Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2021) - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or "BMR" or the "Company") announces that it has completed a seven hole - 682.00 metre diamond drill program on its 100% owned Bald Rock prospect in the Gowganda Project area (Figure 1).
Highlights
- The Bald Rock target comprises an area of extensive historic stripping and channel sampling that yielded intervals grading 51.60 grams per tonne silver ("g/t Ag"), >1.00 percent cobalt ("% Co") and 1.37 percent copper ("% Cu") over 0.58 metres ("m"), and 4.19g/t Ag, >0.30% Co, and 1.13% Cu over 2.05m;
- Rock sampling by BMR field crews of the stripped outcrop that was channel sampled in 2011 returned assays of 41.30g/t Ag, 1.53% Co and 7.65% Cu;
- No record or field evidence of any historic diamond drilling;
- Five holes are designed to test the strike and depth extent of the known 10m wide zone of altered and mineralized zone exposed in the stripped outcrop area, and one hole will target the projected intersection of the Bald Rock vein corridor, the vein system hosting the 3,317ounce per ton ("oz/t") silver rock grab sample result as well as the shaft vein system;
- One hole tested the vein mineralisation exposed at the prospect shaft/pit to the northwest of the stripped outcrop area;
- The final hole was drilled to test the vertical continuity of high-grade silver vein mineralisation identified in historic rock grab sampling (3,317oz/t silver assay) northwest of the stripped outcrop;
- Drilling results and assays are expected by end of July, 2021.
About the Bald Rock program
The Bald Rock prospect is situated in Lawson Township and is also referred to as the LaCarte or Silver Leaf showing. It consists of a shaft that was sunk in the 1930s and numerous pits and mechanically stripped outcrops which have been periodically examined over the years.
In 2010, a stripped outcrop 250m south of the shaft was rock grab sampled and yielded an assay of 3,317oz/t silver (113,725g/t Ag). In 2011, follow-up exploration consisted of a channel sampling program on the Bald Rock showing located approximately 500m south of the shaft. The channel sampling returned several anomalous mineralized zones including;
- 51.60g/t Ag, >1.00% Co and 1.37% Cu over 0.58m,
- 4.19g/t Ag, >0.30% Co, and 1.13% Cu over 2.05m.
Reconnaissance rock grab samples collected by BMR from a prospect pit adjacent to the 2011 channel samples yielded assays of 41.30g/t Ag, 1.53% Co and 7.65% Cu (Photo 1). Stripping and detailed mapping of the outcrop revealed that the altered and mineralized corridor is at least 10m wide, extends over a strike length of 40m and is open along strike in both directions.
The vein at the shaft, which was exposed by a pit and stripping strikes N330oE and yielded an assay of 0.93% cobalt and 5.68g/t silver from a BMR rock grab sample of the vein. The orientation of the vein exposed by the stripping and produced the 3,317oz/t silver assay is located 250m south of the shaft and strikes N350oE while the main Bald Rock vein system located further south strikes N050oE.
A seven-hole, 682.00m diamond drill program was completed in late June 2021. Five holes tested the depth and strike extent of the Bald Rock vein exposed in the stripped outcrop. The sixth hole target the intersection of three mineralised vein sets and a seventh hole targeted a historic high-grade silver grade silver rock sample result (Figure 2). A total of 189 drillcore samples were submitted for assay.
Battery CEO, Martin Kostuik, states, "The detailed mapping and sampling at Bald Rock prospect have identified a previously undrilled, 10-metre wide altered and mineralized zone that is open along strike and at depth. We are looking forward to the assay results from the drill testing of this target located southeast of the former producing Gowganda mining camp."
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 bi-product cobalt. This production was sourced from high-grade silver-cobalt veins hosted in Proterozoic Nipissing diabase sill-like intrusions. Thirty-seven mineral occurrences are present on the BMR's Gowganda block which have an extensive exploration & mining history dating back to 1908 when silver was first discovered at Miller Lake.
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 holdings include 4 of the 5 past producers in the Gowganda Camp including the Capitol, Bonsall, Millerett and Miller Lake-O'Brien mines.
The Gowganda block bedrock geology consists of that intrude Proterozoic Huronian Cobalt Group sediments intruded by Nipissing diabase sills and dykes. The oldest rocks at Gowganda are Archean greenstone metavolcanics - metasediments and/or granitic basement. Late diabase dykes cut all Archean and Proterozoic lithologies.
Most of the polymetallic silver-cobalt-nickel vein occurrences are hosted in the Nipissing diabase although both Archean metavolcanic and Cobalt Group sedimentary rocks have also been recorded to host veins. Most of the productive veins were hosted in the upper half, or hanging wall, of the Nipissing diabase sills. Mineralized quartz-calcite veins are typically vertical to steeply dipping. Vein widths range from mm-scale to 1 metre in width. The highest-grade ores were commonly mined at structural/vein intersections.
Mineralized zones occur as sheets of native silver and finer-grained iron-cobalt-nickel arsenide minerals in calcite gangue, often with minor comb-textured quartz along the vein margins.
Figure 1: Gowganda Project - Bald Rock Location Map
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
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Figure 2: LiDAR image showing Bald Rock stripped area with the proposed diamond drillhole locations. Vein zones (red dashed lines) are projected from measured orientations on stripped outcrop areas
To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:
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Photo 1: Left-typical Calcite (+/-quartz) vein with Cobalt bloom; Right- typical specular hematite vein; both types are found on the Bald Rock outcrop and in the historic prospect cut/pit.
To view an enhanced version of Photo 1, please visit:
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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 (LIMS) for sample tracking, scheduling, quality control, and electronic reporting. Samples are dried prior to crushing. The samples are 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 mass spectrometry ("ICP") 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 AAS (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
The securities offered pursuant to the Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of the Company on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to complete exploration and development activities, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, government regulation and fluctuating metal prices. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Battery undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
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