Comet claim home field advantage for Quebec lithium quarry

Recently appointed Comet Director and Executive Chairman Vincent Metcalfe found himself in a white-hot lithium market but bidding with the benefit of local knowledge.

Metcalfe and his cohort of natives could smell opportunity with Comet and its territory in the highly regarded lithium region of James Bay and well within reach of the Trieste camp. One could say it became a proverbial ‘no brainer’ on consideration of potential and relative valuation.

“The Trieste camp is incredibly active with Winsome, Azimut, Rio/Midland and Loyal Lithium conducting extensive exploration programs,” Metcalfe explains.

“There are over seven drills in the area, so a lot of action. Based on our preliminary evaluation, we see the makings of a new major Lithium camp. Unlike Patriot’s Corvette, which one player controls, we think there’s a possibility Trieste could hold multiple deposits along the formation.”

Metcalfe was joined at Comet by the appropriately Quebecois-named Vincent Cardin-Tremblay as VP of Exploration and Joseph de la Plante as strategic advisor, key cogs to shift Comet into gear as a well-oiled exploration machine.

“What is important for people to understand is that they’re getting a team that is well oiled, that moves quickly, does the systematic work, and has good access to capital, all key ingredients to move a company forward,” he says while giving a tip of the cap his cap to the geologist of the group.

“The three of us all have various capabilities, but for Comet, it’s VCT, who has extensive experience around the world and great knowledge of the James Bay area, that will be the vital part of the team as we move the exploration program forward.”

Australian companies cashed up from their domestic front have certainly had their fair share of triumphs digging into Canada’s massive lithium reserves. While Metcalfe doesn’t grudge any successes, he says Comet retains an exploration advantage on home soil.

“It is our backyard; we understand the intricacies of exploration seasonality and have access to some Quebec-based funds, which are great financial supporters and a non-negligible benefit in this capital-intensive business. Permitting process is also an important area we can navigate well given our knowledge,” he stands.

Given its eminent location, market observers knew Comet’s Liberty property well. Still, after joining Comet, Metcalfe says he was surprised at both others and his lack of knowledge of his new company’s holdings across the region.

“Since joining Comet, we’ve been surprised that a few assets within Comet are relatively unknown to the market, or at least were to us,” he says.

“We’ll be bringing those forward fast. For example, you will hear much more from Troilus East, Triple Lithium, or Galli. All assets we believe hold great value and need additional work, all in the James Bay area.”

Lithium prices have descended since shattering all-time prices early in the decade. However, Metcalfe says lithium and copper are still where you want to be among the Canadian juniors.

“There’s an appetite to support good teams that hold the capabilities to advance their programs. The market is not as healthy as in the early 2010s; it’s a buyer’s market, and now is the time to advance the projects,” he explains.

“We are preparing for the turnaround. Importantly, the governments of Canada and Quebec are investing massively to cater to OEMs as the industry shifts to support the EV revolution. More lithium must be mined in Canada; that’s a given.”

This view is undoubtedly backed by the Canadian Federal Government, which announced its heightened intentions to support critical minerals projects with a new C$1.5-billion-dollar fund.

Comet has recently closed on its Pontax tenements. It has a permit in the palm to begin the inaugural drilling campaign over Liberty – looking forward to planning a white-hot winter of exploration in the frozen north.

“We are waiting for assays from our initial ground program, which was conducted this fall, we’ve also initiated an extensive gravity survey at Liberty,” Metcalfe says with heavy anticipation.

“Those are the missing pieces to our exploration puzzle, once in hand, we will be delineating targets and assessing the program size for the upcoming winter.”

“Importantly, a lot of information is coming out from our neighbours. It’s an incredible wealth of information we will also continually leverage.”

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