ePower Metals acquires Mexican cobalt-gold project

ePower Metals Inc. [EPWR-TSXV] says it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Exploracion Auramex S.A. de C.V. and its Magenta Cobalt Project in Sinaloa, Mexico.

ePower Metals is buying the asset from Bowering Projects Ltd. for US$150,000 and 2.5 million shares.

The Magenta Project consists of five claims covering 2,274 hectares. Four claims are in good standing, while one non-core claim is under appeal of cancellation. The project is located 20 km northeast of Culiacan, the state capital of Sinaloa. A two-lane paved highway passes to the west and north of the property and several dirt roads permit access to the southwestern, western and north-eastern portions of the property.

Ranching and agriculture are the main activities in the area and the claims are on privately-owned ranch land. Two hydroelectric projects are situated less than 4 km from the property and there is a history of mining and mineral exploration in the region.

The Magenta Project hosts numerous high-grade cobalt/gold/silver/nickel vein and skarn style deposits. The La Prieta showing has seen the most development with two adits and one trench, (zones #1-3), and several drill holes.

Historic sampling by Nordic Gold Corp. and La Prieta returned the following results:

5.54% cobalt, 5.8 oz/ton gold, and 6.5 oz/ton silver over 0.61 metres in Zone #1.

3.27% cobalt, 0.26 oz/ton gold, and 1.7 oz/ton silver over 0.5 metres in Zone #2.

Adit dump samples (average of three assays completed by three separate labs) returned 8.14% cobalt, 6.23 oz/ton gold, and 6.52 oz/ton silver.

Cobalt mineralization was traced for 325 metres along strike of Zone #1.

A site visit by the company in late July 2018 collected samples at the #2 Adit. The caved adit was cleaned out and samples returned 0.39% cobalt, 0.42 oz/ton gold and 2.0 oz/ton silver over 1.6 metres.

“Magenta demonstrates very high-grade cobalt and precious metals,” said ePower Metals President and CEO Michael Collins. “The mineralized system is quite extensive, but is poorly understood. The company believes there is great potential for expansion and definition of a meaningful cobalt/precious metals resource and we look forward to getting to work on Magenta.”

The Magena Project surrounds two small mineral claims that host the El Escobal epithermal gold deposit, a high-grade gold deposit that was mined in the 1950s and 1960s. The site is located 900 metres to the northwest of La Prieta. The relationship between mineralization at La Prieta and the Escobal deposit have not been investigated.

Copper-gold porphyry mineralization has also been documented on the Magenta property.

With core projects in Mexico, Idaho and Suriname, ePower Metals aims to be a supplier of metals to the growing rechargeable battery industry.

ePower Metals shares were unchanged Friday at 21 cents and trade in a 52-week range of 69 cents and 14 cents.