Canada Silver Cobalt Begins to Produce Metal Concentrates for EV Client Evaluation
The resulting concentrates will then be converted with the Company's Re-2Ox process into EV battery metals.Coquitlam, Sept. 20, 2022 - Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. (TSXV: CCW) (OTCQB: CCWOF) (FSE: 4T9B) (the "Company" or "Canada Silver Cobalt") is pleased to announce that two tonnes of high-grade mineralized material recovered during voluntary surface site rehabilitation at the past-producing Castle and Beaver Mines, in addition to high-grade silver tailings from the mines, will be processed at the Company's Temiskaming Testing Labs (TTL) high-grade bulk processing facility in nearby Cobalt, Ontario.
"Having met with South Korean EV metal buyers last week and with the TTL bulk processing facility fully commissioned, including the newly installed gravity processing plant (see news release September 14, 2022), we have begun processing two bulk samples totaling approximately two tonnes mineralized rock recovered from the waste piles and high-grade silver tailings at our Castle and Beaver Mines. We are doing this to produce a concentrate we can use for further testing of our Re-2Ox process and also to demonstrate the role that the upgraded TTL facility can play in processing high-grade mineralized material from the Cobalt Camp," stated CEO Frank J. Basa, P.Eng.
At TTL, the waste rock material will first be crushed and ground before being screened at 20 mesh to recover potential native silver for processing into silver dore bars using the facility's bullion furnace.
The remaining sulphide material will then pass through the gravity plant to produce a high-grade gravity concentrate, which will be assayed for cobalt, nickel, copper, silver, gold and arsenic (arsenic is one of the metals the US have on their critical metals list).
The high-grade silver tailings will be first screened at 20 mesh to remove any organics and then processed through the TTL gravity plant to produce a concentrate.
The Company plans to send these high-grade gravity concentrates to SGS Canada's laboratory facility in Lakefield, Ontario where, using the Company's proprietary Re-2Ox process, they will be converted into battery metals needed in the EV industry.
In 2018, the environmentally friendly Re-2Ox process was used at SGS Lakefield to produce a technical-grade cobalt sulphate hexahydrate at 22.6%, directly from cobalt-rich gravity concentrates produced from mineralized material removed from the first level of the Castle mine. The 22.6% cobalt sulphate compound exceeded the specifications required at that time by battery manufacturers including Japan's Sumitomo Metals. The gravity concentrates used for this had graded 9.25% cobalt, 5.65% nickel, 49.9% arsenic and 9.25 g/t silver. The Re-20x process recovered 99% of the cobalt and 81% of the nickel from the concentrate while also removing 99% of the arsenic - a long-time issue in the cobalt-rich Cobalt Camp but now a critical metal. (See news releases January 15, 2021 and May 31 and August 15, 2018.)
The Company regards the proprietary Re-2Ox process as a long-term strategic advantage that will facilitate the production of battery metals for the EV market for many years. It is a closed-loop, zero-discharge hydrometallurgical process with no smelting or burning involved, which can meet stringent Canadian and International environmental standards and traceable verification. It is, additionally, more energy efficient than existing processes which use smelting and could have the potential to be used widely in base metals processing especially where high amounts of arsenic are present.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.
About Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc.
Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. recently discovered a major high-grade silver vein system at Castle East located 1.5 km from its 100%-owned, past-producing Castle Mine near Gowganda in the prolific and world-class silver-cobalt mining district of Northern Ontario. The Company has completed a 60,000m drill program aimed at expanding the size of the deposit with an update to the resource estimate underway.
In May 2020, based on a small initial drill program, the Company published the region's first 43-101 resource estimate that contained a total of 7.56 million ounces of silver in Inferred resources, comprising very high-grade silver (8,582 grams per tonne un-cut or 250.2 oz/ton) in 27,400 tonnes of material from two sections (1A and 1B) of the Castle East Robinson Zone, beginning at a vertical depth of approximately 400 meters. Note that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to Canada Silver Cobalt Works Press Release May 28, 2020, for the resource estimate. Report reference: Rachidi, M. 2020, NI 43-101 Technical Report Mineral Resource Estimate for Castle East, Robinson Zone, Ontario, Canada, with an effective date of May 28, 2020, and a signature date of July 13, 2020.
The Company also has: (1) 14 battery metals properties in Northern Quebec where it has recently completed an almost 15,000-metre drill program on the Graal property and an airborne VTEM geophysical survey recently completed at its Lowney-Lac Edouard property; and (2) the prospective 1,000-hectare Eby-Otto gold property close to Agnico Eagle's high-grade Macassa Mine near Kirkland Lake, Ontario where it is exploring in 2022.
Canada Silver Cobalt's flagship silver-cobalt Castle mine and 78 sq. km Castle Property feature strong exploration upside for silver, cobalt, nickel, gold, and copper. With underground access at the fully owned Castle Mine, an exceptional high-grade silver discovery at Castle East, a pilot plant to produce cobalt-rich gravity concentrates, a processing facility (TTL Laboratories) in the town of Cobalt, and a proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2Ox (for the creation of technical-grade cobalt sulphate as well as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) formulations), Canada Silver Cobalt is strategically positioned to become a Canadian leader in the silver-cobalt space. More information at www.canadasilvercobaltworks.com.
"Frank J. Basa"
Frank J. Basa, P. Eng.
Chief Executive Officer
For further information, contact:
Frank J. Basa, P.Eng.
Chief Executive Officer
416-625-2342
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Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements. A detailed discussion of the risk factors encountered by Canada Silver Cobalt is available in the Company's Annual Information Form dated July 19, 2021 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.