VANCOUVER, BC, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Capella Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: CMIL) (OTCQB: CMILF) (FRA: N7D2) (the "Company" or "Capella") is pleased to provide the following update on ongoing exploration and development activities at the Company's 100%-owned Hessjogruva, Kjoli, and Lokken copper-zinc-cobalt ("Cu-Zn-Co") projects in central Norway. The Company's immediate priority will be to bring its recently acquired Hessjogruva project in to a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant mineral resource, in addition to driving the discovery of new mineral resources in the Hessjogruva - Kjoli district (Figure 1).
At the Lokken project, a final field-based drill targeting program will be undertaken during June & July 2022 on the 5 areas identified as highest priority for new discovery. In parallel, permitting will be initiated for a maiden core drilling program to be initiated during H2, 2022.
Highlights
- Capella's recently acquired Hessjogruva Cu-Zn-Co project (see Company News Release dated April 6, 2022) contains a current mineral inventory (non NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource) of 3MT @ 1.7% Cu + 1.4% Zn1,2 (or 2.2% Cu3 equivalent). The Company's immediate priorities are to undertake the work required to declare an NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate, followed by further infill / step-out drilling and the initiation of developed-related studies required for an initial scoping-level mining study or Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA").
- Capella has been granted new exploration claims in the Kongensgruve area, which lies immediately to the E of the Hessjogruva asset (Figure 1). The Kongensgruve area contains potential for the discovery of new Cu-Zn-Co resources and was also the site of a historical mineral processing facility and tailings dam. Given Kongensgruve's proximity to both the Hessjogruva and Kjoli projects, the area represents an ideal site for any potential future mineral processing facilities within a "hub and spoke" development configuration.
- At the Kjoli project, which is located 20km NE of Hessjogruva, drill targeting has been completed and permits are in place for up to 4,000m / 25 holes of core drilling. Four target areas - Kjoli Deeps, the former Kjoli mine, Guldalsgruva, and Gronskard - have been prioritized for drill testing. An expected April initiation of the Company's maiden core drilling program at Kjoli has been temporarily postponed in order to accommodate a springtime migration of reindeer through the Kjoli area. The Company will keep the market informed with respect to a revised start date for the Kjoli drilling.
- At the Lokken Cu-Zn-Co project, final drillhole targeting on 5 priority target areas will be undertaken in June-July 2022 via a comprehensive soil (Ionic Leach) sampling program and reprocessing of geophysical (electromagnetic) data sets. Permitting for drilling will be undertaken in parallel, with the Company's maiden core drilling program currently expected to be undertaken during H2, 2022.
- All Norwegian Covid 19-related restrictions, which affected the Company's progress on the Kjoli and Lokken projects during 2021 and early-2022, have now been lifted and will allow the Company to expedite delivery on project milestones during H2, 2022.
Eric Roth, Capella's President and CEO, commented: "With the recent addition of the resource-stage Hessjogruva project to Capella's portfolio, the Company is well placed for solid growth during H2, 2022 on its Norwegian portfolio of copper-zinc-cobalt assets. In addition to Hessjogruva, the planned drill programs at both Kjoli and Lokken will increase the Company's exposure to new discoveries of the key metals required in both the transmission and storage of renewable energies. The advancement of the Hessjogruva asset will also bring significant tangible benefits to both Hessjogruva AS and local communities / government, all of which have been strongly supportive of our exploration activities at the nearby Kjoli project.
The elimination of all Covid 19-related restrictions in Norway has also meant that our field teams can now operate more freely than they did in either 2021 or early-2022.
In addition to our Norwegian activities, the Company expects JV partner Prospector Metals to commence a self-funded drill program at our Savant Lake project in Ontario during Q3, 2022. I look forward to keeping all stakeholders updated as the Company moves forward in 2022."
Hessjogruva & Kjoli Copper-Zinc-Cobalt Projects (Northern Roros District)
Capella announced the acquisition of a 100% interest in the resource-stage Hessjogruva Cu-Zn-Co massive sulfide ("VMS") project on April 6, 2022. The Hessjogruva project is located approximately 20km SW of the Company's 100% owned and drill-ready Kjoli Cu-Zn-Co project and has a current mineral inventory (non-Canadian National Instrument NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource) of 3MT @ 1.7% Cu + 1.4% Zn1,2 (or 2.2% Cu3 equivalent) based on a total of 12,139m / 68 holes of historic core drilling. The Company's immediate priorities at Hessjogruva are to undertake the work required to declare an NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate, followed by further infill / step-out drilling and the initiation of developed-related studies required for an initial Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA").
Figure 1. Locations of the Hessjogruva and Kjoli Cu-Zn-Co projects, together with the Company's recently granted exploration claims in the Kongensgruve area.
Capella has also been granted new exploration claims in the Kongensgruve area, which lies immediately to the E of the Hessjogruva asset (Figure 1). The Kongensgruve area contains potential for the discovery of new Cu-Zn-Co resources and was the site of a historical mineral processing facility and tailings dam. Given Kongensgruve's proximity to both the Hessjogruva and Kjoli projects, the area represents an ideal site for any potential future mineral processing facilities within a "hub and spoke" development configuration.
At the nearby Kjoli project, drill targeting has been completed and permits are in place for up to 4,000m / 25 holes of core drilling. Four target areas - Kjoli Deeps, the former Kjoli mine, Guldalsgruva, and Gronskard - have been prioritized for drill testing. An expected April initiation of the Company's maiden core drilling program at Kjoli has been temporarily postponed in order to accommodate a springtime migration of reindeer through the Kjoli area. The Company will keep the market informed with respect to a revised start date for drilling at Kjoli.
| 1 Geological Survey of Norway Report 2007.023; The Hersjo ore deposit, evaluation of ore potential. |
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| 2 Reader is also referred to "Disclosure Relating to Historical Estimate" section in Company News Release dated April 6, 2022. |
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| 3 Copper equivalent grades have been calculated using approximate 2022 Year-to-Date average copper and zinc prices of USD 9,900/T and USD 3,700/T, respectively, with no adjustment having been made for metallurgical recovery as these are unknown at this time (metal price data: London Metal Exchange, www.lme.com). |
Lokken Copper-Zinc-Cobalt Project (Lokken Verk District)
At the Lokken Cu-Zn-Co project, work plans have been submitted to local authorities for final drillhole targeting on 5 priority areas - Amot, Hoydal, Grefstofjellet, Dragset, and Western Area (Figure 2) - during June & July 2022. These five target areas were prioritized on the basis of results derived from the 2021 Summer field season (in which 24 satellite bodies to the main Lokken mine were field evaluated) together with the incorporation of historical geophysical and geological data. The final drill targeting work program is expected to commence in early-June, and will consist of i) a comprehensive soil sampling program (Ionic Leach geochemistry) over the main target areas, and ii) inversion of electromagnetic data to determine depths to conductive bodies (which are interpreted to be massive sulfide deposits of economic interest).
Figure 2. Priority targets defined for final drill targeting at the Lokken Project.
Permitting for the drill testing of priority targets will also be undertaken in parallel, with specific drill collar locations to be finalized as soon as the geochemical results have been received and reviewed. The Company currently expects a maiden core drilling program at Lokken to be initiated during H2, 2022.
Disclosure Relating to Historical Estimate for Hessjogruva
In accordance with Section 2.4 of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), an issuer may disclose an historical estimate, using the original terminology, if the disclosure identifies the following:
Source and date of the historical estimate, including any existing technical reports
- Information relating to this historical estimate is summarized from a 2007 technical report prepared for the Geological Survey of Norway ("NGU") by Terje Bjerkgard ("Report 2007.023: The Hersjo ore deposit, evaluation of ore potential").
Relevance and reliability of the historical estimate:
- The historical estimate for Hessjogruva was derived from drilling undertaken by three mining companies - Roros Kobberverk AS, AS Sydvaranger, and Killingdal Grubelskap AS - up until 1977. Whilst Capella does not consider the historical estimate to have been completed in accordance with current NI 43-101 standards, it is considered relevant to reporting on the project.
Key assumptions, parameters and methods used to prepare the historical estimate:
- Original (pre-1977) technical reports relating to the calculation of the historical estimate and outlining the assumptions / parameters used have not been sighted by Capella.
Resource category used:
- As the historical estimate is not believed to have been completed in accordance with current NI 43-101 standards, Capella utilizes the terminology "mineral inventory" rather than either mineral resources or mineral reserves to classify the known mineralization.
More recent estimates or data available to the issuer:
- No more recent estimates are currently available to the issuer. A study completed during 2016 (Geometric and Qualimetric Modeling of the Hessjo deposit; Norsett, S.J.; NTNU M.Sc. Thesis) confirmed most aspects of the geometry of the Cu-Zn-Co mineralization and distribution of Cu-Zn-Co grades as utilized in the historical estimate.
Work needed to be done to upgrade or verify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves:
- An independent Qualified Person ("QP") has not yet done sufficient work to review the historical data and historical estimate to determine what further work would be required to prepare a technical report in accordance with NI 43-101. Capella is in the process of engaging a QP with suitable experience in the deposit style being evaluated in order to prepare a technical report in accordance with NI 43-101.
Capella is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or reserves. At this time, a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work on behalf of Capella to classify this historical estimate as current mineral resources or reserves. Investors should not rely on the historical estimate as a current mineral resource estimate until it has been verified and supported in a technical report in accordance with NI 43-101.