Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ: ELBM; TSX-V:
ELBM) (“Electra” or the “Company”) today announced the
acquisition of a cobalt property in proximity to the Company’s
projects in Idaho and provided an update on exploration activities
in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, home to the largest unmined cobalt
resource in the U.S.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221214005378/en/
Figure 1. CAS property showing its
location relative to the Iron Creek and Ruby target areas. Location
of historic drilled vein hosting Co-Au mineralization shown along
with a section line used in Figure 2. (Graphic: Business Wire)
Highlights
- Optioned a 5.3 km2 land package adjacent to the Iron Creek
deposit with historic drilling highlights that include 6.25 metres
at 0.51% cobalt and 7.5 ppm gold from 77.5 to 83.8 metres in
historic drilling
- Additional mineralization intercepted on the eastern extension
of the Iron Creek resource area of 5.6 m at 0.25% cobalt in IC22-01
from 228.8 to 234.3 m.
- Additional mineralization intercepted at the Ruby Target, 1.5
km southeast of the Iron Creek deposit, of 4.3 m at 0.25% cobalt in
IC22-04 from 211.4 to 215.8 m
- Permitting underway for a 10-year, 92 drill pad plan of
operations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service
(USFS) to conduct systematic exploration at the camp scale on Iron
Creek, Ruby, CAS, and additional exploration targets within
Electra’s 32.6 km2 land package
“Sourcing domestic supply of cobalt has become even more
critical with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act,” said
Trent Mell, Electra’s CEO. “While our primary focus continues to
centre on the commissioning of North American’s first cobalt
sulfate refinery and launching our battery materials recycling
demonstration plant in the coming weeks, advancing exploration
activities in the Idaho Cobalt Belt are key to our long-term growth
and efforts to onshore the EV battery supply chain.”
CAS Property
Following the success of the 2022 field season, the Company
concluded an option agreement to acquire the CAS property, a 5.3
square kilometer land package of lode mining claims adjacent to
Electra’s Iron Creek deposit (Figure 1). The CAS property includes
an outcropping mesothermal quartz vein swarm with cobalt and gold
mineralization. Historic reports indicate 2,622 metres of drilling
were completed in 19 holes. This historic drilling intercepted
anomalous zones of gold and cobalt associated with the vein swarms
with up to 6.25 m at 0.51% cobalt and 7.5 ppm gold from 77.5 to
83.8 metres. Material from historic drilling is no longer available
for check assays and as these results cannot be verified by
Electra, they cannot be relied upon at this time.
Rights to CAS were acquired for US$1.5 million, payable over 10
years upon completion of specific milestones. The underlying claim
owner will retain a 1.5% NSR purchasable by Electra for US$500,000
within 1 year of commercial production from the CAS property. Terms
to acquire CAS was reached in March 2023 and formally ratified by
Electra’s Board of Directors this week.
With this latest transaction, Electra’s land package now covers
32.6 km2 of prospective property with known occurrences of cobalt,
copper and gold. Combined with Electra’s Iron Creek and Ruby
properties, the addition of CAS provides Electra with three
significant areas of cobalt occurrences within close proximity to
each other, with potential to expand the cobalt endowment of the
camp.
Iron Creek and Ruby Drilling
Significant cobalt mineralization was intercepted in all
drillholes completed by Electra in 2022 at both Iron Creek and
Ruby. At Iron Creek, intercepts indicate that the Iron Creek system
remains open to the east, and that the Ruby system remains open to
the west (Figure 2). There is a possibility that Iron Creek and
Ruby may be structurally dismembered portions of the same deposit.
Given the potential upside that this would represent, additional
exploration is warranted to explore the gap between the two target
areas.
The final drill assays from the 2022 season included 7.9 m at
0.22% cobalt in Iron Creek drill hole IC22-01 from 228.8 to 236.6 m
as well as 4.3 m at 0.25% cobalt in Ruby drill hole IC22-04 from
211.4 to 215.8 m.
All intercepts reported in this release are drilled thickness.
True thickness is estimated at 50-65% of the reported intercept in
IC22-01 and 65-95% of the reported intercept in IC22-04 based on
the contact angle of the sulfide zones to the core axis. Cobalt
intercepts are calculated using a 0.18% cobalt cutoff and allowing
one sample interval of internal dilution. The Company has
commissioned an independent engineering company to complete an
updated 43-101 Technical Report on the project. The updated Report
is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Permitting Update
The Company is currently advancing permitting with the USFS for
92 drill pads encompassing Iron Creek, Ruby and CAS, which could be
explored over a 10-year period. The permit scoping documents were
published by the USFS for a 30-day public comment period, which
commenced on November 24, 2022.
About Iron Creek
The Iron Creek Project consists of mining patents and
exploration claims over an area of 3,300 hectares covering the
strike extent of strata hosting mineralization. Historic
underground development at Iron Creek includes 600 metres of
drifting from three adits. An all-weather road connects the
property to a state highway and nearby towns, Challis and Salmon.
Iron Creek is one of several cobalt-copper resources and prospects
within the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a prospective mineralized system that
contains the largest primary resources of cobalt in the United
States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A corporate video
of the Iron Creek Project is available at
https://youtu.be/QGz9Ga0mqd8 and the Company’s social media
sites.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Blanks, duplicates, and standards were inserted into the sample
chain at the core processing site as part of the QA/QC program
representing approximately 15% of the total samples analyzed. All
samples were submitted to ALS laboratories in Twin Falls, Idaho by
Company staff. Drill core samples are dried, weighed, crushed to
70% passing 2mm, split to 250g pulps crushed to 85% passing minus
75 microns. Samples from hole IC22-01 were dissolved with a sodium
peroxide fusion with gravimetric dilution in glassless labware and
analyzed using super trace methods via ICP-MS and ICP-AES. IC22-04
was dissolved with a four-acid digestion and analyzed by ICP-AES
and ICP-MS.
Qualified Person Statement
Dan Pace is a Registered Member of the Society for Mining,
Metallurgy & Exploration and is the Qualified Person as defined
by National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the
contents of this news release. Mr. Pace is employed on a full-time
basis as Principal Geologist for Electra.
About Electra Battery Materials
Electra is a processor of low-carbon, ethically-sourced battery
materials. Currently commissioning North America’s only cobalt
sulfate refinery, Electra is executing a multipronged strategy
focused on onshoring the electric vehicle supply chain. Keys to its
strategy are integrating black mass recycling and nickel sulfate
production at Electra’s refinery located north of Toronto,
advancing Iron Creek, its cobalt-copper exploration-stage project
in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and expanding cobalt sulfate processing
into Bécancour, Quebec. For more information visit
www.electrabmc.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Estimates of Resources
Readers are cautioned that mineral resources are not economic
mineral reserves and that the economic viability of resources that
are not mineral reserves has not been demonstrated. The estimate of
mineral resources may be materially affected by geology,
environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing
or other relevant issues. The mineral resource estimate is
classified in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining,
Metallurgy and Petroleum's (CIM) "2014 CIM Definition Standards on
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" incorporated by reference
into NI 43-101. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral
resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility
studies or economic studies except for a Preliminary Economic
Assessment as defined under NI 43-101. Readers are cautioned not to
assume that further work on the stated resources will lead to
mineral reserves that can be mined economically. An Inferred
Mineral Resource as defined by the CIM Standing Committee is "that
part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality
are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and
sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify
geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral
Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an
Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral
Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred
Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources
with continued exploration. United States investors are cautioned
that CIM and NI 43-101 standards for resource classification and
public disclosure differ from the requirements of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and resource information
contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar
information disclosed by domestic United States companies subject
to the SEC’s reporting and disclosure requirements.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information (together, “forward-looking
statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws and
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of terminology such as “plans”,
“expects', “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes” or
variations of such words, or statements that certain actions,
events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “occur” or “be
achieved”. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties
and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, and
opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set
forth in the management discussion and analysis and other
disclosures of risk factors for Electra, filed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com. Although Electra believes that the information and
assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these
statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release,
and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the
disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by
applicable law, Electra disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221214005378/en/
Joe Racanelli Vice President, Investor Relations
info@ElectraBMC.com 1.416.900.3891
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