Patriot Battery Metals updates work programs at Corvette property, Quebec
Patriot Battery Metals Inc. [PMET-TSXV; PMT-ASX; PMETF-OTCQX; R9GA-FSE] provided an update on its operations. The wildfires continue to impact Quebec resulting in suspension of all site based work activities on the wholly owned Corvette property located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of northern Quebec.
All personnel have been demobilized until the situation improves. The wildfires are having minimal direct impact on the property; however, helicopters assigned to the project have been requisitioned by the government for the fire fighting activities in the province. Until those helicopters are released, the company will be unable to conduct drilling activities on the property. The situation is evolving continuously and Patriot is monitoring it closely.
The company continues to work on the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) scheduled for release in late July. The Quebec wildfires have impacted some of the work activities of the assay laboratory. Despite these negative impacts, Patriot does not expect this impact on the release of the mineral resource to be significant.
Going forward, the company is well positioned with a winter snow road which is now permitted for conversion to an all-weather exploration road. The upgrading of this road will be of critical importance to the Company. It will enable the drill program to be conducted through the months of October, November and December when fog in the region negatively impacts the transportation by helicopters. The company is examining how quickly this road can be upgraded to facilitate a longer drilling season to make up for this lost time due to wildfire bans.
Patriot is also advancing its 100%-owned exploration camp to further enable a more efficient drilling program going forward. The new camp will decrease travel time significantly while reducing the dependency on the helicopters when combined with the all-weather exploration road. These initiatives will be progressed as soon as the wildfire bans are lifted by the authorities.
While the company is disappointed that the exploration program is currently suspended, the focus on the health and safety of our employees and contractors remain the priority. Patriot is confident that the investments in the exploration camp and the all-season road will enable the achievements of this year’s exploration program and enhance shareholders’ value.
The 2023 summer-fall exploration includes both a drill and surface exploration program which commenced at the Property in late May. The multi-rig drill program is targeting further delineation of the CV5 and CV13 pegmatites, as well as drill testing other previously identified spodumene pegmatite clusters (i.e., CV4, CV8-12, CV9, and CV10). The surface program comprises mapping of the known spodumene pegmatite clusters and local trends as well as prospecting and rock sampling across a large portion of the remaining 20+ km of prospective lithium pegmatite trend.
Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale Corvette property. The property is one of the largest and highest-grade hard rock lithium projects being explored, with over 50 km of strike length over a 214 km2 land package and over 70 lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops identified to date.
The Corvette property is situated proximal to the all-weather Trans Taiga Road and Hydro-Québec power line infrastructure in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec. The property hosts significant lithium potential highlighted by the CV5 Pegmatite, which has been traced by drilling over a strike length of at least 3.7 km with spodumene pegmatite encountered as deep as 425 metres vertical depth.