Battery Mineral drills 2.6% CuT over 10.2 metres at Punitaqui, Chile

Battery Mineral Resources Corp. [TSXV: BMR; OTCQB: BTRMF] received encouraging drill core assay results from the new 2024 underground exploration and infill drill program in the Cinabrio mine at the Punitaqui mine complex in Chile.

Highlights: Assay results from drill holes have returned with encouraging results as follows:

Drill hole CM-24-04: 6.9 metres at 0.65% total copper (CuT) and 2.1 g/t silver. Drill hole CM-24-06: 3.9 m grading 1.9% CuT and 5.3 g/t Ag. Drill hole CM-24-07: 8.4 m grading 0.7% CuT and 1.2 g/t Ag;. Drill hole CM-24-08: 4.4 m grading 1.3% CuT and 4.9 g/t Ag. Drill hole CM-24-09: 9.9 m grading 0.8% CuT and two g/t Ag. Drill hole CM-24-15: 10.2 m grading 2.6% CuT and 10.5 g/t Ag. Drill hole CM-24-16: 10.8 m grading 2.5% CuT and 9.7 g/t Ag. Drill hole CM-24-17: 1.4 m grading 1.2% CuT and 4.1 g/t Ag. All intercepts reported are estimated true widths intervals.

This drilling confirmed copper grades and better delineated the extent of the mineralization in the lower shale unit and footwall andesite within and adjacent to the planned production area.

This phase of Cinabrio underground drilling targeted the level 135 scheduled production areas situated both above and below the level. Ten drill holes totalling 389.9 m of diamond core drilling were completed.

Nine of the 10 holes were designed to confirm the modelled geology, mineralization and probe the contact zone between the lower mineralized shale unit and the underlying andesites within and adjacent to the planned production area. Drill hole CM-24-10 was drilled to test for possible fault offsets of the mineralized horizons north of the planned production area.

The 2024 Cinabrio drill program is designed to confirm mineralization identified by previous drilling programs and test for extensions along strike and at depth. All 10 holes drilled from the level 135 reached target depth. These drill results have been added to the three-dimensional geology and resource models that Battery’s mining engineers use to update the current mine designs and optimize mining schedules.

As of late September, the Cinabrio-San Andres underground drill program had resulted in the completion of 33 drill holes or 1,440.8 metres, including 21 holes or 910.6 metres at Cinabrio.

Drilling is continuing and assay results for the recently completed San Andres and Cinabrio drill holes are pending.

Battery’s vice-president of exploration, Peter Doyle, states: “We are excited to announce these new promising copper intercepts. This latest set of drill results not only confirms the copper grades but also enhances our understanding and accuracy of the current geological model.”

During the current operational ramp-up period, the underground drilling program is focused on accessible targets within existing inferred resource to upgrade the resources to a higher resource category, as well as targeting areas adjacent to inferred resource to potentially add new resources.

The 2024 drill plan allows for some flexibility in terms of timing and sequencing of target areas, which permits the drilling to be shifted between the Cinabrio mine and the adjacent San Andres underground.

Sample assay results, reported in this news release, are from planned production targets above and below level 135 in the Cinabrio mine. These 10 drill holes are infill and extension holes designed to verify and better delineate mineralization targeted for production from planned production areas above and below level 135. Six of the holes (CM-24-04 to CM-24-08 and CM-24-10) were drilled as upholes targeting a planned production area above level 135 while the remaining four holes (CM-24-09, CM-24-15 to CM-24-17) were drilled as downholes targeting a planned production area below the level.

The Cinabrio copper deposit mined by Glencore and Xiana Mining was the main ore source for the Los Mantos processing plant for over 10 years. Cinabrio is the largest deposit mined to date and is part of the Punitaqui project. The project is situated within a 25-kilometre-long mineralized district that is a classic IOCG (iron ore, copper and gold) and manto style copper belt, comprising manto and structural controlled copper-silver veins.

On Oct. 3, 2022, Battery published a National Instrument 43-101 resource for Cinabrio at a cut-off of 0.70 Cu per cent: Indicated sulphide resource of 378,000 tonnes grading 1.55% CuT; Inferred sulphide resource of 90,000 tonnes at 0.98% CuT.

In addition, indicated resources in potentially recoverable pillars at Cinabrio reported, at a cut-off of 0.70% Cu: Undiluted indicated resources of 1,027,000 tonnes at grading 1.51% CuT; Diluted indicated resources of 1,312,000 tonnes at 1.27% CuT.

The company’s portfolio also consists of two cobalt assets and one lithium asset located in North America, and two graphite assets in South Korea.