Patriot Battery Metals drills 1.21% Li2O over 133 metres at Corvette, Quebec
Patriot Battery Metals Inc. [TSXV-PMET; OTCQX-PMETF; FSE-R9GA] reported the remaining core assay results for drill holes completed in 2023 at the CV5 spodumene pegmatite. The 100%-owned Corvette Property is located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of northern Quebec.
The CV5 spodumene pegmatite, with a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O inferred, is situated approximately 13.5 km south of the regional and all-weather Trans-Taiga Road and powerline infrastructure.
Darren L. Smith, Vice President of Exploration, commented: “The 2023 drilling at CV5 has more than doubled the spodumene pegmatite’s strike from 2.2 km at the end of 2022, to 4.6 km at the end of 2023 and remains open. To put this further into perspective, the maiden mineral resource estimate for CV5 – announced July 2023 – covered only ~3.7 km of this strike length and highlights the deposit’s growth potential over time. While much work has been done, in many respects it feels like we are only just beginning to unlock the potential at Corvette.”
Drill results for the remaining 42 drill holes completed in 2023 at the CV5 spodumene pegmatite are reported herein. This drilling included both infill holes as well as holes completed over the western extension of the pegmatite body, discovered subsequent to the June 2023 MRE. Collectively, through to the end of 2023, drilling has traced the CV5 spodumene pegmatite over a strike length of 4.6 km, which remains open along strike at both ends and to depth. Highlights for the holes reported herein include:
Infill Drill Holes: 133.9 metres at 1.21% Li2O, including 41.5 metres at 1.52% Li2O; and 42.2 m at 1.59% Li2O, including 10.1 m at 3.22% Li2O (CV23-298); 50.5 m at 1.42% Li2O, including 11.4 m at 3.13% Li2O; and 38.7 m at 2.06% Li2O, including 15.6 m at 3.26% Li2O (CV23-285); 123.5 m at 0.72% Li2O, including 35.5 m at 1.07% Li2O; and 12.9 m at 1.30% Li2O, (CV23-272A) as well as 76.7 m at 0.69% Li2O, including 34.1 m at 0.98% Li2O (CV23-327).
Drill holes CV23-298 and CV23-285 returned sub-intervals of very high grade at 10.1 metres at 3.22% Li2O and 15.6 m at 3.26% Li2O, respectively. These high-grade intercepts are situated at depth within the central areas of CV5, outside of the Nova Zone, and highlight the robustness of the mineralized system.
Western Extension: 30.5 metres at 0.77% Li2O, including 14.2 metres at 1.57% Li2O; and 21.0 metres at 0.81% Li2O, including 11.0 metres at 1.46% Li2O (CV23-283) – collared in pegmatite; 21.3 m at 0.88% Li2O, including 6.4 m at 1.87% Li2O; and 24.9 m at 0.83% Li2O, including 11.1 m at 1.80% Li2O (CV23-295).
Over the western extension at CV5, the principal pegmatite is interpreted to have bifurcated into two sub-parallel trending bodies, both of which remain mineralized and open to the west and at depth.
Additionally, very high-grade intervals continue to be discovered over the extension including 3.9 metres at 3.99% Li2O (CV23-273), as well as in the final and most westerly drill hole completed in 2023 at CV5 (CV23-364), which returned a strong intercept of 13.1 metres at 0.91% Li2O, including 4.3 metres at 2.22% Li2O. Collectively, the results announced herein continue to demonstrate strong grades and widths of spodumene pegmatite at the western extension, which remains open.
Through 2023, the CV5 and CV13 spodumene pegmatites have been traced by drilling to within approximately 2.9 km of each other. This highly prospective corridor between the two spodumene pegmatites, also coincident with a local structural and magnetic trend, remains to be drill tested.
In 2023 at the Corvette Property, the Company completed a total of 78,213 m (266 holes), including 58,460 m (168 holes) at CV5, 14,917 m (74 holes) at CV13, 4,071 m (18 holes) at CV9, and 765 m (6 holes) at Camp Shaakichiuwaanan.
The 2024 winter drill program, which recently concluded at the Property, totalled 62,518 m (166 holes) – 50,961 m (121 holes) at CV5, and 11,557 m (45 holes) at CV13. All results for this drilling remain to be reported.
Since discovery (fall 2021) through to the recently completed 2024 winter drill program, the company had completed 134,129 m (369 holes) at CV5, of which only 56,461 m (166 holes) were included in the June 2023 MRE. The majority of the drilling completed since the June 2023 MRE has been focused on infill rather than resource growth in order to upgrade the resource category from inferred to indicated at CV5.
An updated MRE for the Corvette Project, incorporating drilling through April 2024, is planned for Q3 2024. This MRE update will include both the CV5 and CV13 spodumene pegmatites and a total anticipated metreage of 134,129 m (369 holes) and 29,121 m (133 holes), respectively. The primary objective of the Q3 2024 MRE update is to increase confidence in resource category at CV5, from inferred to indicated, to further support development studies underway.
The CV5 mineral resource estimate (109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 inferred) is reported at a cut-off grade of 0.40% Li2O with effective date of June 25, 2023 (through drill hole CV23-190).
The CV Lithium Trend is an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered by the company in 2017 and is interpreted to span more than 50 km across the Corvette Property. The core area includes the approximate 4.6 km long CV5 spodumene pegmatite, which hosts a maiden mineral resource estimate of 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O inferred.
To date, eight distinct clusters of lithium pegmatite have been discovered across the Corvette Property – CV4, CV5, CV8, CV9, CV10, CV12, CV13, and the recently discovered CV14. 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
Patriot Battery Metals is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale Corvette Property near regional road and powerline infrastructure.