Patagonia Lithium Ltd (ASX:PL3) has officially commenced drilling operations at well JAM 26-08 at its Cilon project in the Salar de Jama, Jujuy province, Argentina. The company has reached a depth of 38 metres and successfully installed a 30-metre steel casing, which has been concreted in place to maintain the verticality of the drill hole. This latest operational step is part of a broader exploration program across the company’s extensive 19,500-hectare land package in the region.

The current drilling campaign aims to reach a total target depth of 600 metres. These drilling efforts are intended to provide critical core samples for mineral resource estimation and geological analysis. Initial observations from the core samples, particularly between 30 and 38 metres, indicate the presence of well-sorted fine sands with high visual porosity, a factor seen as encouraging for potential brine extraction. The project team is maintaining an operational pace of approximately 25 metres per day.

"Our target for the Cilon well is 600m. We are drilling HQ3 diameter and the cores will be critical to upgrading our mineral resource estimate but so far porosity is looking good. The team is progressing well and is targeting 25m per day and 8 hours for each packer assay test. Hopefully the weather will be warmer than when I visited site last week with -17 degrees!"

— Phillip Thomas, Executive Chairman

In addition to the physical drilling progress, the company is advancing the regulatory framework required for future project development. Patagonia Lithium has lodged environmental impact assessments and permit applications with the Jujuy Mining Secretariat to facilitate the construction of a demonstration plant. The company also confirmed that recent community meetings in Olaroz were successful, with the outcomes submitted to the mines department as a prerequisite for upcoming government and community construction sign-off approvals.

Looking ahead, the next technical milestone for the project involves a series of packer assay tests. The company is scheduled to conduct the first of these tests at a depth of 70 metres, which will provide preliminary data on the brine characteristics at that specific horizon. These tests will be repeated at set intervals throughout the progression of the 600-metre drill hole to evaluate the project's subsurface potential.

Read the full announcement: Lithium Drilling Commences at Well 8