Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ: ELBM; TSX-V:
ELBM) (“Electra”, or the “Company”) announced
today an updated mineral resource estimate (“2023
MRE”) for its Iron Creek Cobalt-Copper Project located in
the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a 34-mile-long formation containing some of
the largest primary cobalt deposits in North America, that paves
the way for additional exploration activities and development of a
preliminary economic assessment.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005243/en/
Figure 1 – 2023 resource showing the
indicated and inferred resource domains as well as blocks with NSR
values that are not included in the resource due to insufficient
drilling to establish connectivity and DSO outlines. (Graphic:
Business Wire)
Highlights
- Indicated resource of 4.4 million tonnes grading at 0.19%
cobalt for 18.4 million pounds cobalt and grading at 0.73% copper
for 71.5 million pounds of copper.
- Inferred resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading at 0.08% cobalt
for 2.1 million pounds of cobalt and grading at 1.34% copper for
36.5 million pounds of copper.
- As a result of infill and step-out drilling completed to date,
Electra has upgraded 54% of the Inferred Resource category of the
2019 MRE to the Indicated category in 2023.
- The mineral resource area of the Iron Creek Project covers an
area of 1,652 metre strike length at a 780 metre width and
extending to a height of 852 metres.
- Within the Iron Creek project boundary there are seven document
occurrences of metallic mineralization exposed at surface or
encountered by drilling. Iron Creek is main mineralized body and
Ruby is the second most important occurrence.
- The 2023 MRE was prepared for a potential underground scenario
with a US$87.00 net smelter return (NSR) cut-off grade.
- Additional drilling is recommended to connect isolated
intercepts on the east and at depth with the resource area, and
advance the Ruby target to increase the inferred mineral
resource.
“Continued exploration and development of the Idaho Cobalt Belt
will help to reduce North America’s reliance on foreign sources of
cobalt supply particularly as demand for critical minerals will
grows exponentially in the coming years,” said Trent Mell, CEO of
Electra. “Our updated mineral resources estimate, which reflects
the encouraging results of drill programs completed to date, paves
the way for continued exploration activities and development of a
preliminary economic assessment.”
Mineral Resource Estimate
Iron Creek
Project
Mineral
Resources
Tonnes
Cobalt
(%)
Copper
(%)
Lbs of
Cobalt
Lbs of
Copper
NSR
Value
(US$)
Indicated
4,451,000
0.19
0.73
18,364,000
71,535,000
123.65
Inferred
1,231,000
0.08
1.34
2,068,000
36,485,000
118.48
Notes to the 2023 MRE
- The effective date of the 2023 MRE is January 27, 2023.
- The independent and qualified persons for the 2023 MRE are
Martin Perron, P. Eng. and Marc R. Beauvais, P.Eng. each from
InnovExplo Inc.
- The 2023 MRE follows the 2014 CIM Definition Standards on
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.
- These mineral resources are not mineral reserves, because they
do not have demonstrated economic viability. The results are
presented undiluted and are considered to have reasonable prospects
of economic viability.
- The estimate encompasses one large, mineralized envelope using
the grade of the adjacent material when assayed or a value of zero
when not assayed. Dilution zones encompassing all mineralized zones
were created as part of the mineralized domain to reflect the
dilution within the constraining shapes.
- High-grade capping supported by statistical analysis was done
on raw assay data before compositing and established on a per-metal
basis, having a limitating value at 1% for cobalt and 10% for
copper. Composites (1.5 m) were calculated within the zones using
the grade of the adjacent material when assayed or a value of zero
when not assayed.
- The estimate was completed using a sub-block model in Surpac
2022. A 4m x 4m x 4m parent block size was used.
- Grade interpolation was obtained by Inverse Distance Squared
(ID2) using hard boundaries.
- A density value of 2.78 g/cm3 was assigned to the mineralized
domain.
- The mineral resource estimate is classified as Indicated and
Inferred. The Inferred category is defined with a minimum of three
(3) drill holes within the areas where the drill spacing shows
reasonable geological and grade continuity at the maximum range of
the modelized semi-variogram. The Indicated mineral resource
category is defined with a minimum of three (3) drill holes within
the areas where the drill spacing shows reasonable geological and
grade continuity at half the range of the modelized
semi-variogram.
- The 2023 MRE is locally constrained within Deswik Stope
Optimizer shapes using a minimal mining width of 2.0m for a
potential underground LH. An NSR-based cut-off grade was calculated
using the following parameters: mining cost = US$55.00/t;
processing cost = US$22.00/t; G&A = US$10.00/t. The cut-off
grade should be re-evaluated in light of future prevailing market
conditions (metal prices, mining costs etc.).
- The number of metric tonnes was rounded to the nearest
thousand, following the recommendations in NI 43-101 and any
discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects. The metal
contents are presented in pounds of in-situ metal rounded to the
nearest hundred.
Mineral Resource Estimation Methodology
Electra retained InnovExplo Inc. (“InnovExplo”) to
prepare an updated mineral resource estimate for the Iron Creek
project and a supporting technical report.
The 2023 MRE is based on diamond drill holes drilled between
2017 and 2022 and a litho-structural model constructed in
Leapfrog.
The diamond drill hole database contains 86 surface (26,304.8
metres) and 31 underground diamond drill holes (5,670.8 metres).
The database also contains 23,308 sampled intervals taken from
29,481 metres of drilled core. All the sampled intervals were
assayed for copper and cobalt. The database also includes
lithological, alteration as well as structural descriptions and
measurements taken from drill core logs.
The mineral resource database covers the strike length of the
mineral resource area at variable drill spacings ranging mainly
from 10 to 50 metres
In addition to the tables of raw data, the mineral resource
database includes tables of calculated drill hole composites and
wireframe solid intersections, which are required for the
statistical evaluation and mineral resource block modelling.
The Technical Report has been prepared in accordance with
Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101
Respecting Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI
43‑101”) and its related Form 43‑101F1.
The 2023 MRE has an effective date of January 27, 2023. It
represents an update of the previous mineral resource estimate
contained in the technical report titled “Technical Report with
Updated Estimate of Mineral Resources for the Iron Creek project
dated November 27, 2019 with an effective date of November 27,
2019, published by Steven J. Ristorcelli, C.P.G., P.G. and Joseph
Schlitt, MMSA QP (the “2019 MRE”).
InnovExplo is an independent geology and mining engineering
consulting firm based in Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, with other
provincial offices in Québec City and Longueuil. Outside of these
offices, InnovExplo also employs professional consultants in
Montréal, Trois-Rivières in Québec and Sudbury in Ontario,
Canada.
Recommendations
Based on the results of the 2023 MRE, the authors of the report
recommend that the project move to a two-phased work program. Phase
one would include exploration drilling to drill off the Ruby Zone,
step out from the current resource at 100 m stepouts, and evaluate
the CAS target area. A phase two program would be conditional on
favorable results from phase 1 and include completion of a
preliminary economic assessment and updated technical report in
phase 2.
Electra’s 2023 MRE will be filed in the coming days.
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. A 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 website,
www.electrabmc.com.
Qualified Person Statement The scientific technical
content of this press release that relates to the resource estimate
has been reviewed and approved by Martin Perron, P. Eng. who is a
Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
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”. Such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding the attributes of the Notes, the
closing date of the Note Offering, the listing of the underlying
Common Shares and the expected use of proceeds of the Offering.
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 Battery Materials
Corporation, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov. Although Electra Battery Materials Corporation
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 Battery Materials
Corporation 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/20230310005243/en/
Joe Racanelli Vice President, Investor Relations
info@ElectraBMC.com 1.416.900.3891
Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ:ELBM)
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