Cobalt Camp Comes to Life

May 25, 2018

Search underway for commodity that was once only a by-product

One of a number of old head frames from the famous Cobalt, Ontario silver rush of the early 1900s still survives in the town of about 1,000. The target is now the battery metal cobalt. Photo by David Pinkney, Polymet Labs.

Historically, northeast Ontario’s Cobalt Silver Camp produced 50 million pounds of cobalt as a by-product of 500 million ounces of silver production. And with companies like tech giant, Apple Inc., considering the purchase of long-term cobalt supplies directly from miners – as are some North American auto manufacturers – the price of cobalt roughly doubled in 2017 to over US $30/lb.

Canadian juniors have been stampeding into the Cobalt Silver Camp and other prospective areas in the province for the past year and from an exploration standpoint 2018 is setting up to be the region’s busiest in decades.

Gino Chitaroni, geologist, mining technologist, prospector and President of the Northern Prospectors Association, told Resource World, “In less than two years there has been more exploration in the greater cobalt mining camp than the previous 30 years. I believe new discoveries of cobalt, silver and base metals will result from this work and from future exploration that could change the entire region of northeastern Ontario. This new cobalt rush looks to be sustainable for the medium to long term and bodes well for potential future processing of cobalt. The cobalt camp may be destined to be key player in the battery and energy markets as a clean stable source of cobalt for years to come.”

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. [AEM-TSX,NYSE] ceased mining operations near Cobalt after producing more than 26 million ounces of silver between 1957 and 1989. It still owns many claims that it is offering for sale or some sort of royalty arrangement.

Azincourt Energy Corp. [AAZ-TSXV;AZURF-OTC] recently signed a non-binding letter of intent with BullRun Capital to acquire its Erythrite Project, a prospective cobalt property situated 6 km northwest of Cobalt. The project covers approximately 652 acres adjacent to Cruz Cobalt’s Bucke Cobalt Project and Brixton Metals’ silver cobalt project. Alex Klenman, CEO of Azincourt, confirms the company is looking at other projects that “will continue to strengthen the company in the growing clean energy space.”

Private company Battery Mineral Resources is taking a district-scale approach in the Ontario Cobalt belt and western Quebec where it holds a very large land position. Properties include the silos mine in nearby Gowganda, as well as McAra, Island 27 and the Iron Mask.

The Brixton Metals Corp [BBB-TSXV; BXTMF-OTC] Langis-Hudson Bay silver-cobalt project in the Cobalt Camp hosts two historic producers including the Langis Mine which produced over 10.4M oz silver from shallow depths, along with 358,340 lbs of cobalt. Power, railways, mills, a permitted refinery and an assay lab are located on or near the site.

In February, Brixton reported initial drill results from its Hudson Bay prospect, the company’s “first targeted cobalt campaign.” Highlights from the first three holes included: drill hole HB18-01, which intersected 1.00% cobalt, 11.10 g/t silver, 0.95% copper and 0.72% nickel our 1.25% CoEg over 0.80 metres from 52.20 metre depth; and drill hole HB18-03, which intersected 0.28% cobalt (0.34% CoEq over 1.83 metres from 53.17 metres depth.

In August 2011, Canada Cobalt Works Inc. [CCW-TSXV; TAKRF-OTC 4T9B-FSE] concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Matchewan First Nation in connection with its Castle cobalt-silver property in the cobalt area. The former producing property is located 85 km northwest of the camp. As of December 2017, the Castle Mine site property comprised 19 claims, 34 leases and two-licenses of occupation totalling 2,815 hectares. the historic Castle Mine site operated at various times between 1917 and 1989, producing a total of 9,410,095 oz silver and 376,053 lbs cobalt from the No. 3 shaft.

Canada Cobalt has retained a major global engineering firm specializing in the energy and industrial markets to complete earthworks studies and advance the permitting process for the planned installation of a state-of-the-art, 600 tonne-per-day, gravity flotation cyanidation mill at the Castle site. The company will also be submitting plans to the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development & Mines for unlimited dewatering of levels two through 11 of the Castle Mine.

A mini-bulk sample from the first level of the Castle Mine returned 2.47% cobalt and the underground sampling program is continuing with more results pending. Canada Cobalt is also preparing for further rehabilitation of old workings and initial underground drilling on the first level of the mine.

CBLT Inc. [CBLT-TSXV] is exploring the 256-hectare Copper Prince property located in the Sudbury Mining District. The property lies within the Sudbury Structure and the area explored is about 4 km SE of the ovoid of the Sudbury Intrusive Complex.

In summer 2016, CBLT completed mechanized stripping, prospecting and diamond drilling in the area of Ed’s Watering Hole where narrow quartz-amphibole veins carrying significant amounts of conaltite and gold were observed. Significant gold, cobalt, copper and nickel values were reported (up to 4.5% cobalt, 25.5 g/t) from the program.

Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. [KBLT-TSCV; CBLLF-OTC] offers pure-play exposure to cobalt through a strategy that involves holding physical cobalt, streams and royalties.

Cobalt Power Group Ltd. [CPO-TSXV; CBBWF-OTC] has amassed a portfolio of cobalt projects including the 1,170-hectare Smith Project in the Cobalt camp. In September 2017, the company acquired the 7,567-hectare Canadian Cobalt Project in the camp along with several exploration license applications in historic cobalt mining areas of southern Sweden.

In August 2017, Cobalt Power established a strategic alliance with Hochschild Mining Holdings, a well established senior mining company that currently operates four underground precious metal mines.

In February 2018, Cobalt Power announced an agreement to acquire Ontario Cobalt Property Developers, a privately held mineral exploration company which holds 14 strategically located claims exhbiting critical features for Co-Ag mineralization within the Cobalt Camp. The company is fully funded for an aggressive 2018 exploration program.

Cruz Cobalt Corp. [ CUZ-TSXV; BKTH OTC; A2DMg8-FSE] has nine cobalt projects in North America including five in Ontario, all located near the town of Cobalt Cruz is one of the largest landholders in the emerging cobalt district. The company Ontario projects include the 1,265-acre Coleman prospect, the 900-acre Johnson prospect, the 4,980-acre Hector prospect, the 1,580-acre Bucke prospect and the 10,556-Lorraine prospect. According to Crus President, James Nelson, “Cruz has prospects in what we feel are most of the prime cobalt camps in North America and we are very optimistic that 2018 will be a breakout year for cobalt prices.”

In November last year, Explorex Resources Inc. [EX-CSE; EXPXF-OTC] acquired the right to earn a 100% interest in Canadian Gold Miner’s Cobalt-Paragon Project in Ontario’s Elk Lake Mining Camp. The property encompasses two historic mines: the Cobalt-Frontenac and the Paragon-Hitchcock mines. Recent sampling of stockpiled material from underground workings at the Paragon Hitchcock Mine returned values ranging from 8.79 to 414 g/t silver, 0.06 to 9.86 g/t gold, and 0.08 to 9.25% cobalt. Stripping and trenching at the Cobalt-Frontenac Mine in the vicinity of the shaft exposed, a 30-metre wide outcrop hosting a NE-trending, sheared quartz vein that returned a grab sample grading 11.2 g/t gold and a channel sample grading 3.0 g/t gold over 0.50 metres.

First Cobalt Corp.’s [FCC-TSXV; FTSSF-OTC] primary focus is on its Greater Cobalt Project which includes over 10,000 hectares of prospective land including over 50 past producing mines, a mill, and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery-grade materials.

In 2017, the company conducted magnetism, resistivity and televiewer surveys on historic drill holes at the Keeley and Frontier mines in the Cobalt South area prior to drilling. The borehole program is continuing this year and is intended to expand known zones of cobalt mineralization and further define the controlling structures within these two areas.

First Cobalt plans to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of US Cobalt Inc. [USCO-TSXV; USCFF-OTCQB]. Under the terms, all of the US Cobalt issued and outstanding common shares will be exchanged on the basis of 1.5 First Cobalt common shares for each US Cobalt common share issued and outstanding.

First Cobalt released positive assay results from the first drill holes from near the Kerr Mine in the Cobalt North area of the Cobalt camp. Results indicate a potential zone of cobalt mineralization that can be tracked across more than 100 metres.

iMetal Resources Inc. [IMR-TSXV; ADTFF-OTC; A7V-Germany] is exploring the Gowganda Camp about 60 km west-northwest of Cobalt. Besides silver and cobalt values, this area also hosts gold and copper. Sample 5578B from Zone 3A returned 34.44 g/t gold and 2.6% copper. Cobalt bloom has been discovered in Zone 4. Drilling is planned.

LiCo Energy Metals Inc. [LIC-TSXV; WCTXF-OTC] has entered into a property Purchase Agreement with Glencore Canada to acquire a 100% interest in the Glencore Bucke property situated 6 km east-northeast of Cobalt. The Glencore property consists of 16.2 hectares and sits along the west country of LiCo’s Teledyne Cobalt Project which covers the southern extension of the former producing 15 Vein on the past-producing Agaunico Mine property. Historically, the Aguanico Mine produced 4,350,000 lbs of cobalt and 980,000 oz of silver during the mining boom of the early 1900s.

Lico completed a Phase 1 diamond drill program of 1,900 metres on the Bucke property last fall. Significant cobalt intersections included hole GB17 10 which intersected 0.55% cobalt over 5.0 metres (28.00-33.0 m), and hole GB17 15 which intersected 8.42% cobalt over 0.30 metres (62.40-62.70 m) Significant copper mineralization was also intersected including 0.90% copper over 20.2 metres (42.5-62.7 m) in hole GB17 15, and 1.25% copper over 6.1 metres (67.5-73.6 m) in hole GB17 21.

Power America Minerals Corp.’s [PAM-TSXV; PWMRF-OTC; VVO-FSE] primary asset is its Kittson cobalt property located approximately 8 km northwest of Latchford and 120 road-km north of North Bay, Ontario. The Kittson property includes 15 unpainted mining claims totalling 208 units or about 3,330 hectares. The project hosts the historic Shakt-Davis and Cobalt-Kittson mines and numerous historic workings. The deepest of these extends down to 628 feet and there are over 2,500 feet of lateral workings.

The company’s 2017 exploration program comprised reconnaissance prospecting, geological mapping and shallow diamond drilling using an ultralight portable drill rig. At last report, drilling was continuing on the property.

Quantum Cobalt Corp. [QBOT-CSE; BRVVF-OTC; 23B-FSE] is focused on determining the size and grade of a dump pile that was excavated during historic underground development work on its 464-hectare Nipissing Lorrain cobalt-silver-nickel property 26 km southeast of Cobalt. The company intends to use this information to prepare a N1 43-101 compliant resource estimates. Planning and budgeting has been completed for a grid-based reverse circulation drill program to collect representative samples and dimensions of the pile.

While not in the Cobalt Camp, the Global Energy Metals Corp.‘s [GEMC-TSXV; 5GEI-FSE] Werner Lake cobalt project is of interest. It is located near the Ontario-Manitoba border in the Kenora Mining District. The Werner Lake Cobalt mine operated in the 1940s as a high-grade source of cobalt. Since then, helicopter-borne geophysics, some 22,860 metres of diamond drilling, several resource calculations and approximately 258 metres of underground ramping, drifting and raising into the West Cobalt Deposit have been completed. In addition, a 10,000-tonne bulk sample was completed as well as metallurgical bench test mining and chemical analysis on the mineralized material.

Former operator, Canmine Resources, completed several preliminary feasibility studies, along with economic modelling studies, but files for bankruptcy before completing a definitive feasibility study. A work program including diamond drilling (+3,500 m) to further upgrade resource categories and extend the mineralized envelope, as well as additional metallurgical work and underground chip sampling has been recommended for the project.

http://www.cobaltpowergroup.com/2016/