Electra Battery drills 0.2% cobalt over 2.5 metres at Iron Creek, Idaho

Drilling at Electra Battery Materials Corp.’s [ELBM-TSXV, NASDAQ] Iron Creek cobalt-copper mineral project in Idaho has successfully extended mineralization by an additional 180 metres to the east of the current deposit as well as down dip from the eastern edge of the resource zone.

Five of six exploration holes drilled in the most recent drill campaign intersected high grade cobalt mineralization, including 2.5 metres at 0.2% cobalt in hole IC21-04, 1.4 metres at 0.4% cobalt in hole IC21-05 and 2.4 metres at 0.2% cobalt in hole IC21-05A

Cobalt mineralization remains open along strike in both directions and the final three holes to be reported intersected the mineralized stratigraphy over a depth extent of 400 meters to the east of the current resource

Dan Pace, Principal Geologist, said, “As expected, drill results on the eastern side of the deposit confirm that the mineralized system has considerable growth potential along strike and at depth. Additional drilling to the east of Iron Creek will target zones where the cobalt mineralization may thicken in structural traps. Drilling is also planned for the Ruby zone located 1.5 kilometres to the southeast, where cobalt mineralization can be traced for approximately 300 metres on surface, with 27 surface rock chip samples with assays of up to 0.9%.”

Trent Mell, CEO, said, “At a time of heightened geopolitical risk, America has commited to securing a domestic supply of critical minerals for the green energy transition. Idaho is arguably the most prospective location in the world to identify new primary sources of cobalt outside the DRC. Electra’s ultra low carbon refinery in Canada will create the first domestic supply of battery grade cobalt for EVs later this year and Idaho can become an important part of a continental EV supply chain strategy that is both in the United States’ national interest and good for the environment.”

Electra’s Iron Creek Project is located in the Idaho Cobalt Belt and is one of the few primary cobalt deposits in the world. The company completed 30,000 metres of drilling from 2017 to 2019 before pausing exploration to focus on developing its battery materials park in Canada, which will be commissioned in phases starting in Q4 2022.

Iron Creek is considered to be amenable to underground mining which would result in a small footprint and minimize environmental impact. Drilling has demonstrated multiple mineralized horizons continuous along strike and down-dip. Thicker zones of mineralization of up to 30 metres occur in the eastern portions of the resource that also contain higher grades of cobalt.

Iron Creek has an NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate, outlining an Indicated Resource of 2.2 million tonnes at 0.32% cobalt equivalent (0.26% cobalt and 0.61% copper) for 12.3 million pounds of contained cobalt and Inferred Resource of 2.7 million tonnes at 0.28% cobalt equivalent (0.22% cobalt and 0.68% copper) for an additional 12.7 million pounds of contained cobalt. There is potential to extend mineralization in all directions with ongoing drilling.

In 2021, exploration successfully extended known mineralization along strike to the east and west as well as at depth. Mineralization remains open in both directions and additional infill drilling could target structural traps within the mineralized stratigraphy where thicker zones of cobalt mineralization may be present. Electra will explore these targets, as well as other mineralized areas within its large and highly prospective land position.

In 2022, Electra plans additional exploration drilling. Phase 1 will target the eastern extensions to the resource area between the resource boundary and these latest intercepts. Drill holes will explore for thicker zones of high-grade cobalt mineralization similar to previous drill intercepts from underground adit #1, which included 25.7 metres of 0.35% cobalt in hole ICS18-03.

The second phase of drilling will target the Ruby Zone 1.5 km southeast of the known resource area at. Cobalt and copper mineralization is exposed over a 315-metre strike length, making Ruby a very prospective target. Previous chip channel sampling returned multiple mineralized intervals, including 10.7 metres of 0.24% cobalt (including 1.5m of 0.48% Co) and 7.6 metres of 0.26% cobalt in a similar setting to Iron Creek. Drilling will target the down-dip extension of the surface mineralization from three drill platforms.