Clean Air drills 5.06 g/t platinum over 13.4 metres at Thunder Bay North, Ontario
Clean Air Metals Inc. [AIR-TSXV; CLRMF-OTCQB; CKU-FSE] reported new assay results from the 2022 drill campaign from both the Escape and Current PGE-Cu-Ni (platinum group element-copper-nickel) deposits at the Thunder Bay North project 50 km north of Thunder Bay, northern Ontario.
Metallurgical bulk sample Hole CLM22-007 (HQ core) intersected 19.0 metres grading 3.92 g/t Platinum (Pt), 3.90 g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.98% Copper (Cu) and 0.56% Nickel (Ni) from 153.0-172.0 metres downhole, including 13.4 metres grading 5.06 g/t Pt, 5.14 g/t Pd, 0.98% Cu and 0.56% Ni from 154.0-167.4 metres downhole, which supports the grade profile of the production area in Years 1-4 of the PEA mine plan.
Metallurgical bulk sample Hole CLM22-008 (HQ core) intersected 37.8 metres grading 2.91 g/t Pt, 2.80 g/t Pd, 0.70% Cu and 0.39% Ni from 107.0-144.8 metres downhole, including 19.2 metres grading 4.25 g/t Pt, 4.14 g/t Pd, 0.99% Cu and 0.55% Ni from 119.8-139.0 metres downhole.
Metallurgical bulk sample Hole CLM22-010 (HQ core) intersected 22.6 metres grading 2.33 g/t Pt, 2.17 g/t Pd, 0.62% Cu and 0.41% Ni from 332.0-354.6 metres.
Abraham Drost, M.Sc., P.Geo. and CEO of Clean Air Metals stated that “a Prefeasibility Study continues under the supervision of COO Mr. Mike Garbutt, P.Eng. and will culminate in a technical report expected in May/June, 2023. In the meantime, environmental baseline fieldwork, engineering studies and hydrogeological drilling test work continues. The drilling assay results are in line with expectations for peer-leading mill head grade in the first 7 years of mining at Thunder Bay North. Considerable upside exploration potential for massive sulphides outside the PEA production area remains at the base of the Escape and Current magma conduits along the Escape Lake Fault. The Company is presently expanding its Work Permit footprint to accommodate a drill program on these targets this winter.”
The company again states that DRA AMERICAS INC (DRA) is the successful bid under a request for proposal (RFP) for Pre-feasibility Metallurgical Testing and Process Plant Design for the Thunder Bay North Project. The DRA team has reviewed the existing and historical metallurgical testing results and marketing studies culminating in the PEA. DRA will leverage existing knowledge on standard crush, grind, flotation process design and smelter payabilities into the next phase of testing and metallurgical optimization, including amenability to hydrometallurgical recoveries of the main platinum, palladium, copper, nickel commodity suite with rhodium, cobalt, gold and silver byproducts.
The company has selected and contracted SLR Consulting through an RFP process to provide independent validation of an updated Thunder Bay North Project resource estimate for the Pre-feasibility study. The updated resource estimate will include 53,600 metres of new drilling completed on the Escape deposit since the release of the resource estimate in Q1 2021 and 6,500 metres of additional infill drilling on the Current deposit since the
Clean Air’s flagship asset is the 100%-owned, high-grade Thunder Bay North Project. The Thunder Bay North Project hosts the twin magma conduit bodies which host the Current and Escape deposits forming the basis for a robust preliminary economic assessment (PEA) filed January 12, 2002. The PEA of a ramp access underground mine and on-site 3,600 tpd milling complex and the 2-year trailing average price deck, features a pretax NPV(5%) of C$425 million and an IRR of 31% on initial capital of $367 million over a 10-year mine life.