC:CSE; CNRCF:OTC; 601:FRA) announced initial gravel work was started at its Columbus lithium-boron project near Tonopah, Nevada, in preparation for well drilling and should be completed this week, the company announced in a news release.

Merritt Construction in Reno, Nev., is doing the work, which involves transporting 1,500 cubic yards of gravel to and stockpiling it at a designated spot on the Columbus property.

At the same time, Canter continues its 10-hole Geoprobe drill campaign targeting anomalous lithium, boron, and potassium mineralization in the sedimentary clays and shallow brine units in the Columbus basin. The company has drilled four holes so far and expects to complete the remaining six soon. However, it may expand the program, if successful, Chief Executive Officer Joness Lang said in a virtual site visit.

Thus far, Geoprobe drilling encountered two distinct aquifer zones at the project, each via a separate hole, within the upper 30 meters. Canter collected a brine sample from both, at a similar depth, over a 1.2 kilometer (1.2 km), north-south strike length.

"We hope to see this pattern continue as we aim to demonstrate lateral continuity of these shallow, brine-generating layers," Lang noted in the release.

Focused on In-Demand Elements

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canter Resources is a junior lithium-boron and critical metals explorer with three properties.

Its flagship, Columbus, spans nearly 30,000 acres in Nevada, a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction deemed the world's best by the Fraser Institute in 2022. The property is the largest land holding in the Columbus salt marsh, after which it is named.

"Columbus is unique in that it is a structurally and hydrologically closed basin in Nevada with surrounding lithium-bearing tertiary volcanic ash and tuffs that have fed the basin for the past 23 million years," according to the company's website.

The location of Columbus is what first caught the eye of Jeff Clark, metals and mining analyst and The Gold Advisor author, he told Streetwise Reports in April.

"[The project] is surrounded by other lithium discoveries in the area," he explained. "The geological team working on it, which this company bought into and hired, believes this particular piece of property is the most prospective of all the other lithium discoveries they've made in the area."

Additionally, Columbus is only a three-hour drive away from Tesla Inc.'s gigafactory in Nevada, which supplies lithium-ion batteries and components for Tesla's electric vehicles.

Canter also fully owns the Beaver Creek lithium property covering a 1.3 km long by 0.3 km wide bed of lithium-rich outcrop near Lincoln, Montana. There, 99 surface samples returned lithium grades up to 1,500 parts per million (1,500 ppm) and averaging 500 ppm. The Canadian explorer plans to do additional sampling from and mapping of this prospective area to validate historical data and further investigate the potential of these lithium occurrences, according to its 2024 corporate presentation.

The Gold Advisor's Clark is bullish on Canter, writing "the evidence is strong that [the company] is on to something" at Columbus and noting it could be big. Also, as noted in a May 1 post, Canter's share price is at a good entry point for investors, as it is still trailing its one-year high.

As for its financial situation, Canter has sufficient funds to finance its planned exploration program, and thus does not need to raise capital in the immediate future, according to an April 22 analysis by Capital Cube.

The junior mineral explorer has a well-suited leadership team, formerly of American Pacific Mining, that boasts a solid track record in navigating corporate and capital markets as well as mining exploration and discovery. American Pacific was named world's top performing gold stock globally in 2021 and was a finalist in the running for Deal of the Year in 2021 and 2022, part of S&P Global Platts Metals Awards. Also of note, Canter's exploration team has extensive experience working at some of the largest lithium deposits in Nevada.

"These are people that can be very aggressive, know how to move a project forward aggressively and have had success in the past," Clark said.

Sector Prospects Favorable

With demand for lithium and boron on the rise, Canter Resources has a place in two growing mining sectors.

As for lithium, the need for the metal is constant given its use in lithium-ion batteries, used to power a vast array of products, from remote controls and cellphones to large appliances and electric vehicles, according to Eco Lithium. Other applications include digital cameras, pacemakers, laptops, watches, power packs, mobility scooters, alarm systems, backup power systems, golf carts and energy storage.

Global demand for lithium has been rising steadily since 2020, and is expected to continue this trend to at least 2035, Statista data show. By then, demand will have reached an estimated 3,829,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, a 317.5% increase over demand last year of 917,000 metric tons.

As for the lithium market today, the bottom "is absolutely in," according to Gerardo del Real, editor of Resource Stock Digest. "We're definitely starting to see some of the equities respond," he wrote in an April 29 article.

Looking forward, the lithium market is projected to expand at a 20.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to US$6.4 billion (US$6.4B) by 2028 from US$2.5B in 2023, according to Markets and Markets.

With respect to boron, Hallgarten + Co. calls it the "low-flying tech metal," in a March 2 report.

"Boron has an enormous range of uses, from high-tech to the mundane, with one of the most talked about being neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets in electric vehicle motors," the report said.

Boron/borates are also used in applications in agriculture, metallurgy, nuclear energy, advanced materials, and high-tech is growing, Mordor Intelligence noted. The increasing use of fiberglass in various end-user industries also is boosting demand.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, borates are also used in abrasives, cleaning products, insecticides, insulation, ceramics, and semiconductors.

Hallarten + Co. also wrote demand for boron "is strong and growing with CAGR exceeding most forecasts of just a few years ago. Further, demand is expected to outpace supply, thereby resulting in a fairly rapid widening of the gap between the two."

The Business Research Co. reports the global boron market has grown "exponentially in recent years" and forecasts it will reach US$7.99B billion this year, up from US$6.57B in 2023, reflecting a 21.7% CAGR. Rapid growth is expected to continue through 2028 by which time the market is projected to reach US$12.68B.

"Major trends in the forecast period include focus on boron neutron capture therapy, boron in the aerospace industry, boron-based flame retardants, boron in nuclear power applications, sustainable mining practices," the report indicated.

Canter's Lang pointed out that two companies, Eti Maden in Turkey and Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) in the U.S., are the primary sources of mined boron.

Lang said the company believes it has significant concentrations of the element at Columbus.

The Catalyst: Drill Results

The next potential stock-moving event for Canter is the results of Geoprobe drilling at Columbus, due out, Lang said, in late May or early June.

Next, the company will prepare to drill its first exploration well, for which drill site preparation is already underway at this same Nevada project.

The Gold Advisor's Clark is bullish on Canter, writing "the evidence is strong that [the company] is on to something" at Columbus and noting it could be big. Also, as noted in a May 1 post, Canter's share price is at a good entry point for investors, as it is still trailing its one-year high. 

"I'm holding on to my investment and suggest the same if you're a shareholder," Clark wrote.  

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Reuters, six strategic individual investors own 9.5%, or 4.84 million (4.84M) shares, of Canter Resources. The five with the largest stake all are insiders. Listed from most to least shares owned, they are CEO and Director Joness Lang with 3.32% or 1.69M shares, Director and Strategic Adviser Warwick Smith with 2.16% or 1.1M shares, Director and Technical Adviser Kenneth Cunningham with 1.96% or 1M shares, Chief Financial Officer Alnesh Mohan with 0.98% or 0.5M shares and Director and Technical Adviser Eric Saderholm with 0.59% or 0.3M shares.

One institution, Euro Pacific Asset Management, holds 0.59% or 0.3M shares.

Retail investors own the remaining 89.91% of Canter.

The company's share structure consists of 50.99M outstanding shares and 46.15M free float traded shares.

Canter's market cap is CA$7.47M, and its 52-week trading range is CA$0.07−CA$0.99 per share.

Important Disclosures:

1. Canter Resources Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Canter Resources Corp.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor/employee.
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