As with most states, Wyoming enforces a 10-acre (4-hectare) maximum surface disturbance for small mining operations. Unlike other States however, it does not impose a limit on the volume of material that can be extracted – often capped at 35,000 cubic yards (267,60 cubic metres).

Black Mountain’s high-grade lithium is near-surface and expected to remain predominantly near-surface, which lends itself to open-pit mining, thereby reducing mining costs without having to worry about any volume restrictions.

Plans have also been drawn up to pepper Black Mountain with a further 3300m of RC drilling following phase two. Chariot says a mixture of infill and extensional drilling should allow it to build up a complete 3D model of the deposit to execute its new strategy.

Lithium prices have been widely forecast to bounce back at some stage and Chariot seems to have caught the eye of the market with its low-risk and low-cost production strategy to potentially access early free cash flows.

Following the announcement of the strategy change in early October, Chariot’s share price impressively doubled in an otherwise lacklustre lithium market. The company is now cashed up and setting off to execute its plans that could see it well positioned to service a growing US market.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au