Electra Battery Materials Corp. [NASDAQ-ELBM; TSXV-ELBM] reported a new copper showing in proximity to its Iron Creek Project and provides an update on its Idaho exploration activities.
Highlights: Electra’s 2023 field program discovered a previously unknown copper surface showing, the Malachite Hill Copper Showing, on an unexplored boundary area of the Redcastle agreement claims portion of the Idaho properties.
Electra has signed an amendment to the Redcastle Property Agreement to extend its two main exploration expenditure commitments by two years, to 2026 and 2028 respectively.
“We are taking measured steps to maximize the value of our exploration assets in Idaho, which continue to demonstrate upside potential for copper and cobalt at Iron Creek, Ruby, CAS, and now Malachite Hill,” said Electra CEO, Trent Mell. “Under the leadership of Dr. William Stone, we have applied for a 10-year exploration permit, which will enable us to advance drilling activities on up to 91 specified drilling locations without unforeseen delays. While Electra’s primary focus is to complete the cobalt refinery project in Ontario, there is clear potential in the Idaho Cobalt Belt to be an important source of critical minerals to onshore the North American battery supply chain. We look forward to re-launching field exploration work and exploration drilling programs in due course.”
Ryan McDermott, CEO, Phoenix Copper Ltd., said, “We are pleased to be continuing our collaboration with Electra Battery Materials through the extension of this agreement. We believe Electra is well-positioned to further advance the Redcastle property’s potential, and we look forward to working with the Electra team as that potential is realized.”
The Idaho properties consist of mining patents and exploration claims over an area of 73.15 km2, including the Iron Creek Project, and cover the strike extent of strata hosting the cobalt-copper sulfide mineralization. Iron Creek is one of several cobalt-copper mineral resources and prospects within the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a prospective mineralized system that contains copper and the largest primary cobalt resources in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Historical underground development at Iron Creek includes 600 metres of drifting from three adits. A road connects Iron Creek to a state highway and the nearby towns of Challis and Salmon, and the Redcastle Property is located east adjacent to Electra’s Iron Creek Property.
The Malachite Copper Showing (MHS) was discovered in 2023 on the claims within the Redcastle Agreement area of interest, south adjacent to the core claims in an area not previously explored. Malachite occurs here in several outcrops of favourable, fine-grained meta-sedimentary rocks on a hillside. Assay results of outcrop grab samples indicate elevated copper (maximum=2,660 parts per million copper), and low cobalt values. This finding demonstrates the presence of favourable host rocks at surface in this area of the Redcastle Property; however, the extent of the surface mineralization exposure remains to be determined. Interestingly, the MHS appears to be located approximately two km along strike (southeast) of Electra’s Ruby cobalt-copper target.
The Redcastle Property Agreement is an earn-in agreement, originally signed in May 2021 with Borah Resources Inc./Phoenix Copper Limited, which was subsequently amended to preserve future optionality for exploration work.
The Redcastle Property is made-up of 30 core claims owned by Borah and Phoenix, as well as an Area of Interest (AOI) for claims staked by Electra within a set radius of the core claims. In 2022, Electra staked additional claims in the AOI area, which therefore are included in the Agreement.
Investment commitments for Electra under the Agreement were a required investment of US$1.5M into any combination of exploration, development and related work by the third anniversary date of May 21, 2024, and an additional required investment of US$1.5M into any combination of the above works by the fifth anniversary date of May 21, 2026.
More recently, Electra has been focused on completing the construction of North America’s first cobalt sulfate refinery at its property in Ontario and deferred any major exploration programs on the Redcastle property. As a result, the Redcastle Agreement has been amended further such that the First Required Investment date has been reset to May 21, 2026, and the Second Required Investment date to May 21, 2028.
In follow-up to the very limited field work completed in 2023 at the MHS, a follow-up field mineral prospecting and geological mapping program has been proposed for the area. The area to be covered by the field program includes the MHS itself and the area between the MHS and the Ruby Deposit. Execution of the Electra’s proposed field program will be subject to financing.
In March 2023, Electra released an updated Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) for the Iron Creek Project. Highlights include Indicated Mineral Resources of 4.5 million tonnes grading at 0.19% cobalt for 18.4 million pounds cobalt and grading at 0.73% copper for 71.5 million pounds of copper. Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading at 0.08% cobalt for 2.1 million pounds of cobalt and grading at 1.34% copper for 36.5 million pounds of copper;
As a result of infill and step-out drilling completed to date, Electra upgraded 54% of the Inferred classification of the 2019 MRE to the Indicated classification. The Mineral Resources of the Iron Creek Project extend approximately 1,100 metres along strike, 500 metres in thickness, and 500 metres to depth below surface.
Within the Iron Creek Property boundary, there are seven reported occurrences of metallic mineralization exposed on surface or encountered in drilling. Iron Creek is the main mineralized body and Ruby is the second most important body.
The 2023 MRE was prepared for a potential underground scenario with a US$87.00 net smelter return (NSR) cut-off grade; and additional drilling was recommended to connect isolated intercepts within or along strike and at depth of the Mineral Resources, and advance Ruby to increase the Inferred Mineral Resources.
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