Apr 27 2017
Scientific Metals Corp. is pleased to announce that the Company has launched its 2017 exploration program at the Iron Creek Cobalt Project, initially commencing with the rehabilitation of the underground workings.
The Company is finalizing plans with a claim staking contractor to expand the size of the property through claim staking, and will commence claim staking soon, as the snow pack melt allows. Surface and underground drilling campaigns are in the final stages of planning, and will follow underground and surface mapping and sampling programs. All work will be conducted on the patented lode mining claims which cover the historic resources which have already been identified. Please see Company news release dated September 7, 2016 for a summary of the project.
The Company has commenced the rehabilitation of the portals to three underground tunnels which currently have a combined length of 1,500 feet and access the mineralized zones. The first portal (Adit #1) now has new timbers installed at the surface, and access has been gained to the entire length of tunnels connected to Adit #1. Further rehabilitation of the tunnels will be completed prior to the planned underground sampling and mapping program, which will be followed by underground drilling. A contractor has been selected to complete the underground drilling.
The information gained through these underground programs will help guide the subsequent surface drilling program. The other portals will be rehabilitated and explored in a manner similar to Adit #1. These underground workings may provide an opportunity in the future to extract a bulk sample for metallurgical purposes.
The Company is in the final stages of negotiations with drilling contractors to conduct surface core drilling on the patented lode mining claims, targeting the known mineralized zones during 2017. This drilling is designed to confirm the historic, already identified, cobalt mineralization, and to explore for extensions. As previously announced, these historic resources, which do not conform to NI 43-101, contain 1,279,000 tons grading 0.59% cobalt - see Company news release dated September 7, 2016. The Company has the advantage of working from the results of the 30,000 feet of drilling that identified the historic resources.
During 2017 the Company plans to conduct geophysical surveys over the known mineralized zones to identify a method that will assist in locating drill targets. Extensive surface sampling, in sediment, soil and outcrop is planned.
The Company is treating the tonnage and grade estimates above as historical estimates. The historical estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM Definition Standards. They were prepared in the 1980s prior to the adoption and implementation of NI 43-101. The Noranda report does not detail cut-off grades and metal prices used to estimate the historical mineralization and used a tonnage factor of 11 cubic feet per ton. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources. More work, including, but not limited to, drilling, will be required to confirm the estimates to current CIM Definition Standards. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Property. The Company has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical estimates or other information contained in this press release nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. The Company believes that the historical estimates and other information contained in this press release are relevant to continuing exploration on the Property.