Clean Air Metals Inc (TSX-V:AIR, OTCQB:CLRMF) has announced new assay results from the 2022 drill campaign from both the Escape and Current PGE-Cu-Ni Deposits at its Thunder Bay North Project near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Highlights of the new assays from the Escape deposit area included infill hole ELR22-145 which intersected 19.0 metres (m) grading 2.04 grams per ton (g/t) Platinum (Pt), 2.52g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.87% Copper (Cu) and 0.45% Nickel (Ni) from 516.0m-535.5m downhole, including 5.0m grading 2.56g/t Pt, 3.22g/t Pd, 1.17% Cu and 0.70% Ni from 518.0-523.0m downhole, which increases the known dimensions of the Escape High Grade Zone (HGZ).
Highlights from the Current deposit area included metallurgical bulk sample Hole CLM22-005 (HQ core) which intersected 12.0m grading 2.28g/t Pt, 2.14g/t Pd, 0.45% Cu and 0.32% Ni from 142.0m-154.0m downhole including 2.0m grading 4.40g/t Pt, 4.60g/t Pd, 1.01% Cu and 0.84% Ni from 144.0-146.0m downhole which provided validation to the grade profile of the production area in Years 1-4 of the PEA mine plan.
READ: Clean Air Metals files Q1 2022 report showing total assets of $45.35 million
Also metallurgical bulk sample Hole CLM22-006 (HQ core) from the Current deposit area which intersected 24.2m grading 1.85g/t Pt, 1.84g/t Pd, 0.46% Cu and 0.27% Ni from 150.0m-174.2m downhole.
Mineral resource endowment and platinum-equivalents are quoted under the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) set out in the technical report prepared by Nordmin Engineering Ltd. and titled 'NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Thunder Bay North Project, Thunder Bay, Ontario', effective December 1, 2021, and filed on January 12, 2022.
Upcoming Renmark Virtual Road Shows
Clean Air Metals also announced that it will be participating in Renmark Financial Communications' live Virtual Non-Deal Roadshow Series to discuss its latest investor presentation on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at 1.00pm PDT, and Tuesday August 16, 2022, at 1.00pm PDT.
The presentation will feature Abraham Drost, the company's CEO & director. Topics to be covered will include the latest investor presentation followed by a live Q&A. Investors interested in participating in this event will need to register using the following links:
Thursday, August 4, 2022 (Los Angeles, California)
https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/renmark-virtual-non-deal-roadshow-tsx-v-air-otcqb-clrmf-2022-08-04-130000
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 (Vancouver, Britiah Columbia)
https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/renmark-virtual-non-deal-roadshow-tsx-v-air-otcqb-clrmf-2022-08-16-130000
Registration for the live event may be limited, but access to the replay after the event will be on the company's investor page.
DRA Selected as PFS Metallurgical Process Provider
Clean Air Metals noted that DRA AMERICAS INC is the successful bid under a request for proposal (RFP) for Pre-feasibility Metallurgical Testing and Process Plant Design for the Thunder Bay North Project. The DRA team has reviewed the existing and historical metallurgical testing results and marketing studies culminating in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) by Nordmin Engineering, the technical report of which was filed on SEDAR on January 12, 2022.
It said DRA will leverage existing knowledge on standard crush, grind, flotation process design and smelter payabilities into the next phase of testing and metallurgical optimization, including amenability to hydrometallurgical recoveries of the main platinum, palladium, copper, nickel commodity suite with rhodium, cobalt, gold and silver byproducts.
The company also said it has selected and contracted SLR Consulting through an RFP process to provide independent validation of an updated TBN Project resource estimate for the Pre-feasibility study. The updated resource estimate will include 53,600m of new drilling completed on Escape deposit since the release of the March 4, 2021 Technical report and 6.500m of additional infill drilling on the Current deposit since the cut=off date for the PEA.
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)
The company announced a comprehensive mine plan and cashflow model for both the Escape Deposit and Current Deposit as part of a PEA for the Current and Escape PGE-Cu-Ni Deposits of the Thunder Bay North Project on December 1, 2021. The related Technical Report was filed on SEDAR on January 12, 2022.
Abraham Drost, CEO of Clean Air Metals noted that "the Escape and Current deposits continue to perform".
"Potential peer-leading mining head grades and proximity to infrastructure near the City of Thunder Bay and support of the affected First Nation and Metis communities for this sustainable green energy metal mix position the project well. These factors combined with DRA's work targeted on improving ore payabilities are critical to success of the project.
"This infill drilling on the margins and extension of the Escape High Grade Zone (HGZ) and metallurgical bulk sampling (HQ core) initially on Years 1-4 of the PEA mine plan on the Current Deposit continues to deliver strong results. The Lower Current and Bridge Zones of the Current Deposit may be accessed 70m below surface and provide a strong start to mining at the Thunder Bay North Project, pursuant to the PEA mine plan. The Escape High-Grade Zone (>5g/t Pt+Pd) is also identified as a high-value potential mining area at the base of the Escape Deposit contributing feed to the mill at Year 4.5 of the PEA mine plan, pursuant to the recently delivered PEA technical report filed January 12, 2022," he added.
Annual General Meeting results
The company also announced that its shareholders approved all matters at its Annual General Meeting held on July 27, 2022, as follows: the election of Abraham Drost, James Gallagher, Dean Chambers, Shannin Metatawabin, MaryAnn Crichton and Ewan Downie as directors of the company for the ensuing year; and the appointment of Manning Elliott LLP as auditor for the company for the ensuing year.
Clean Air Metals' flagship asset is the 100% owned, high-grade Thunder Bay North Project, a platinum, palladium, copper, nickel project located near the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario and the Lac des Iles Mine owned by Impala Platinum.
The Thunder Bay North Project hosts the twin magma conduit bodies that host the Current and Escape deposits forming the basis for a robust preliminary economic assessment (PEA) filed on January 12, 2002. The PEA of a ramp access underground mine and on-site 3,600 tons per day (tpd) milling complex and the 2-year trailing average price deck, features a pretax NPV5 of C$425 million and an IRR of 31% on initial capital of $367 million over a 10-year mine life.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com