ZincX Resources Initiates Shipment of Metallurgical Samples to China
VANCOUVER, February 1, 2022 - ZincX Resources Corp. ("ZincX" or the "Company", (TSXV:ZNX)(OTCQB:ZNCXF)(FRA:M9R) is pleased to announce that it has initiated shipment of samples, collected from the 2021 diamond drilling program, to China as part of the metallurgical testing to be conducted by Tongling Non-Ferrous Metals of China (Tongling).
The Company completed a large-diameter HQ diamond drill program in 2021 consisting of five holes totalling 2,669 metres with the objective of acquiring mineralized drill core samples for advanced metallurgical testing. The holes targeted specific areas of the Cardiac Creek deposit along the northwest, down-dip, and southeast boundaries of the high-grade core. These targets were selected in order to provide variability of the deposit across its strike and width. All five holes successfully tested the Cardiac Creek Zone with excellent recovery of thick intervals of sphalerite-galena-barite mineralization and over 500 HQ drill core samples were submitted and analyzed.
A total of six individual metallurgical samples were selected, two from hole A-21-156B and one from each of the remaining drill holes. Individual samples averaged 228 kilograms and the total combined weight is in excess of 1,350 kilograms. These samples will be used to continue to investigate the metallurgical response of the mineralization with a focus on enhancing recoveries and boosting concentrate grades for both zinc and lead.
The samples are being shipped from Vancouver by air freight to the Hunan Research Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals Co. Ltd., the metallurgical laboratory located in Changsha, China. The lab will conduct the metallurgical testing on behalf of Tongling. It is anticipated that the shipment will be delivered shortly after the Chinese New Year in early February and testing should commence shortly thereafter.
Peeyush Varshney, President and CEO commented "We are pleased to be working with our largest shareholder and strategic partner Tongling in initiating another round of metallurgical testing on the Cardiac Creek deposit in order to enhance both the metallurgical characteristics and economical potential of the deposit. We look forward to the results of this work in the coming months. In the interim, our team is pressing forward with the planning on the 2022 exploration program."
The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project
The 100% owned Akie property is situated within the Kechika Trough, the southernmost area of the regionally extensive Paleozoic Selwyn Basin and one of the most prolific sedimentary basins in the world for the occurrence of SEDEX zinc-lead-silver and stratiform barite deposits.
Drilling on the Akie property by ZincX Resources since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization known as the Cardiac Creek deposit. The deposit is hosted by siliceous, carbonaceous, fine-grained clastic rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian Gunsteel Formation.
The Company updated the estimate of mineral resources at Cardiac Creek in 2018, as follows:
| 5% Zinc Cut-Off Grade | Contained Metal: | ||||||
| Category | Tonnes | Zn (%) | Pb (%) | Ag (g/t) | Zn (B lbs) | Pb (B lbs) | Ag (M oz) |
| Indicated | 22.7 | 8.32 | 1.61 | 14.1 | 4.162 | 0.804 | 10.3 |
| Inferred | 7.5 | 7.04 | 1.24 | 12.0 | 1.169 | 0.205 | 2.9 |
The Company announced robust positive results from the 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The PEA envisages a conventional underground mine and concentrator operation with an average production rate of 4,000 tonnes per day. The mine will have an 18-year life with potential to extend the life-of-mine (LOM) through resource expansion at depth. Key parameters for the PEA are as follows:
| Parameter | Base Case1 |
| Tonnes Mined | 25.8 Mt |
| Mined Head Grades | 7.6% Zn; 1.5% Pb; 13.08 g/t Ag |
| Tonnes Milled | 19.7 Mt |
| Milled Head Grades (after DMS2 upgrade) | 10.0% Zn; 1.9% Pb; 17.17 g/t Ag |
| Total Payable Metal (LOM) | $3,960M3 |
| Initial CAPEX | $302.3M including $45.7M contingency |
| LOM Total CAPEX | $617.9M including $58.5M contingency |
| All-in Total OPEX | $102.4 per tonne milled |
| Pre-Tax NPV7% | $649M |
| Pre-Tax IRR | 35% |
| Pre-Tax Payback | 2.6 years |
| After-Tax NPV7% | $401M |
| After-Tax IRR | 27% |
| After-Tax Payback | 3.2 years |
1. The base case used metal prices are calculated from the 3 year trailing average coupled with two year forward projection of the average price; and are: US$1.21/lb for zinc, US$1.00/lb for lead and US$16.95 for silver. A CDN$/US$ exchange rate of 0.77 was used. The NPV discount rate is 7%. 2. DMS = dense media separation. 3. All dollar amounts expressed in Canadian dollars.
The PEA is considered preliminary in nature and includes mineral resources, including inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not yet demonstrated economic viability. Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of a mineral resource will be upgraded to mineral reserves. Therefore, there is no certainty that the results concluded in the PEA will be realized.
Kechika Regional Project
In addition to the Akie Project, the Company owns 100% of eight of eleven large, contiguous property blocks that comprise the Kechika Regional Project including the advanced Mt. Alcock prospect. The Kechika Regional Project also includes the Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties which the Company maintains a significant 49% interest with partners Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.B) and Korea Zinc Co. Ltd holding 51%. These properties collectively extend northwest from the Akie property for approximately 140 kilometres covering the highly prospective Gunsteel Formation shale; the main host rock for known SEDEX zinc-lead-silver deposits in the Kechika Trough of northeastern British Columbia. These projects are located approximately 260 kilometres north northwest of the town of Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada.
Ken MacDonald P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for the Company, is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information contained in this release. Mike Makarenko P.Eng, JDS Energy and Mining, is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the PEA technical information contained in this release.
(1) Murrell, M., and Roberts, W., 1990; Summary Report, 1989 Exploration Program on the Mt. Alcock Property, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Assessment Report 19829A & B, 133p.
(2) Carne, R.C., 1980; Report on Diamond Drilling on the Bear and SI Claim Group, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Assessment Report 8626, 51p.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"PEEYUSH VARSHNEY"
PEEYUSH VARSHNEY, LL.B
CEO & CHAIRMAN
SOURCE: ZincX Resources Corp.
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