Charger Metals has mobilised an RC rig for a 10,000m programme aimed at expanding and upgrading confidence in its 10.6Mt Medcalf lithium resource. The work is funded by the $3.752 million cash sale of the Bynoe Lithium Project and comes as Charger commits to a scoping study at Lake Johnston.
- 10,000m RC drilling programme underway at Lake Johnston
- Medcalf resource stands at 10.6Mt grading 1.0% Li2O
- Medcalf West Exploration Target adds a conceptual 3-5Mt
- Bynoe sale provides $3.752 million cash funding
- Scoping study now committed for Lake Johnston
Drilling Nearly Doubles Medcalf Programme
Charger Metals NL (ASX:CHR) has put a 10,000m RC drilling programme into motion at its 100%-owned Lake Johnston Lithium Project in Western Australia, targeting the next jump in scale and confidence for the Medcalf spodumene deposit.
The programme will test extensions and provide infill drilling across the 10.6 million tonne Inferred Mineral Resource, which grades 1.0% Li2O and 107 parts per million Ta2O5. Charger says the new work will nearly double the 10,936m already drilled at Medcalf, with the deposit remaining open down dip and along strike.
Medcalf West Adds Conceptual Upside
A second target sits beside the resource: Medcalf West carries an Exploration Target of 3-5Mt at 1.0%-1.4% Li2O. The drilling is intended to help define that target, but its tonnage and grade remain conceptual. Charger cautions that there has not yet been enough exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and that further drilling may not produce one.
The company also plans to generate additional diamond core samples for metallurgical and geotechnical testing. That work matters because the announcement is not framed solely as a resource-growth exercise: Charger says it now considers Medcalf to have reached “critical mass” and has committed to a scoping study for the broader Lake Johnston project.
Bynoe Sale Removes Immediate Funding Hurdle
The drilling and ongoing mining and processing studies are being funded by the recent sale of the Bynoe Lithium Project to Core Lithium’s subsidiary for $3.752 million in cash, received on 17 July 2026. Charger is therefore directing its available project funding towards Lake Johnston rather than running both lithium assets in parallel.
Charger says Lake Johnston is about 200km by road from the port of Esperance and within trucking distance of four spodumene concentration plants. Those logistics are relevant to the scoping study, but the announcement does not provide an economic assessment, production forecast or development timetable.
Results Must Convert Scale Into Confidence
The immediate test is geological rather than financial. Assays and interpretation will need to show whether the infill work can improve confidence in the existing Inferred Resource, whether extensions add meaningful tonnes, and whether Medcalf West can progress beyond an Exploration Target. Any resource increase remains a future possibility, not an outcome established by this drilling commencement.
Bottom Line?
The funded drilling gives Charger a clear catalyst, but the investment case now turns on whether new metres convert conceptual and open-ended potential into a larger, better-defined resource that can support the scoping study.
Questions in the middle?
- Will drilling confirm extensions beyond the current Medcalf resource envelope?
- Can Medcalf West convert any part of its 3-5Mt Exploration Target into a Mineral Resource?
- Will the eventual scoping study demonstrate economics after metallurgical and geotechnical testing?