Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 1, 2020) - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE:API) (OTCQB:APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia")is pleased to announce the completion of 2,506.8 metres ("m") of diamond drilling in 18 drill holes (the "Program") on the Company's Alces Lake high-grade rare earth element ("REE") property (the "Property"), northern Saskatchewan.
Highlights from the drill program include:
- the intersection of the REE minerals system (the "System") over 875 m strike length, as deep as 340 m from surface, still open in all directions (3D space), and in two sub-parallel trends;
- confirmed extension of high-grade REE mineralization over a distance of 145 m within the 875 m strike length, which represents the amalgamation of the Wilson, Richard, Charles and Bell high-grade zones, now referred to as the WRCB zone;
- diamond drilling successfully correlated the ground audiomagnetotellurics ("AMT") geophysical survey interpretations with the System, and;
- a high success rate of drilling with 15 out of 18 drill holes intersecting the System.
See Figure 1 for a location map of the drill hole collars and traces, and Table 1 for a summary of results from all 18 drill holes.
Mr. James Sykes, Vice-President, Exploration and Development, comments: "The results of the Program have achieved a number of milestones. We have successfully confirmed high-grade mineralization over 145 m strike length at the WRCB zone, and we've also identified two trends of the System occurring over a 875 m strike length, which defines our current drill limits. The System was intersected down to 340 m vertical depth, which indicates this System is large and extensive. We've identified both structural and lithological controls on the System, the latter having an importance for the rest of the Property as we're seeing a direct relationship between the System and i) an Archean/Paleoproterozoic transition and ii) an amphibolite layer, both of which provide first-order controls on the location of emplacement of the pegmatites (and REE mineralization) within the System. The amphibolite layer also hosts the System at the Oldman River showing (see News Release dated September 3, 2020). This suggests that the System, and both first-order lithological emplacement controls, could be present across the entire 45 km geological strike length of the Property at/near surface and continuing at depth. We're also excited about the drill hole results confirming the AMT geophysical interpretations. This provides a key exploration tool for us, as we now have a targeting tool to assist with continued depth investigations by diamond drilling."
RICHARD ZONE DRILLING
Drill holes RI-20-003 through RI-20-007 were targeting the continuity of high-grade REE mineralization from the Wilson to Charles zones. Drill holes RI-20-004 and RI-20-005 successfully intersected semi-massive monazite occurrences. This suggests the Wilson, Richard, Charles and Bell zones are all contiguous at depth and over a strike length of 145 m. Drill holes RI-20-003, RI-20-006 and RI-20-007 were designed to test the limits of the high-grade REE mineralization, but were also exploring for geological parameters that could help future exploration programs identify key vectors that would lead to high-grade REE mineralization.
EXPLORATION DRILLING
Drill holes DN-20-001, DN-20-003, DN-20-004, and ER-20-001 were all short exploration holes down to drill depths between 20 and 30 m testing for near-surface continuity of the System in the Danny (DN) and Ermacre (ER) areas. All four drill holes successfully intersected the System and have provided invaluable geological information for continued exploration in those areas.
Drill holes CO-20-002, HN-20-001, WI-20-008, and WI-20-009 were all deep exploration holes, targeting drill depths between 170 and 330 m and have successfully proven the existence of multiple lens shaped zones (4 to 5 discrete zones) with variable thickness ranging from 5 cm to 9.4 m thick, with an average thickness of 1.0 m. The latter three drill holes contained visibly disseminated monazite in some of the intersections.
These drill holes will help provide a geological context for targeting thicker occurrences of the System with future exploration programs. The larger intersections in the drill holes have discrete lithological controls, most notably an Archean/Paleoproterozoic transition and an amphibolite layer. These lithological controls suggest that the larger parts of the System are continuous over the 875 m strike length of the drilling defined domain, and possibly across the entire 45 km geological strike length of the Property. The thinner intersections of the System tend to be discontinuous from drill hole to drill hole, however some of these intersections are oriented in directions that were sub-parallel to drilling, suggesting continuity is possible with other mineralized zones.
GEOPHYSICAL DRILLING
Drill holes CO-20-001, DN-20-002 and WI-20-005 through WI-20-007 were all designed to help improve the interpretation of a one-line, AMT geophysical survey that was completed by Advanced Geophysical Operations and Services ("AGCOS") of Markham, Ontario, during Phase I of the summer exploration period (see News Release dated June 29, 2020). Two iterations of geophysical interpretations were used to target geophysical anomalies with the drill holes. The latter iteration has provided the Company with results that match with drill hole intersections. The Company will continue to work with AGCOS to further refine their interpretation and to follow-up with a larger geophysical program next summer.
Mr. Sykes further comments: "We want to thank our drill contractor, Apex Diamond Drilling Ltd. ("Apex") of Smithers, British Columbia, and our helicopter support, Vortex Helicopters of Fort McMurray, Alberta, for their professional and efficient work. The Program started late due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which affected receipt of permits, but Apex still completed over 2,500 m of diamond drilling in four weeks with one drill, which is very productive by industry standards. Unfortunately, the Program was cut short due to unfavourable weather conditions."