Strong Silver Market Spurs Renewed
Interest
TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2020 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp.
(TSX-V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (the "Company") today announced the
commencement of a geophysical survey to follow up on high grade
silver and cobalt intercepts in a historic mining area of the
Canadian Cobalt Camp and test new tools that could be applied to
prospective greenfield areas elsewhere in this mining district.
Highlights
- Objective is to generate 3D imaging of cobalt and silver veins
for future drill targeting at Kerr where previous high-grade drill
intercepts included up to 1,442 g/t silver and 0.28% cobalt over
2.5 metres
- Program will trace extensions to mineralization in one of the
richest past producing areas of the Cobalt Camp, where 8 historic
mining operations produced over 75 million ounces of silver
- Interpretations of previous geophysical data in the Cobalt Camp
have shown that induced polarization and resistivity surveys are
effective in detecting the style of silver-cobalt mineralization
found in this district
- Tight geophysical grid spacing will be used to determine
optimal design for follow up surveys in greenfield areas such as
Schumann and Caswell in Cobalt Central, which are geologically
similar to Kerr, but have not been extensively explored due to
cover over the prospective host rocks
- Targets generated by the geophysical program will be drilled
following this program, using proceeds of a recent flow through
financing
Trent Mell, President & Chief
Executive Officer, commented:
"The survey is a kickstart to revitalizing our exploration
interest in the Cobalt Camp. Our previous work outlined several
areas for follow-up across our extensive land package. The Kerr
area shows promise that unmined high grade cobalt and silver
mineralization remains, but we are also excited about the potential
for raw discoveries of entirely new mineralized zones in Cobalt
Central at both Schumann and Caswell, where we plan to work this
winter and spring. The strength of the silver market has revived
interest in the Camp given its mining history as one of
Canada's richest silver
districts."
Cobalt Camp
Cobalt, Ontario is a historic
silver district where 600 million ounces of silver and 50 million
pounds of cobalt were mined along with cobalt and nickel over a
60-year period. Exceptionally high-grade vein-style, native silver
mineralization was mined at up to 185 oz/t Ag (5,200 g/t Ag) from
surface and underground. Peak production occurred from 1919 to
1931. First Cobalt is the largest
landowner in the Camp, controlling over 10,000 hectares of
prospective land and 50 historic mines (Figure 2).
In 2017-18, the Company completed 253 shallow drill holes for
over 35,000 metres on 12 target areas across the Camp. The focus at
that time was to identify near-surface cobalt-silver mineralization
amenable to open pit mining. Numerous bonanza grade intercepts were
encountered during that initial campaign that warrant follow
up.
Drilling initially identified two mineralized zones in the Kerr
area (Figure 1), where cobalt and silver mineralization have been
traced over a 500m strike length
corresponding with the historic Crown Reserve, Lawson, Drummond and Kerr Lake
Mines. Approximately 400m to
the south, a second mineralized area was identified that runs
parallel and extends for over 350m.
Further drilling near Drummond
intersected cobalt-silver mineralization across an area of
200m by 300m separate from these zones. Within these
three zones, mineralization occurs as several intersecting
cobalt-silver veins controlled by regional structures. Continuity
of mineralization has yet to be determined, but intersection widths
and grades show the potential for either underground or open pit
resources remains.
A new conceptual model for mineralization based on the Kerr area
led to identifying other prospective areas in the Cobalt Camp.
Bedrock mapping and ground induced polarity-resistivity geophysical
surveys in the New Lake area generated new targets.
Certain areas within Cobalt Central are geologically similar to
the Kerr area but have been under-explored due to poor bedrock
exposure and the extent of Nipissing Diabase cover over the
prospective sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Minor reconnaissance
drilling based on surface mineralization showings as well as
geophysical and geochemical surveys were conducted in the Schumann
Lake and Chukuni areas. Positive results in the western portion of
the Schumann Lake area are encouraging for future follow-up
work.
First Cobalt has collaborated
with the Laurentian University Metal
Earth Project and the Mineral Exploration Research Centre,
conducting regional geophysical surveys coupled with regional
bedrock mapping and geochronology to improve 3D geological models,
resulting in many new areas within the Cobalt Camp that require
re-evaluation for silver and cobalt potential.
Geophysics Program
The Company's data compilation, field work, drilling and
structural modeling has made a significant contribution to
advancing the industry's understanding of this historic mining
camp. The application of First Cobalt's structural model to the
central area of the Cobalt Camp has generated a number of new,
untested targets.
The objective of the geophysics program is to generate 3D
imaging of cobalt and silver veins for future drill targeting at
Kerr. The survey covers an area of 0.4 km2 (400,000m2). This area covers
relatively wide-spaced drill intersections at the western portion
of the Kerr mineralization, where drill results included high grade
values, including:
Prospect
|
Drillhole
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Length
(m)
|
Co
(%)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
Crown
Reserve
|
FCC-18-0174
|
66.0
|
68.5
|
2.5
|
0.28
|
1,442
|
Kerr
|
FCC-18-0055
|
85.0
|
87.5
|
2.5
|
0.84
|
328
|
Kerr
|
FCC-18-0116
|
10.0
|
11.1
|
1.1
|
1.90
|
68
|
|
|
Note:
|
Length listed as core
interval and does not necessarily reflect true width of
mineralization. Additional drill intercepts in this area can be
found on the Company's website.
|
These high grade intersections represent unmined veins within
the historic Kerr and Crown Reserve mines that extend eastward
toward the historic Drummond Mine, marking a continuous
cobalt-silver mineralization zone over 600m in strike length.
The geophysics program will employ a tight geophysical grid
spacing in order to determine the optimal design for greenfield
areas at Schumann and Caswell in Cobalt Central. At Schumann,
previous geophysical work has shown the overlying diabase to be
relatively thin (60 to 100m) and
mineralization was encountered in previous drilling. Grab samples
at the former Caswell mine confirm high grades at surface and at
shallow depths, including 9.44% cobalt, 1.27% copper and 2.92%
nickel (see November 21, 2017 press
release). Potential for silver-rich mineralization is
interpreted to occur below the diabase host rocks at relatively
shallow depths of 150m to
200m, based on bedrock mapping.
These greenfield targets are high priority for First Cobalt in
this mining district.
Qualified Person Statement
The contents of this news release have been reviewed and
approved by Dr. Frank Santaguida,
P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument
43-101. Dr. Santaguida is a practicing member of the Association of
Professional Geologists of Ontario
and is employed by First Cobalt as Vice President, Exploration.
Quality assurance and quality control standards of cobalt, silver,
nickel and copper values can be found in the respective press
releases previously published that can be found on the First Cobalt
website.
About First Cobalt
First Cobalt owns North America's only permitted cobalt
refinery. Cobalt refining is a
critical component to the development and manufacturing of
batteries for electric vehicles and forms a foundational piece of
the next generation of the North American auto sector and other
electrified consumer and industrial applications. First
Cobalt owns the Iron Creek cobalt
project in Idaho, USA and controls
significant silver and cobalt assets in the Canadian Cobalt Camp,
including more than 50 past producing mines.
On behalf of First Cobalt Corp.
Trent Mell
President & Chief Executive Officer
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of this release.
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SOURCE First Cobalt Corp.