Desert Minerals Clears BLM Review, Prepares to Drill Scotty Lithium Project

An Australian mining company with $4.1 million earmarked for the job is weeks away from putting drill rigs into the ground in Nye County, after clearing the final federal permitting hurdle at its Scotty Lithium Project.

Desert Minerals Ltd. posted a public update on March 17 announcing it had completed the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Notice of Intent review period for the Scotty project and was finalizing drill contracts and logistics. Executive Chairman Peretz Schapiro said in a news release that drilling was imminent and the program would move the project toward a formal resource calculation.

"With final permitting milestones achieved and drilling preparations now well advanced, we're excited to be moving into the next phase at Scotty as drilling gets underway," Schapiro said. "This program is a critical step toward advancing the project toward a maiden Mineral Resource estimate and testing the scale and continuity of lithium mineralization we see across the basin."

The Scotty project sits in a basin setting in Nye County that operators have compared to Nevada Lithium's Bonnie Claire site nearby. Early operator estimates placed potential lithium resources in the low millions of tons of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent, though the company acknowledged those figures are premature and do not yet constitute a formal maiden resource estimate.

Desert Minerals said it has $4.1 million in cash designated for the Scotty project. The company is Australian and also operates a gold mine in the Australian desert, giving it experience in remote arid terrain similar to Nevada's high desert. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Australia produced nearly half of the world's lithium in 2023, more than any other country.

The Desert Minerals announcement arrived shortly after Gov. Joe Lombardo visited a separate Nevada lithium mine and called the industry an example of "responsible development" for the state. That endorsement reflects a broader push across Nevada, where the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has identified the vast majority of the country's lithium projects in progress. Of 66 lithium mines the Dallas Fed identified nationwide, only one was operational in Nevada, with most of the rest still advancing through development stages, the same category where Scotty now sits.

Lithium prices have fallen sharply since their 2023 peak, a drop the Dallas Fed attributed to increased supply and softening immediate demand. Mining companies have continued pressing forward regardless, drawn by lithium's role in batteries powering electric vehicles and consumer electronics.

Specific details on the number of drill holes planned, target depths, contractor names, and program duration have not been disclosed by Desert Minerals. The company did not respond to a separate request for comment beyond the news release.