WhiteRock Lithium Corp (ASX:WLC) has more than doubled the known strike length of the Spodumene Mountain lithium system at its 100%-owned Banana Lithium Project in Québec, Canada, after all seven holes from the opening phase of its 2026 drilling campaign intersected pegmatite containing visually identified spodumene.
The drilling extended the known strike by 115%, from around 650 metres to 1.4 kilometres, adding 350 metres to the southwest and 400 metres to the northeast beyond the limits of WhiteRock’s 2024 program. Pegmatite intersections reached up to 77.4 metres, with coarse-grained spodumene observed in all seven holes.
Importantly, the lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite system remains open along strike and at depth, leaving scope for further expansion as three diamond drill rigs continue testing the mineralised corridor.
Assay results from the first seven holes are expected this month. WhiteRock cautioned that visual estimates of spodumene abundance are not a substitute for laboratory analysis and do not confirm lithium grades.
Strike expands in both directions
Four holes targeting the northeastern extension intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatite, extending the system around 400 metres beyond the most northeasterly 2024 hole.
Initial interpretation suggests the pegmatite may pinch near surface before swelling locally at depth, while spodumene crystals observed in core ranged from centimetre to decimetre scale.
To the southwest, three holes extended the drilled footprint by another 350 metres. Thick pegmatite intervals showed internal variation between spodumene-bearing and feldspar-dominant zones, with coarse-grained spodumene visually abundant in parts of the mineralised pegmatite.
Among the largest reported pegmatite intervals were 77.4 metres in BL26-035, 68.5 metres in BL26-030, 40.9 metres in BL26-033 and 40 metres in BL26-031.
“These results are a significant milestone for WhiteRock from the first seven drill holes of the 2026 campaign. More than doubling the strike length at Spodumene Mountain to 1.4 km, with spodumene pegmatite confirmed in every new drill hole, demonstrates the scale and continuity of the system. The fact that the LCT pegmatite remains open along strike and down dip suggests that the full potential of the Banana Lithium Project has yet to be revealed,” WhiteRock chairman and CEO Simon Hay said.
Drilling builds toward maiden resource
WhiteRock has completed 1,903 metres across seven holes so far from a planned 50-60-hole campaign.
The three-rig program is now moving into systematic drilling on an approximately 100-metre by 100-metre grid across Spodumene Mountain, after initially testing extensions to the known strike limits.
The broader 2026 campaign is scheduled to run from June to October and is designed to extend Spodumene Mountain, establish tighter drill coverage and, subject to results, provide sufficient data for a maiden mineral resource estimate in the first half of 2027.
Hay added: “As well as seeking to understand the limits of the strike length, the 2026 drill program also has an objective of providing sufficient data to prepare an initial mineral resource estimate for part of the Project. Both objectives are on track and with the drilling productivity to date we are confident sufficient data will be generated.”
About WhiteRock Lithium
WhiteRock Lithium is a Canadian critical minerals explorer focused on lithium in Québec.
Its flagship Banana Lithium Project covers around 67,000 hectares across the Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee James Bay regions and hosts several spodumene-bearing LCT pegmatite prospects, including Spodumene Mountain, Isabella and Marine.
WhiteRock’s 2024 drilling at Spodumene Mountain returned results including 79.3 metres at 2.00% Li₂O from surface, 64.7 metres at 2.14% Li₂O and 60.7 metres at 1.89% Li₂O.
