International Cobalt Receives Progress on Legal Dispute
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Cobalt Corp. (CSE:CO) (the “Company” or “International Cobalt”) is pleased to announce that it has received notification from counsel that Battery Mineral Resources Ltd. (“Battery Minerals”) motion to dismiss the legal action filed against them regarding the Formation North Project (see news release dated December 12, 2017) has been denied.
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On January 18th, 2018, a motion to dismiss the court case brought forward by Arizona Lithium Company Ltd. (“Arizona Lithium”) against Battery Minerals was heard in United States District Court for the State of Idaho. Upon review the judge hearing the motion by Battery Minerals denied the motion. Management believes that this decision greatly strengthens the Company’s claim that the 58 lode mining claims located in Lemhi County, Idaho (referred to as the “BOCO Claims”) that make up the Company’s Formation North Project are valid.
NATURE OF LEGAL DISPUTE RELATING TO THE FORMATION NORTH PROJECT
Arizona Lithium Company Ltd. (“Arizona Lithium”) staked the BOCO Claims on 26th to 30th September 2016, consisting of 58 lode mining claims located in Lemhi County, Idaho. At the time Arizona Lithium staked the BOCO Claims, it encountered mining claim posts lying on the ground within a portion of the area encompassing the BOCO Claims. These posts, and the attached identification tags, allegedly evidenced the location of certain mining claims previously located on September 7, 2016 (referred to as the “BATT Claims”). Due to apparent inadequacies in the staking of the BATT Claims (including the failure to properly place the posts in the ground or at the corners of the claims), Arizona Lithium asserts that the BATT Claims are void and is pursuing legal action against the owner of the BATT Claims (Battery Minerals Resources, Inc.) in the United States District Court for the State of Idaho to have the BATT Claims declared invalid. Arizona Lithium has paid all BLM and registration fees on its BOCO Claims and believes its claims have been validly staked and will proceed with legal action to invalidate the competing claims.
Subsequent to the staking Arizona Lithium filed amended location notices for the BOCO Claims to cure minor deficiencies in the BOCO location notices. It was the minor deficiencies in the location notices that was the basis for Battery Minerals motion to dismiss. The amendment did not modify the filing date, nor should it impact Arizona Lithium’s ability to pursue its claims against the BATT Claims.
ABOUT THE FORMATION NORTH PROJECT
The Formation North Project consists of 58 Lode claims totalling approximately 1,160 acres (470 hectares). Formation North is located within 5km of eCobalt Solution’s Ram deposit and centered on the Idaho Cobalt Belt within highly prospective geology. The Property was acquired through a purchase agreement announced December 12th, 2017.
Historical work on the property has identified several mineralized zones, including the Bonanza Zone, where drilling returned 17.8 meters of 0.24% Co and 0.15% Cu (including 4.9 meters of 0.41% Co and 0.22% Cu) and 18.2 meters of 0.18% Co and 0.34% Cu (including 3.7 meters of 0.30% Co and 0.03 % Cu).
The Tinkers Pride Zone was also drilled in 1955 where the best drill intercept returned 6.9 meters of 0.41% Co and 2.01% Cu, and a separate 1.5-meter-wide zone of 0.76% Co and 5.15% Cu.
The two mineralized zones have only been tested with limited exploration of 7 drill holes, and there is an approximately 1.5-kilometre separation between the two zones. Additional historic work bolsters the discovery potential of the property with several wide-spread soil sample anomalies with values of greater than 150 ppm cobalt.
Although there is no record of gold assays in reports from the 1955 work, a 1982 sample taken form the Bonanza Zone by the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) assayed 4.4 g/t Au.
The results reported herein are historic in nature and while the Company has not completed sufficient work to confirm the foregoing results, the Company considers the historic information to be both relevant and reliable.
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Neil McCallum, P.Geol., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COBALT CORP.
International Cobalt Corp. (CSE:CO) is a Canadian based mineral exploration and development business focusing on the burgeoning cobalt sector. The rapidly growing large battery industry, a major consumer of cobalt, makes cobalt an appealing sector of focus. The Company seeks to add shareholder value by sourcing and developing projects in safe, progressive jurisdictions adhering to strict environmental and social standards.
On behalf of:
INTERNATIONAL COBALT CORP.
“Timothy Johnson”
Timothy Johnson, President
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration and development activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see our public filings at www.sedar.com for further information.
International Cobalt Corp.
Suite 810
789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 1H2
T: 604-687-2038
F: 604-687-3141
www.internationalcobalt.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c4c8ba52-c0f0-4ffb-a7bd-a36239bff9f6