A hard-rock lithium exploration company is expanding a drilling project south of Custer by up to seven-fold.
Longview Minerals said it’s looking to drill up to eight holes across 31 new pads on private property in the southern Black Hills, at a maximum dept of 850 feet.
Longview is a subsidiary of Australian-based IRIS Metals and has 2,500 mining claims in the Black Hills.
The company also is looking to increase the number of holes it can drill on pads permitted last year. They were permitted to drill two holes across 42 pads. Now, they want to drill up to eight.
Longview is drilling for pegmatites, which contain spodumene crystals that host the element lithium. That mineral is used to make electric vehicle batteries.
The move comes as prospecting in the Black Hills for lithium and other minerals has increased in recent years.
Exploratory drilling by a separate company, Midwest Lithium, near Keystone and Hill City, is on pause until the spring.
