In Could it signed an possibility settlement with GeoXplor Corp. to accumulate a 100% curiosity in 64 claims encompassing about 1,280 acres and consisting of the CC, CCP, JR and SX placer claims, collectively referred to as the Clayton Valley challenge, about 306 km from Las Vegas. As soon as ACME Lithium completes the earn-in, GeoXplor will retain a 3% gross overriding royalty; ACME could purchase again one half of the royalty through the three years following the beginning of economic manufacturing for $1.5 million.
In June, the corporate added 58 new claims to the challenge, encompassing about 1,160 acres contiguous to the CC, CCP and SX claims.
The Clayton Valley property’s claims are situated immediately south of Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak lithium mine, the one lithium brine operation in manufacturing in North America. To the east, the challenge borders Pure Power Minerals’ (TSXV: PE; US-OTC: PEMIF) Clayton Valley challenge, which it’s creating with strategic investor Schlumberger Expertise.
Historic drilling and geophysical surveys present that ACME Lithium’s claims cowl basin-fill sediments and aquifers just like the sediments at present producing lithium brines within the space. The corporate is deciphering geophysical survey information and outcomes, and is creating drill targets to check indicated and potential aquifers.
The Fish Lake Valley challenge consists of 81 claims (1,620 acres) and is about 40 km from the Clayton Valley challenge, and about 274 km from Las Vegas. The corporate notes that geophysics have discovered that the high quality sediments at Fish Lake Valley are the identical age because the occurrences at Clayton Valley and that some beds are enriched in lithium. Preliminary mapping and sampling on the property in 2016 returned values of as much as 600 components per million lithium in mudstones, and sampling in 2018 returned values of as much as 370 ppm lithium.
This 12 months the work program at Fish Lake Valley consists of drilling to check the financial potential of the lithium claystone and establish new targets for additional exploration, in addition to mapping, sampling and geophysics.
The corporate says additionally it is seeking to purchase and develop further initiatives.
ACME Lithium has a market capitalization of C$21 million ($16.7m).
First Cobalt
First Cobalt’s (TSXV: FCC; US-OTC: FTSSF) flagship asset is the one permitted refinery in Canada that’s present process an enlargement to provide cobalt and different battery supplies. Permits and constructing infrastructure are all in place and the refinery could possibly be operational as early as 2022. First manufacturing is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022, at which period the refinery will produce 25,000 tonnes of battery grade cobalt sulphate per 12 months, or about 5% of the world’s complete cobalt manufacturing. The corporate says it additionally intends to course of black mass from recycled batteries.
In March, First Cobalt signed a five-year offtake settlement with Stratton Steel Sources for the sale of future cobalt sulphate. That deal adopted one in January with Glencore and China’s IXM, a subsidiary of China Molybdenum Firm, underneath which the 2 firms will provide the refinery with 4,500 tonnes of cobalt a 12 months over 5 years from their two mines in Africa — KCC and Tenke Fungurume.
The refinery, situated north of Toronto in Ontario, is about 600 km from Canada’s border with the USA, and is accessible by street and rail. It operated from 1996 to 2015, producing cobalt, nickel and silver. Final December, Canada’s federal authorities and the provincial authorities of Ontario collectively introduced a $10 million funding in the direction of the capital prices of the challenge.
Within the US, the corporate is advancing its Iron Creek cobalt-copper challenge in Idaho, one of many few major cobalt deposits on the planet. An up to date useful resource estimate in November 2019 outlined indicated sources of two.2 million tonnes grading 0.26% cobalt and 0.61% copper (0.32% cobalt-equivalent) for 12.3 million lb. contained cobalt and 29 million lb. of contained copper. Inferred sources add 2.7 million tonnes grading 0.22% cobalt and 0.68% copper (0.28% cobalt-equivalent) for 12.7 million lb. cobalt and 40 million lb. copper.
The corporate kicked off a $2.5 million (4,500-metre) exploration program in June with the target of doubling its useful resource over the subsequent two drill seasons. The deposit stays open to the east and west alongside strike in addition to down-dip. Historic underground improvement at Iron Creek included 600 metres of drifting from three adits.
On Could 11, First Cobalt acquired claims to the west of Iron Creek, alongside strike with mineralization, boosting its land bundle by greater than 100% to greater than 1,600 hectares. That transaction was adopted on Could 25 with an earn-in settlement with Phoenix Copper for 224 hectares of property, increasing its land place at Iron Creek to over 1,820 hectares.
On the finish of April, First Cobalt and the Colorado College of Mines have been awarded funding from the US Division of Power’s Essential Supplies Institute (CMI) for analysis on mineral processing methods. The funding consists of $600,000 over a two-year interval.
First Cobalt has a market capitalization of C$151 million ($120m).
Graphite One
Graphite One (TSXV: GPH; US-OTC: GPHOF) is engaged on its Graphite One challenge, which is anticipated to provide coated spherical graphite (CSG) for the lithium-ion batteries utilized in electrical autos.
The graphite can be mined from its Graphite Creek challenge, a big flake graphite deposit on the Seward Peninsula, about 55 km north of Nome, Alaska. The fabric can be processed at a processing plant on the Graphite Creek property. Coated spherical graphite would then be manufactured from the focus at a separate graphite manufacturing facility.
A preliminary financial evaluation (PEA) accomplished in 2017 outlined a mine lifetime of 40 years producing 60,000 tonnes per 12 months of graphite focus at 95% complete carbon in graphite kind (Cg) as soon as in full manufacturing. The manufacturing plant would then convert 60,000 tonnes per 12 months of focus into 41,850 tonnes per 12 months of coated spherical graphite (CSG) and 13,500 tonnes per 12 months of purified graphite powders.
At a gross sales worth of $6,200 per tonne for spherical coated graphite and $1,500 per tonne for purified graphite powders, the PEA estimated the mine would generate an after-tax web current worth at a ten% low cost price of $616 million and an inside price of return of twenty-two%. Capital prices of $363 million could possibly be paid again within the fourth 12 months of manufacturing.
In June the corporate mentioned it plans to finish a preliminary feasibility examine within the fourth quarter of the 12 months.
Graphite Creek has measured and indicated sources of 10.95 million tonnes grading 7.8% Cg (complete carbon in graphite kind) for 850,534 tonnes of contained graphite, and inferred sources of 91.9 million tonnes grading 8% complete carbon in graphite kind for 7.3 million tonnes of contained graphite.
The deposit is characterised by coarse, crystalline (massive flake) graphite inside graphite bearing schist and the mineralization is uncovered at floor alongside the Kigluaik Mountain Vary entrance. The host schist is steady over a strike size of 18 km, based mostly on mapping, sampling and airborne geophysics.
In January the U.S. authorities’s Federal Allowing Enchancment Steering Committee (FPISC) designated the Graphite Creek challenge as a high-priority infrastructure challenge (HPIP).
Graphite One has a market capitalization of C$71.4 million ($56.6m).
Grid Metals (TSXV: GRDM; US-OTC: MSMGF) is concentrated on palladium, nickel and copper exploration in Canada. In Ontario, it’s advancing its 100%-owned East Bull Lake (EBL) palladium challenge, about 80 km west of Sudbury. It has owned the challenge for greater than twenty years and amassed a big exploration database, together with the outcomes of geophysical surveys and outcomes from 5,000 samples.
EBL consists of a 22-km lengthy by 4 km layered intrusion that features near-surface palladium mineralization alongside its southern and northern margins. The potential buildings at EBL cowl a strike size of 30 km with potential for vertical feeder buildings with increased grade palladium-rich sulphide mineralization.
In Could, the corporate reported drillhole EBL 21-09 intersected three zones of palladium-rich sulphide mineralization together with a footwall copper sulphide vein grading 37.6 grams per tonne palladium, 6.68 grams per tonne platinum, 1.46 grams gold per tonne, 21.3% copper and 0.60% nickel (68 grams palladium-equivalent) over 0.54 metres inside a 2-metre-interval averaging 10.7 grams per tonne palladium and 5.87% copper.
Different drill outcomes from EBL launched this 12 months included 54 metres averaging 1.05 grams per tonne palladium equal, together with 3 metres of three.04 grams per tonne palladium-equivalent in gap EBL21-01, and 40.3 metres averaging 1.15 grams per tonne palladium equal in gap EBL21-03, together with 2.30 metres of three.23 grams palladium equal.
Elsewhere in Ontario, the corporate owns the Bannockburn nickel challenge, about 100 km south of Timmins. Grid Metals commissioned a technical report on the property final 12 months to summarize historic information, which included geophysics and greater than 84 drill holes. The report concluded that the challenge has the potential for creating each low-grade, massive tonnage, and high-grade, low tonnage cobalt, platinum, palladium and iron sources. Drill outcomes from Bannockburn launched on the finish of June included 296.5 metres averaging 0.28% nickel, together with 112 metres of 0.32% nickel in gap GBN21-02.
In Manitoba, Grid Metals is engaged on its Makwa-Mayville nickel-copper-palladium challenge, about 145 km from Winnipeg. The property consists of the nickel-dominant Makwa holding and the copper-dominant Mayville holding, and the 2 sit about 40 km aside.
A 2014 preliminary financial evaluation envisioned two open-pit mines, and proposed an 8,300 tonne-per-day, 14-year operation. The examine estimated preliminary capex of C$208 million, with a post-tax web current worth at a 7.5% low cost price of C$97 million. The challenge is envisioned as a blast and haul open-pit operation, with mineralized materials hauled to a mill on the Mayville web site. A flotation circuit would produce separate copper and nickel concentrates.
The mixed indicated useful resource for each properties stands at 33.8 million tonnes grading 0.27% nickel, 0.37% copper, 0.06 gram platinum per tonne, and 0.19 gram palladium per tonne. Inferred sources add 5.9 million tonnes grading 0.19% nickel, 0.43% copper, 0.06 gram platinum per tonne and 0.15 gram palladium per tonne.
Grid Metals has a market capitalization of C$19.3 million ($15m).
Neo Lithium
Neo Lithium (TSXV: NLC; US-OTC: NTTHF) is advancing its 100%-owned Tres Quebradas ( 3Q) lithium challenge, a lithium brine lake and salar advanced within the southern finish of Argentina’s “lithium triangle” in Catamarca province, about 30 km from the border with Chile. In keeping with the corporate, the high-grade core of 3Q makes it the third highest-grade challenge worldwide and fourth based mostly on the common grade of the challenge.
The corporate expects to finish a closing feasibility examine for 3Q within the third quarter of this 12 months. A prefeasibility examine launched in March 2019 outlined a mine lifetime of 35 years producing 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a 12 months at money working prices of $2,914 per tonne LCE, one of many lowest within the business. The examine envisioned a standard evaporation pond operation adopted by purification and precipitation of lithium carbonate.
The examine estimated preliminary capex of $319 million with a payback interval of slightly below two years, an after-tax web current worth at an 8% low cost price of $1.14 billion and an after-tax inside price of return of fifty%. Life-of-mine deferred and sustaining capital prices are estimated at about $207 million, and closure prices at about $26 million, which the corporate says is on the low-end of the capital depth vary when put next with different improvement initiatives worldwide.
Within the preliminary ten years of the prefeasibility mine plan, 5 wells would every produce 51 l/s of high-grade brine. Throughout the subsequent ten years, the identical wells would produce 64 l/s. From 20 years onward, a complete of 11 wells can be in operation, with particular person manufacturing charges of between 23 l/s and 49 l/s.
In June, the corporate up to date its useful resource estimate with a 125% enhance within the measured and indicated class to 1.68 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equal at a median grade of 926 milligrams per litre lithium. The revised estimate used a cut-off grade of 800 mg/l lithium.
CATL, the world’s largest battery producer for electrical autos, has invested a complete of $11 million to take care of its 8% stake within the firm. CATL was based in 2011 and is predicated in Ningde, China.
In late June, Neo Lithium introduced that it had produced 99.9% battery grade lithium carbonate at its pilot plant, and CATL considers this acceptable for battery manufacturing.
The corporate’s president and CEO, Waldo Perez, found the challenge in December 2015.
Neo Lithium has a market cap of C$400 million ($319m).
Nickel Creek Platinum
Nickel Creek Platinum (TSX: NCP; US-OTC: NCPCF) is engaged on its 100%-owned Nickel Shäw property within the southwest Yukon, about 317 km northwest of Whitehorse. The challenge is accessible from the paved Alaska Freeway, which ends up in year-round deep sea ports in Haines and Skagway, Alaska.
The nickel sulphide challenge has a mixture of metals together with copper, cobalt and platinum group metals, and lies throughout the Kluane First Nation core space.
The challenge comprises measured and indicated sources of 323.4 million tonnes grading 0.26% nickel, 0.16% copper, 0.015% cobalt, 0.25 gram platinum per tonne, 0.26 gram palladium per tonne and 0.05 gram gold per tonne for 850,000 tonnes of contained nickel, 500,000 tonnes of copper, 50,000 tonnes of cobalt, 2.6 million oz. platinum, 2.7 million oz. palladium and 500,000 oz. gold.
Inferred sources add 108.1 million tonnes grading 0.29% nickel, 0.15% copper, 0.016% cobalt, 0.26 gram platinum, 0.28 gram palladium, 0.04 gram gold for 313,000 tonnes of nickel, 163,000 tonnes of copper, 17,000 tonnes of cobalt, 900,000 oz. of platinum, 1 million oz. of palladium, and 100,000 oz. of gold.
In December 2020, the corporate introduced the outcomes of its 2020 ground-based EM geophysics and drill program. It reported that a big loop transient electromagnetic (TEM) survey examined the Arch and Burwash exploration goal areas, that are alongside pattern, about 2 km to the northwest and 5 km to the southeast, respectively, of the primary Wellgreen deposit. This system recognized 42 conductive anomalies, together with 11 anomalies decided to be doubtlessly large nickel-copper sulphide.
Earlier this 12 months in April the corporate introduced its 2021 exploration program will concentrate on drilling the 11 excessive precedence targets recognized within the Arch and Burwash areas.
The corporate’s largest shareholder is Electrum Strategic Alternatives Fund L.P., which in accordance with the corporate’s company presentation in March this 12 months, owns 31% of the corporate’s shares.
Nickel Creek Platinum has a market cap of C$40.8 million ($31.9m).
Nouveau Monde Graphite
Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV: NOU; NYSE: NMG) owns 100% of the Matawinie graphite challenge in Quebec, about 150 km north of Montreal. The corporate expects that Matawinie will turn into the world’s first all-electric open-pit mine and forecasts industrial manufacturing will start earlier than the top of 2023. The mine will produce high-purity graphite focus for the electrical automobile and vitality storage market.
The challenge has measured and indicated sources of 120.3 million tonnes grading 4.26% carbon in graphite (Cg) for five.13 million tonnes of contained graphite. Inferred sources add 4.5 million tonnes grading 4.43% carbon in graphite for 200,000 tonnes of contained graphite. The mineralization stays open to the north, south and at depth.
In October 2018, the corporate revealed a feasibility examine for Matawinie, which outlined an operation producing 100,000 tonnes graphite focus a 12 months over a mine lifetime of 25 years at an preliminary capital value of C$276 million. The related challenge web current worth estimate, at an 8% low cost price, got here in at C$751 million, and generated an after-tax inside price of return of 32.2%. The examine used a life-of-mine common gross sales worth for graphite focus of $1,730 per tonne, with a focus purity of over 97% graphitic carbon.
In June, Noveau Monde signed a collaboration settlement with Caterpillar underneath which the main tools maker will develop, take a look at and produce its “zero emission machines” for the mining challenge.
The corporate additionally raised $59.4 million in a public providing final month within the U.S. and Canada of seven.92 million of its widespread shares at a worth of $7.50 per share. The corporate listed on the New York Inventory Change in Could.
Nouveau Monde can be constructing a battery materials plant in an industrial park close to the port in Becancour, about 150 km northeast of Montreal. In January, the corporate began building on the part 1 plant and bought the land for the part 2 enlargement.
Within the preliminary part, the corporate plans to provide 42,000 tonnes of coated spherical graphite, which is used as energetic anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, and three,000 tonnes of purified graphite utilized in hydrogen gas cells and 5G warmth dissipation foils.
Manufacturing of fully-integrated anode materials in its Part 1 plant is scheduled to start within the first quarter of 2022. Over the subsequent 12 months, the corporate additionally plans to ship a definitive feasibility examine for the Part 2 Becanour plant and safe an entire financing bundle for the Part 2 Matawinie mine challenge.
Nouveau Monde Graphite has a market capitalization of C$369 million ($294m).
Patriot Battery Metals (CSE: PMET; US-OTC: RGDCD), previously referred to as Gaia Metals, has exploration properties in British Columbia, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories in Canada, and in Idaho in the USA.
Its 862-hectare Freeman Creek copper, gold and silver property in Idaho’s Lemhi County, hosts two main prospects: Gold Dyke and Carmen Creek.
Floor pattern outcomes from work in 202o at Gold Dyke included 0.72% copper, 10.9 grams gold per tonne and 80.1 grams silver per tonne, whereas samples from Carmen Creek, about 3 km to the northeast of Gold Dyke, included 9.75% copper, 25.5 grams gold per tonne; and 1.53% copper, 7.08 grams gold per tonne and 59.5 grams silver per tonne.
Carmen Creek is the location of a past-producing mine and mill, however few historic information exist.
In Canada, its Corvette-FCI property in Quebec, consists of 172 wholly owned claims (Corvette) and an additional 111 claims (FCI East and FCI West) held underneath an possibility settlement with O3 Mining, for as much as a 75% curiosity, for a mixed 14,496 hectares. FCI West comprises the Lorraine (8.15% copper, 1.33 grams gold and 171 grams silver); Elsass (3.63% copper, 0.64 gram gold and 52.3 grams silver); and Black Forrest (1.13% copper, 0.05 gram gold and 19.5 grams silver) discoveries, in addition to the historic showings at Lac Smokycat-SO (1.75% copper, 1.47 grams gold and 40.5 grams silver) and Tyrone T-9 (3.36% copper, 0.82 gram gold and 38.4 grams silver), which collectively span a strike size of greater than 5 km. One other discovery, the Hund Displaying (3.28% copper, 0.78 gram gold and 30.1 grams silver) lies about 3 km to the southeast.
Different prospects at Corvette-FCI embrace its Golden Hole prospect, the place historic sampling accomplished by Virginia Mines returned 3 to 108.9 grams gold per tonne in outcrop and seven metres grading 10.5 grams gold per tonne in a single drill gap; and the Lac Bruno prospect.
Corvette-FCI additionally hosts potential for platinum group components (PGEs). An historic pattern of outcrop assayed 3.1 grams gold per tonne, 1.06 grams palladium per tonne, 0.005 gram platinum per tonne, 7.5 grams silver per tonne, 0.24% copper, 0.19% nickel; and 411 grams per tonne cobalt on the Lac Lengthy Sud exhibiting. Samples collected by the corporate in 2019 included 8.15% copper, 1.33 grams gold and 171 grams silver, and three.63% copper, 0.64 gram gold and 52.3 grams silver.
Corvette-FCI additionally comprises 11 well-mineralized spodumene pegmatites. Found in 2019, eight samples have been collected from the CV5 pegmatite, which averaged 3% lithium oxide (LiO2) and 154 components per million tantalum oxide (Ta205).
In Quebec’s James Bay area, Patriot Battery Metals is exploring its 7,773-hectare Pontax property for lithium and gold; its 953-hectare Lac du Beryl prospect for lithium and gold; and its 1,109-hectare Eastmain property for lithium.
Within the Northwest Territories, the junior and its joint-venture associate Far Sources, are searching for lithium on its 1,660-hectare Hidden Lake property, which covers parts of the Yellowknife lithium pegmatite belt and hosts quite a few spodumene-bearing pegmatite occurrences. A drill program in 2018 intersected grades of over 1% lithium oxide in all ten holes drilled.
It is usually exploring for silica at its 5,012-hectare Golden Silica property in British Columbia.
Patriot Battery Metals has a market capitalization of C$3.5 million ($2.7m)
(This text first appeared in The Northern Miner)
