Patriot Battery Metals remobilizes field crews to Corvette property, Quebec
Patriot Battery Metals Inc.‘s [PMET-CSE; PMETF-OTCQB; R9G-FSE] field crews have been remobilized to site for the commencement of the summer-fall phase of its 2022 drill campaign at the 100%-owned Corvette property located proximal to the regional and all-weather Trans-Taiga Road and powerline infrastructure, within the James Bay Region of northern Quebec.
The mobilization of drill crews, geological staff and support staff follows a brief pause in drilling from April 20 through late May to comply with regional restrictions on exploration activity over the period as well as to allow for spring break-up. The company utilized this time to further develop its geological model of the main lithium pegmatite body(s) and corridor being drill tested – the CV1, CV2, CV5 and CV6 pegmatites – as well as further refine the next series of drill holes and finalize plans for the pending surface exploration programs.
The winter-spring drill program was highly successful (4,345 metres over 20 drill holes), achieving all its objectives, significantly expanding the mineralized pegmatite along strike and to depth. Specifically, the drilling traced the pegmatite across the lake from CV5 toward CV1 – a strike length of at least 1,400 metres – and also indicates that the pegmatite body is widening at depth.
Drill results reported to date from the program include 3.01% Li2O and 160 parts per million Ta2O5 over 40.7 metres within a wider zone of 2.22% Li2O and 147 ppm Ta2O5 over 70.1 metres (CV22-017), and 1.17% Li2O and 111 ppm Ta2O5 over 33.8 metres within a wider zone of 0.80% Li2O and 118 ppm Ta2O5 over 95.8 metres (CV22-019). Core assays for the remaining 16 drill holes from the winter program remain to be reported.
The main pegmatite body remains open to the southwest, the northeast, and at depth, with a significant portion of the overall corridor of focus – containing the CV6, CV5, CV11, CV2, CV1, CV4, and CV7 pegmatite outcrops; remaining to be drill tested. To date, the main pegmatite body has been traced to a vertical depth of a least 180 metres (CV22-030) and additional pegmatite encountered down to a vertical depth of approximately 265 metres ending in spodumene pegmatite.
The summer/fall phase of drilling is anticipated to include at least 15,000 metres of additional coring. This drilling will focus on continued land-based infill and step-out holes at the CV5-1 corridor, as well as testing new regional targets. The company will add a third drill rig to the program, expected to arrive by mid-July, as well as a lake barge, which will allow continued focus on delineating the main pegmatite body beneath the shallow glacial lake between the CV5 and CV1 pegmatites.
The surface component of the 2022 exploration program will commence in mid-June with detailed outcrop mapping proximal to the known spodumene pegmatite outcrops present across the Property (CV1 through CV12). This data will help with local structural and geological interpretation and allow for refined drill hole targeting. Additionally, the new claim blocks recently acquired by the Company (Felix, Deca-Goose, and Corvette East) will be prospected for lithium pegmatite. Historically, pegmatite outcrops have been documented over these claim blocks; however, the large majority have not been assessed for lithium mineralization, representing more than 25-30+ km of prospective trend.
The CV Lithium Trend is an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered by the company in 2017 and spans the FCI West, FCI East, and Corvette claim blocks. The core area includes an approximate 2 km long corridor (the CV5-1 Corridor), which is part of the more than 25-km long CV Lithium Trend extending across the Property. It consists of numerous spodumene pegmatite occurrences, which include the CV1, CV2, CV3, CV5, CV6, CV7, and CV11 pegmatites and has returned drill intercepts of 0.94% Li2O and 117 ppm Ta2O5 over 155.1 metres (CF21-002), and 2.22% Li2O over 70.1 metres, including 3.01% Li2O over 40.7 metres (CV22-017).