Battery Mineral Resources Corp: Gowganda East Reconnaissance Rock Sampling Yields Encouraging Cobalt - Silver - Nickel and Copper Results
19.07.2021 | Newsfile
Vancouver, July 19, 2021 - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or "BMR" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on encouraging reconnaissance rock sampling results from the Gowganda East Block, that is located about 35 kilometers ("km") west of the town of Elk Lake and 125km northeast of Sudbury (Figure 1).Highlights
- One hundred and seventy-two rock grab samples were collected and submitted for assay during the Gowganda East reconnaissance prospecting and rock grab sampling program.
- Forty-four historic workings, mineral occurrences and LIDAR features were field checked as part of 80 person-days of field work program.
- Thirteen samples from 7 prospects targets yielded cobalt values greater than 1.0 percent ("%") cobalt ("Co") including a peak cobalt value of 6.6% Co;
- Twelve samples from 9 prospects yielded anomalous silver ("Ag") values ranging from 39 grams per tonne ("g/t") to 1,675g/t Ag;
- Four samples from 2 prospects yielded nickel values greater than 1.0% nickel ("Ni") ranging from 1.12% to 2.9% Ni;
- Seven samples from 5 prospects returned high grade copper ("Cu") assays ranging from 1.5% to 7.7% Cu;
- Samples from the Chapelle and Ottawa workings also yielded elevated gold ("Au") ranging from 0.10g/t to 1.15g/t Au and 1.29 g/t Au respectively.
- The program has identified 5 sites that warrant follow-up field work including; Bald Rock, Babs Lake, Chapelle, East Martin Lake and Powerful Silver. The Bald Rock target will be drill tested in June.
About the Gowganda East Reconnaissance Program
BMR has conducted several focussed reconnaissance prospecting, rock sampling and geological mapping programs at the Gowganda East Block in Chown, Haultain, Lawson and Nicol townships. These programs were designed to investigate known historic workings, mineral occurrences and LIDAR features to assess each site visited potential to host significant cobalt-silver mineralization.
The most recent program concentrated on field checking 40 prospects that included Bald Rock, Chapelle and Babs Lake. This program comprised 47 person-days of field work.
Rock grab sampling was focused on vein material taken from both historic "muck" piles and in-situ veins from outcrops and/or pits. Visible disseminated sulphide mineralization was sampled as potential lower grade bulk tonnage style targets. Twenty-five samples from 13 prospects yielded encouraging assay results (Figure 2 and Table 1).
Bald Rock
The Bald Rock prospect, sometimes referred to as the Silver Leaf Property, consists of a shaft that was likely sunk in the 1930s in Lawson Township. The prospect also includes numerous pits and mechanically stripped outcrops that have been periodically worked on over the years.
In 2010, Bald Rock sampled a stripped outcrop 300 metres ("m") south of the shaft which yielded an assay of 3,317 ounces per ton ("oz/t") silver. In 2011, channel sampling was completed over a lobate shaped outcrop with two deep pits and widespread veining located 500 metres south of the shaft producing a peak assay value of 51.6g/t Ag, >1.0% Co and 1.4% Cu over 0.58 metres.
Reconnaissance grab samples collected by BMR from the Bald Rock showing also yielded significant results with peak assays at 41.3g/t Ag, 1.5% Co and 7.7% Cu (Photo 1). This target was drill tested (7 holes/682.00m) in June. Drillcore assay results are pending.
Chapelle
The historic Chapelle shaft is located east of Leroy Lake in Nicol Township and was sunk in the 1910s on a strong aplite dyke and calcite vein hosted in the Nipissing diabase. A high-grade silver vein was reported on the 14.6m level and again in a drift at the 25.9m level but no production was ever recorded. Historic rock sampling assays from the Chapelle shaft's muck pile returned 1.0% Co, 0.9% Ni and trace amounts of silver and copper.
During BMR's reconnaissance program three grab samples were collected from the same muck pile and contained visible chalcopyrite, erythrite and nickel-arsenic sulphides that produced assays ranging from 5.5%-6.0% Co, 1.1%-2.9% Ni, 6.9g/t-83.2g/t Ag along with a peak gold value of 1.15g/t Au. Follow-up mapping and sampling is planned.
Babs Lake
Numerous pits and trenches along with two shafts comprise the Babs Lake in Haultain Township. These workings targeted silver and cobalt-bearing quartz-carbonate veins hosted in the Nipissing diabase. Recent stripping exposed possible cylindrical joints that regionally are commonly spatially associated with high-grade silver veins. In 1960, Castlebar Silver & Cobalt Mines Ltd. recorded a high-grade intercept from a calcite vein 621g/t Ag over 0.3m.
BMR geologists sampled a mineralized calcite vein along one of the pit walls directly east of the main shaft that contained visible erythrite and cobaltite. The samples contained up to 6.6% Co and 1,675g/t Ag (Photo 2). Additional sampling and geological mapping are planned for the prospect.
Table 1: Significant rock grab samples from BMR's Gowganda East Block
Sample Site
Name Easting
(m) Northing
(m) Cobalt (%) Silver (g/t) Copper (%) Nickel (%) Gold (g/t)
R1221 Babs Lake 521417 5281057 6.60 1,675.00 0.79 1.96 -
R0611 Chapelle 522905 5278671 6.04 83.20 0.60 2.89 -
R1128 Chapelle 522904 5278664 5.89 6.99 0.04 1.12 1.15
R1129 Chapelle 522911 5278667 5.54 39.40 0.01 2.31 1.04
R2226 Martin Lake East 527966 5274674 3.83 8.18 - 0.28 -
R1222 Babs Lake 522878 5280930 2.47 13.95 0.20 0.22 -
R1174 Powerful Silver 526100 5275737 2.45 103.00 0.10 0.48 -
R2218 Bald Rock 529409 5272553 1.53 18.70 0.47 0.01 -
R0614 Wigwam 525245 5280546 1.53 7.50 0.95 0.30 -
R2211 Sydney Creek 528509 5275103 1.43 7.63 0.59 0.20 -
R1204 Bishop 526087 5278103 1.09 102.00 0.27 0.17 0.01
R1175 Sydney Creek 528531 5275070 1.06 4.98 0.14 0.39 -
R1180 Bald Rock 529522 5272973 1.00 21.20 0.01 0.08 -
R1127 Chapelle 522916 5278656 0.08 129.00 3.14 0.13 0.10
R0714 McRae Lake East 524399 5284186 0.09 98.00 0.07 0.05 -
R2236 Haultain Silver 524510 5281903 0.08 73.20 0.78 0.01 -
R2235 Haultain Silver 524527 5281897 0.19 67.90 0.01 0.05 -
R1223 McAlpine 522964 5283154 0.12 57.60 0.03 0.03 -
R1226 Wigwam Lake 525143 5281762 0.41 56.50 4.03 0.07 -
R2217 Bald Rock 529408 5272564 0.15 14.65 7.65 0.24 -
R2233 Wigwam 525220 5280551 0.13 8.05 7.12 0.01 -
R0173 Bald Rock 529409 5272552 0.75 41.30 3.28 0.12 -
R1212 Flatstone Lake 522878 5280930 0.18 5.07 2.53 0.03 -
R2222 Bald Rock 529414 5273229 0.18 14.65 1.52 - -
R0700 Ottawa 523679 5279689 0.63 9.49 0.02 0.65 1.29
Battery CEO Martin Kostuik states: "We are pleased to report the encouraging assay results produced from the Gowganda East Block reconnaissance programs. These preliminary results give us confidence that Gowganda East can potentially host significant new cobalt-silver vein discoveries. We look forward to drilling the Bald Rock target and completing follow-up assessments of the Babs Lake, Chapelle, and other targets based on these initial high-grade results."
Background
The Gowganda mining camp was one of three historic silver-cobalt districts in Canada's Cobalt Embayment situated in Northeastern Ontario about 6 hours drive north of Toronto. Estimated historic production from the Gowganda camp (1910-1969) was 60 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million pounds of cobalt. This production was sourced from high-grade silver-cobalt veins hosted in Proterozoic Nipissing diabase intrusions. Thirty-seven mineral occurrences are present within BMR's Gowganda block which have an extensive exploration & mining history dating back to 1908 when silver was first discovered at Miller Lake (McIlwaine, 1978).
The Gowganda Project totals 1,138 mining claims and 4 mining leases covering 22,693 hectares (226 square kilometres) in two main blocks. BMR's holding include 4 of the 5 past producers in the Gowganda Camp including the Capitol, Bonsall, Millerett and Miller Lake-O'Brien mines.
The Gowganda East block is dominated by conical or basinal shape Nipissing diabase sills that intruded Proterozoic Huronian Cobalt Group sediments and the Archean basement. Late diabase dykes cut all Archean and Proterozoic lithologies and strike both northwest and northeast.
Most of the polymetallic silver-cobalt-nickel vein occurrences are hosted in the Nipissing diabase and near the Archean and/or Huronian sediment contact. Most of the productive veins were hosted in the upper half, or hangingwall, of the Nipissing diabase sill. Mineralized quartz-calcite veins are typically vertical to steeply dipping. Vein widths range from mm-scale to 1 metre in width. The veins typically comprise native silver and finer-grained iron-cobalt-nickel arsenide minerals in calcite gangue, often with minor comb-textured quartz along vein margins.
Figure 1: Gowganda Project Location Map
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Figure 2: Significant rock grab sample assay results from the Gowganda East Block
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Photo 1: Cobalt bloom in calcite vein from Bald Rock
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Photo 2: Cobalt bloom with visible cobaltite mineralization and high-grade silver assay from Babs Lake prospect
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Quality Control
Sample preparation, analysis and security procedures applied on the BMR exploration projects is aligned with industry best practice. BMR has implemented protocols and procedures to insure high quality collection and management of samples resulting in reliable exploration assay data. BMR has implemented formal analytical quality control monitoring for all of its field sampling and drilling programs by inserting blanks and certified reference materials into every sample sequence dispatched.
Sample preparation is performed by ALS Minerals Laboratories ("ALS") in Sudbury, Ontario and sample analyses by ALS in North Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS analytical facilities are commercial laboratories and are independent from BMR. All BMR samples are collected and packaged by BMR staff and delivered upon receipt at the ALS Laboratory in Sudbury. Samples are logged in a sophisticated laboratory information management system for sample tracking, scheduling, quality control, and electronic reporting. Samples are dried then crushed to 70% < -2 millimeters and a riffle split of 250 grams is then pulverized to 85% of the material achieving a size of <75 microns. These prepared samples are then shipped to the ALS Laboratory in North Vancouver for analyses by the following methods:
- ME-MS61: A high precision, multi-acid digest including Hydrofluoric, Nitric, Perchloric and Hydrochloric acids. Analysed by inductively coupled plasma ("ICP") mass spectrometry that produces results for 48 elements.
- ME-OG62: Aqua-Regia digest: Analysed by ICP-AES (Atomic Emission Spectrometry) or sometimes called optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for high levels of Co, Cu, Ni and Ag.
- Ag-GRA21: Silver by fire assay and gravimetric finish; 30-gram charge. Weight. Used when samples contain > 1500 g/t silver.
- Au-AA25: Gold was analysed by a 30-gram fire assay method, followed by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Certified international standards are inserted into sample batches by ALS. Blanks and duplicates are inserted within each analytical run. The blank is inserted at the beginning, internationally certified standards are inserted at random intervals, and duplicates are analysed at the end of the batch.
Additional Information
P. J. Doyle, FAusIMM (#208850), Battery Mineral Resources Corp. - Vice President Exploration - Canada, supervised the preparation of and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release pertaining to the Canada Exploration Program. Scientific and technical information pertaining to the cobalt resource at McAra was extracted from the Company's NI 43-101 "Technical report on Cobalt Exploration Assets in Canada" dated as of May 26, 2020 with an effective date of March 31, 2020, prepared by Glen Cole (P. Geo) of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.
About Battery Mineral Resources Corp.
Battery is a multi-commodity resource company which provides investors with exposure to the world-wide trend towards electrification. Battery is engaged in the discovery, acquisition, and development of battery metals (cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel & copper), in North and South America and South Korea with the intention of becoming a premier and sustainable supplier of battery minerals to the electrification marketplace. Battery is the largest mineral claim holder in the historic Gowganda Cobalt-Silver Camp, Canada and continues to pursue a focused program to build on the recently announced, +1 million pound cobalt resource at McAra by testing over 50 high-grade primary cobalt silver-nickel-copper targets. In addition, Battery owns 100% of ESI Energy Services, Inc., a pipeline equipment rental and sales company with operations in Leduc, Alberta and Phoenix, Arizona. Finally, Battery is currently developing the Punitaqui Mining Complex, and pursuing the potential near term resumption of operations at the prior producing Punitaqui copper-gold mine. The Punitaqui copper-gold mine most recently produced approximately 21,000 tonnes of copper concentrate in 2019 and is located in the Coquimbo region of Chile.
For further information, please contact:
Battery Mineral Resources Corp.
Martin Kostuik
Phone: +1 (604) 229 3830
Email: info@bmrcorp.com
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