Olympio Metals (ASX: OLY) has commenced exploration in the United States at its Jacknife project in Idaho and Raven project in Montana.

Managing Director Sean Delaney said the company has been able to rapidly accelerate to a maiden drill campaign thanks to the 335 acres of patented mining claims within the Jacknife Project, which hosts six historically significant mines with more than 8km of underground workings. Patented mining claims carry pre-existing surface and mineral rights, which can shorten permitting timelines compared with unpatented claims on federal land.

"We are extremely excited to be kicking off our maiden exploration programs in our key US based projects. These programs will focus on drill testing at the Conjecture mine and key brownfields targets, while defining our surface exploration strategy for the Jacknife and Raven projects," Mr Delaney said.

"Our partner, Scout Discoveries, is in the process of clearing drill pad locations and expect a diamond drill rig to be mobilised imminently. Preliminary rock chip and soil samples are being collected across key structures and we are looking forward to defining the most effective exploration method for project scale surface exploration but also to obtain the first multi element assay results for both projects, where historical assays only reported selective base metals.

"Earthworks have commenced for diamond drill pad preparation within the patented claims at Jacknife. The maiden drill program is expected to commence imminently and will focus on preliminary testing at the historical Conjecture mine and Conjecture Shear Zone."

In addition to drilling, Olympio is conducting rock chip and soils campaigns to confirm the most effective methods for detecting fertile structures within the Jacknife and Raven projects. These samples will be the first assays for both project areas covering a broad suite of elements, rather than just selective base metals. Results from these programs will determine the most effective approach to broad project-scale surface exploration. The move into the US comes as the country continues to pursue policies aimed at building domestic supply chains for critical minerals, and Olympio's programs in Idaho and Montana position it within that broader push.

The Jacknife project includes a +610m vertical shaft at the Conjecture mine. The project covers the Conjecture, Weber, Bellville and Hewer Shear Zones, which have a combined strike length of around seven kilometres. The preliminary rock chip and soils campaign will test whether these structures have a geochemical surface expression.

The company will progressively map these structures using surface geochemistry to determine whether they extend beyond the ~7km of combined strike length. Future programs will also screen for additional structures that may not have been identified by historical miners in the Lakeview Mining District. As an early-stage explorer, upcoming catalysts for investors to monitor include the mobilisation of the diamond drill rig, first multi-element assay results from the rock chip and soils programs, and initial drill results from the Conjecture mine and Conjecture Shear Zone.

OLY shares were down 2.56% to 3.8 cents, giving the company a market capitalisation of $6.906 million.