Shares in the Robert Martin-chaired company were trading at 35¢ just after 10am, up 75 per cent on the 20¢ issue price.

Pioneer is focused on developing the Root Lake project, located between Green Technology Metals’ two Root Bay and McCombe resources in Ontario, and its LaGrande project in Quebec’s James Bay region.

Maiden exploration programs on the two sites will include prospecting, airborne surveys, mapping and sampling.

Pioneer comes from the same stable of lithium companies that have produced Battery Age Minerals and Critical Resources, also based in Canada.

Its board includes former Pilbara Minerals executives Nigel Broomham and Gerard O’Donovan as non-executive directors, while former Fortescue Future Industries boss Clinton Booth has been appointed chief executive.

Mr Booth spent two years at the Andrew Forrest-led miner as FFI’s global head of integration and head of development for North America.

He described the Root Lake project as “one of the most strategic lithium assets I have ever seen in my career, being located between two existing deposits, with compelling potential for future exploration to extend this known lithium mineralisation into Pioneer’s ground”.

“With a clear focus to become a developer and miner, we are looking forward to playing a significant role in the rapidly growing North American battery materials market,” Mr Booth said on Thursday.

Mr Martin, Pioneer’s executive chairman, said Pioneer represented an “exceptional opportunity for investors” with a market cap of around $9.4 million and an enterprise value of just $4.3m at listing.

Pioneer’s listing comes amid a wave of support for lithium companies and assets as demand for the battery metal heats up.

Fellow Canadian explorer James Bay Minerals — which holds the Joule, Aero and Aqua projects in the region’s La Grande Greenstone Belt — also enjoyed a stellar ASX launch, with shares closing 50 per cent higher than the 20¢ issue price on September 12.

Th stock was trading 2.5¢ higher at 38¢ after James Bay announced it had discovered an extensive pegmatite outcrop at its Aero Property on Thursday.