13:45:11 EDT Fri 03 May 2024
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Patriot Battery Metals Inc
Symbol PMET
Shares Issued 114,550,356
Close 2023-11-10 C$ 9.60
Market Cap C$ 1,099,683,418
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Patriot Battery assays 9.3 m of 2.55% Li2O at Corvette

2023-11-13 01:56 ET - News Release

Mr. Blair Way reports

PATRIOT DRILLS WIDEST MINERALIZED PEGMATITE INTERSECTION TO DATE AT THE CORVETTE PROPERTY, QUEBEC, CANADA

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. has released results of core assays for the first series of drill holes completed at the CV5 spodumene pegmatite as part of the continuing 2023 summer-fall drill program being completed at its wholly owned Corvette property, located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec. The CV5 spodumene pegmatite, with a maiden mineral resource estimate of 109.2 million tonnes at 1.42 per cent Li2O inferred, is situated approximately 13.5 kilometres south of the regional and all-weather Trans-Taiga Road and power line infrastructure.

Core assay results from the first series of drill holes completed this year at the CV5 spodumene pegmatite (13 holes in total) are reported herein. These include drill holes completed for resource infill (that is, to improve resource confidence from the inferred category to the indicated category) and hydrogeological model support, as well as those completed over the recently announced western extension (see news release dated Sept. 24, 2023). Analytical results for all holes reported herein for pegmatite intervals greater than two metres are presented in the attached table.

Blair Way, company director, president and chief executive officer, commented: "The Corvette property continues to deliver, with our widest intercept to date. Returned core sample assays indicating wide and high-grade pegmatite intercepts continue to be returned at CV5. The initial core assay results for the drill holes over the recently announced western extension at CV5 continue to demonstrate that high grades over material widths are present over a more-than-four-kilometre strike length. We would also like to thank our shareholders for their patience with reporting of analytical results this summer-fall. The wildfires prevented shipping of samples to the laboratory for much of the summer, and also impacted the restart of laboratories after the wildfires. The situation is improving, and assays are flowing more regularly from the laboratory. We will continue to announce results in batches to ensure clarity of locations to readers."

Recently announced 650-metre western extension at CV5

Core assay results are announced herein for seven drill holes completed over the recently announced western extension at CV5 (see news release dated Sept. 25, 2023). This series of holes represents approximately 500 m of the 650 m of new strike length (which remains open) and is not included in the June, 2023, mineral resource estimate for CV5 (see news release dated July 31, 2023). These drill holes tested various depths from surface and confirm high grades of lithium continue in this direction. Results include:

  • 46.3 m at 1.20 per cent Li2O and 34.8 m at 1.59 per cent Li2O (CV23-209);
  • 28.8 m at 1.63 per cent Li2O, including 13.0 m at 2.19 per cent Li2O (CV23-208);
  • 17.0 m at 1.10 per cent Li2O, 16.3 m at 0.99 per cent Li2O and 9.3 m at 2.55 per cent Li2O (CV23-201);
  • 18.7 m at 1.52 per cent Li2O (CV23-205).

This initial batch of core assays returned from drill holes over the western extension supports that the interpreted bifurcation of the CV5 pegmatite's principal dike, into two distinct dikes moving westerly, remains well mineralized along each. For example, drill hole CV23-208 returned 7.6 m at 2.64 per cent Li2O, including 5.1 m at 3.50 per cent Li2O in one dike, and 28.8 m at 1.63 per cent Li2O, including 13.0 m at 2.19 per cent Li2O in the other.

Infill drilling at CV5

Drill hole CV23-199, primarily planned and completed as a hydrogeological hole, also doubled as a mineral resource infill hole for CV5 and returned the widest mineralized drill intersection to date on the property at the CV5 spodumene pegmatite: 172.4 m at 0.93 per cent Li2O, including 34.5 m at 1.85 per cent Li2O and 26.1 m at 1.81 per cent Li2O. The 172.4-metre intersection is composed of a near-continuous pegmatite interval with only 1.8 m of non-pegmatite dilution.

Since CV23-199 was designed as a vertical hole, it is more oblique to the dip of CV5 pegmatite's principal dike than is typical. True width of the pegmatite in the area of drill hole CV23-199 is estimated to approximate 125 m at a depth of 125 m.

Hydrogeological results to date at CV5 have not shown anything of concern. The initial field test program is complete, which included multiple drill holes and observation wells in and around the deposit, permeability tests, and water level measurements. The hydrogeological numerical model and a preliminary report are being prepared.

Although multiple land-based drill holes targeting resource infill have been completed over the summer-fall program, the majority of the infill drilling to date has focused on barge-based drilling over the shallow glacial lake, which covers a portion of the deposit. These holes targeted locations where ice formation in winter may not be sufficient to support ice-based drilling. Core sample assays results are pending for these holes.

Significant drilling and assay results to come

Drilling at the property is anticipated to be paused shortly due to the onset of winter conditions. Work continues on the completion of the company's exploration camp and all-season exploration access road to the CV5 pegmatite. Core processing will continue into December, with a planned ramp-up to 10 drill rigs beginning in early January, 2024. The company's exploration camp and all-season exploration access road to CV5 are anticipated to be completed this fall, ahead of the commencement of the 2024 drill program.

As announced Sept. 25, 2023, the CV5 spodumene pegmatite has been traced continuously by drilling over a lateral distance of at least 4.35 kilometres and remains open. Summary drill program updates for all holes completed over the 2023 summer-fall program at the CV5, CV13 and CV9 spodumene pegmatites will be announced over the coming weeks, and will include hole locations and attributes, as well as listings of all core-length pegmatite intervals greater than two m. Through Nov. 9, 2023, over the summer-fall program, approximately 42,900 m (166 holes) have been completed. This includes 25,200 m (78 holes) at CV5, 13,700 m (70 holes) at CV13 and 4,000 m (18 holes) at CV9.

Core assays for 13 drill holes from CV5 are reported herein. Core sample assays remain to be announced for more than 140 drill holes completed over the summer-fall 2023 program. The forest fires and road closures in western parts of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay significantly impacted the summer drill season with access prevented for almost 10 weeks. The company was able to recommence drill operations at the property in August; however, sample shipments to the lab were not able to be resumed until several weeks later due to the continued road closures at the time. Core samples from a large number of drill holes have arrived at the laboratory with processing under way, and shipments are back to their regular weekly schedule. Results are anticipated to be reported in batches per pegmatite (CV5, CV13 and CV9) as received.

Quality assurance/quality control

A quality assurance/quality control protocol following industry best practices was incorporated into the program, and included systematic insertion of quartz blanks and certified reference materials into sample batches at a rate of approximately 5 per cent. Additionally, analysis of pulp-split and coarse-split sample duplicates was completed to assess analytical precision at different stages of the laboratory preparation process, and external (secondary) laboratory pulp-split duplicates were prepared at the primary lab for subsequent check analysis and validation.

All core samples collected were shipped to SGS Canada's laboratory in Val d'Or, Que., for sample preparation (code PRP89 special), which includes drying at 105 C, crush to 90 per cent passing two millimetres, riffle split 250 grams and pulverize 85 per cent passing 75 microns. The pulps were shipped by air to SGS Canada's laboratory in Burnaby, B.C., where the samples were homogenized and subsequently analyzed for multielement (including lithium and tantalum) using sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES/MS finish (codes GE-ICP91A50 and GE-IMS91A50).

About the CV lithium trend

The CV lithium trend is an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered by the company in 2017 and is interpreted to span more than 50 kilometres across the property. The core area includes the approximate 4.35-kilometre-long CV5 spodumene pegmatite, which hosts a maiden mineral resource estimate of 109.2 million tonnes at 1.42 per cent Li2O inferred.

To date, seven distinct clusters of lithium pegmatite have been discovered across the property: CV4, CV5, CV8, CV9, CV10, CV12 and CV13. Given the proximity of some pegmatite outcrops to each other, as well as the shallow till cover in the area, it is probable that some of the outcrops may reflect a discontinuous surface exposure of a single, larger pegmatite outcrop subsurface. Further, the high number of well-mineralized pegmatites along the trend indicates a strong potential for a series of relatively closely spaced/stacked, subparallel and sizable spodumene-bearing pegmatite bodies, with significant lateral and depth extent, to be present.

Qualified/competent person

The information in this news release that relates to exploration results for the Corvette property is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Darren L. Smith, MSc, PGeo, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), and member in good standing with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec (geologist permit No. 01968) and with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (member No. 87868). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

Mr. Smith is vice-president of exploration for Patriot Battery and holds common shares and options in the company.

Mr. Smith has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralization, to the type of deposit under consideration and to the activities being undertaken to qualify as a competent person as described by the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code). Mr. Smith consents to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.

Patriot Battery is a hardrock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale 100-per-cent-owned Corvette property located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, and proximal to regional road and power line infrastructure. The Corvette property hosts the CV5 spodumene pegmatite with a maiden mineral resource estimate of 109.2 Mt at 1.42 per cent Li2O inferred and ranks as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas based on contained lithium carbonate equivalent and one of the top-10 largest lithium pegmatite resources in the world. Additionally, the Corvette property hosts multiple other spodumene pegmatite clusters that remain to be drill tested, as well as more than 20 kilometres of prospective trend that remain to be assessed.

We seek Safe Harbor.

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