Perth-based lithium exploration and development company Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) saw strong interest on its first day of trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday (30/11/21).

With a portfolio of high-grade lithium assets in Quebec, Canada, and global demand for lithium soaring, Winsome peaked at $0.295 per share during day one trading, up from its initial listing price of $0.20. By market close, the stock had settled at $0.265, or 32.5 per cent up, with more than 15.5 million shares traded.

The company completed a heavily oversubscribed Initial Public Offering to raise AU$18 million, which will be used initially to fund an intense exploration and drilling campaign of the current assets.

Winsome Managing Director Chris Evans said the strong response from investors was pleasing, although “somewhat expected” given the current interest in lithium.

“It’s an exciting time to be in lithium and today’s results affirm investor appetite for this growing commodity, while demonstrating the high regard in which investors hold our assets in Quebec,” Mr Evans said.

“We have, with equal measures of skill and luck, picked probably the best time imaginable to be listing on the ASX with a lithium-focused exploration company.

“Global demand for lithium is at an all-time high, fuelled largely by a surging interest in electric vehicles and battery storage.”

Winsome will now focus on developing a resource and progressing its three projects in the James Bay region of Quebec – Cancet, Adina and Sirmac-Clappier – towards production.

The company will focus on high quality spodumene concentrate, suitable for conversion across multiple battery applications.

“At Cancet, the most developed of our three projects, there has already been more than 5,000m of diamond drilling completed and the project boasts a JORC exploration target of 1 to 2 per cent lithium oxide,” Mr Evans said.

“We intend to expand the drilling to develop a maiden resource, while simultaneously exploring for new areas of mineralisation on the remaining 350 or so claims at Cancet that have thus far been exposed to relatively little exploration.

“The same will occur at Adina, where we have already completed about 1,700m of diamond drilling.

“At Sirmac we will be doing grass roots exploration to confirm the presence of lithium mineralised pegmatites that look like they extend on to our property from known adjacent lithium resources.”

With more than 99 per cent of the world’s lithium reserves located in Australia, Argentina, Chile and China, the Company’s assets offer jurisdictional diversity and opportunities to contribute to the expanding North American battery industry.

Quebec is noted as one of the world’s most supportive, lowest risk mining regions in the world, renowned for its world-class infrastructure and support for mining developments.

It is at the forefront of the North American push to develop its own EV battery supply chain, with lithium being one of the key base ingredients needed to make this happen.