Mining
Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 10:28 am EDT
PATRIOT PROVIDES UPDATE ON THE SUMMER DRILL AND SURFACE PROGRAMS AT THE CORVETTE PROPERTY, QUEBEC
Patriot Battery Metals Inc. has provided this first update on the summer/fall phase of its 2022 drill campaign at its wholly owned Corvette property, located in the James Bay region of Quebec. The target drill area — at the CV lithium trend — is located approximately 13.5 kilometres south of the regional and all-weather Trans-Taiga Road and power line infrastructure.
Blair Way, company president, chief executive officer and director, comments: “The summer drill program is going exceptionally well, and we could not be more pleased with the pegmatite intercepts we are seeing downhole. We won’t be providing tables of the preliminary pegmatite intercepts moving forward, to avoid confusion, so we will focus on providing the lithium assay results when they are received. The field crews are doing a great job and are having early and significant success in identifying new spodumene-pegmatite occurrences, as well as extending existing occurrences, thereby enabling us to prioritize the next steps in exploration.”
The summer phase of the 2022 drill campaign began in early June with two diamond drill rigs currently operating on site. To date (since the end of the winter drill program), nine NQ-sized drill holes (CV22-035 through 043) have been completed for a total of approximately 3,111 metres. Drill holes CV22-036, 038, 040 and 043 targeted the interpreted pegmatite extension between the CV5 and CV6 pegmatite outcrops. The Company is pleased to report that each of these holes has intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatite over varying intervals, thereby extending the main spodumene-bearing pegmatite body another 300 m along strike to the southwest. Collectively, the main spodumene-bearing pegmatite body has now been traced through drilling over a strike length of approximately 1.7 km and remains open in all directions.
Drill holes CV22-035, 037, 039, 041, and 042 targeted the eastern portion of the drill area, proximal to the CV1 Pegmatite outcrop and drill hole CV22-017 (2.22% Li2O over 70.1 m – see news release dated May 24th, 2022). These drill holes were typically more tightly spaced (50 m) compared to the regular 100 m spacing as they were designed to follow-up on the high-grade intercept in CV22-017 as well as better understand the local geology and structure in this area. Specifically, the primary objective is to further constrain the interpretation of the CV1 pegmatite outcrop and associated drill intercepts, which have been interpreted to be a splay off the main pegmatite body or as a result of faulting. Each of these drill holes has intercepted spodumene-bearing pegmatite over varying intervals; however, additional drilling is required to refine the interpretation moving eastwardly and improve the geological modelling in this area.
The next series of drill holes at Corvette will continue to test the extension of spodumene-bearing pegmatite further southwest towards the CV6 Pegmatite outcrop and drill hole CF21-004 (1.13% Li2O over 30.0 m – see news release dated February 3rd, 2022), as well as test the main spodumene pegmatite body at depth along its approximate 1.7 km strike length that has been delineated to date. A third drill and barge are set to arrive on site in July and will allow for continued drill testing below the shallow glacial lake that is overlying portions of the main spodumene-bearing pegmatite body.
Surface Program
The surface exploration program commenced last week with detailed mapping over the CV5-1 pegmatite corridor. To date, field crews have identified several new spodumene-bearing outcrops located approximately 150 m southwest of the CV5 Pegmatite outcrop, and approximately 200 m along strike of the CV3 Pegmatite outcrop. The outcrops have been mapped and samples collected for assay. The discovery highlights the continued blue-sky potential for new spodumene-bearing pegmatite discoveries on the Property. Specifically, the location of these newly discovered pegmatite outcrops suggests another subparallel trending spodumene-bearing pegmatite may be situated south of the main pegmatite body currently being drill tested. Additionally, the CV3 Pegmatite has not yet been drill tested and is now mapped to be more extensive than previously understood.
The systematic surface geological mapping is continuing along the CV5-1 pegmatite corridor and will culminate into a detailed geological map later this summer. The surface mapping will allow for more accurate geological modelling of the drill area, as well as enable refinement to drill hole targeting. Following completion of the geological mapping over the primary drill area, surface mapping over the other known lithium pegmatite outcrops areas – principally the CV8, 9, 10, and 12 pegmatites – will be completed and assist with target ranking. Additionally, the Company intends to carry out the first documented prospecting, geological mapping, and rock sampling over the more than 25 km of prospective trend extending across the Property which has never been evaluated for lithium pegmatite.
Corvette Property Site Visit
In mid June, several members of the Company’s Management and Board of Directors came to. The site visit included Blair Way (President, CEO, and Director), Darren L. Smith (Vice President of Exploration), Jon Christian Evensen (Director), and several senior geologists and managers (including the geological modeller). The Company used the opportunity to visit the active drill site for each rig (CV22-040 and 041), both of which began coring spodumene-bearing pegmatite within a day of arrival to site. The team also visited the large CV5 and CV1 pegmatite outcrops, which collectively give a sense of scope to the discovery. Additionally, CV4, CV8, CV9, CV10, and CV12 lithium pegmatite outcrops were visited which highlighted the scale and potential remaining of the lithium trend yet to be drill tested. With everyone together and in person, the Board and Management also took the opportunity to complete a deep dive into the geological model interpretation and refine the drill hole pattern over key areas of the corridor.
Jon Christian Evensen, Director, comments: “I was very impressed by the enthusiasm, professionalism and the commitment to best practice around exploration and safety from the team on site. I congratulate Darren on leading a world class exploration program as it continues to grow in size and scale. I look forward to seeing what the drill assays and regional surface work will show us about both the corridor between CV-1 and CV-6 and the several regional outcrops previously known and those announced today as discovered. As the Company focuses on maximizing value for all stakeholders, I am thrilled with the Company’s decision to publish the summary drill data on the Patriot website for all our investors to access.”
About the CV Lithium Trend
The CV Lithium Trend is an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered by the Company in 2017 and spans more than 25-km across the Corvette Property. The core area includes an approximate 2 km long corridor hosting numerous spodumene pegmatites, highlighted by the large CV1 and CV5 pegmatite outcrops, and has returned drill intercepts of 1.22% Li2O and 138 ppm Ta2O5 over 152.8 m (CV22-030), 1.45% Li2O and 177 ppm Ta2O5 over 84.0 m (CV22-028), and 2.22% Li2O and 147 ppm Ta2O5 over 70.1 m, including 3.01% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 over 40.7 m (CV22-017). Drilling to date indicates a principal spodumene-bearing pegmatite body of significant size and has been traced by drilling over a distance of at least 1.7 km, and therefore, is considerably larger than that observed in outcrop. The high number of well-mineralized pegmatites in this core area of the trend indicate a strong potential for a series of relatively closely spaced/stacked, sub-parallel, and sizable spodumene-bearing pegmatite bodies, with significant lateral and depth extent, to be present.
Qualified Person
Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration of the Company, a registered permit holder with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec, and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical information in this news release.
About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.
Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral properties containing battery, base, and precious metals.
The Company’s flagship asset is the Corvette Property, located proximal to the Trans-Taiga Road and powerline infrastructural corridor in the James Bay Region of Quebec. The land package hosts significant lithium potential highlighted by the CV5-1 spodumene pegmatite corridor with drill intercepts of 1.22% Li2O and 138 ppm Ta2O5 over 152.8 m (CV22-030), and 2.22% Li2O and 147 ppm Ta2O5 over 70.1 m, including 3.01% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 over 40.7 m (CV22-017). Additionally, the Property hosts the Golden Gap Trend with grab samples of 3.1 to 108.9 g/t Au from outcrop and 10.5 g/t Au over 7 m in drill hole, and the Maven Trend with 8.15% Cu, 1.33 g/t Au, and 171 g/t Ag in outcrop.
The Company also holds 100% ownership of the Freeman Creek Gold Property in Idaho, USA which hosts two prospective gold prospects – the Gold Dyke Prospect with a 2020 drill hole intersection of 4.11 g/t Au and 33.0 g/t Ag over 12 m, and the Carmen Creek Prospect with surface sample results including 25.5 g/t Au, 159 g/t Ag, and 9.75% Cu.
The Company’s other assets include the Pontax Lithium-Gold Property, QC; and the Hidden Lake Lithium Property, NWT, where the Company maintains a 40% interest, as well as several other assets in Canada.
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