Canadian Energy Materials

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Critical Mineral Resources

Canadian Energy Materials Corp. (TSXV:CHEM) is a global mineral exploration and development company focused on establishing a portfolio of high-quality energy metal projects. The company is in the process of developing their Grindstone copper-nickel-cobalt property in New Brunswick, Canada and is working to prove that there are DRC-style deposits and mineralization to be found on the property.

The Grindstone project offers a 14-kilometer-long magnetic anomaly with exceptional stream sediment and soil geochemistry. Rock sampling on the property has also returned values of 530 ppm cobalt, 0.11 percent nickel and 0.66 percent manganese. Moving forward, the company will be conducting a 2,500-meter drill program on high-priority targets in the upcoming exploration season.

Earlier this year, the US Department of the Interior declared cobalt as a critical metal due to its usage in the electric vehicle (EV) sector. In 2019, global EV sales are expected to increase to approximately $2 million and will also spike the demand for cobalt as it is an integral component in lithium-ion batteries. There are, however, concerns on whether the cobalt supply will be able to keep up with demand. The politically-unstable Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to approximately 60 percent of the world’s cobalt supply and has led end-users looking for ethically-sourced cobalt to explore other sourcing options.

Canadian Energy Materials’ management team benefits from over 30 years of industry experience from President and CEO Michael Schuss, who has been responsible for developing multiple grassroots projects in Africa, China and Canada.

Company Highlights:

Operating in a stable jurisdiction in Canada.
Determined to find and develop DRC-style mineralization in Canada.
Grindstone property offers a 14-kilometer-long magnetic and cobalt anomaly.
Values of 530 ppm cobalt, 0.11 percent nickel and 0.66 percent manganese have been found at Grindstone.
Values of 1.844 g/t PGM, 3.07 percent copper, 0.92 percent nickel, 0.10 percent cobalt and 5.6 g/t silver have been found at Manitou.
President and CEO has over 30 years of experience in the industry. 

DRC-Style Exploration Model

Missouri and the DRC both have cobalt districts and mineral deposits that host similar characteristic. Both areas host clastic sediment-hosted, in-platform carbonate sequences commonly found on the flanks of basins, which are formed in basinal metal-enriched brines that can form without igneous activity. Each clastic deposit has its own unique characteristics and is typically named for the area in which it was found.

The deposits found in the DRC and in Missouri are characterized by topographic highs of basement rocks which provide channels and traps that mineralized fluids accumulate and create large, specific deposits of distinct minerals, such as galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, bornite and cobalt. The deposits are also known to have some of the highest cobalt purity rates and Canadian Energy Metals has been evaluating properties throughout North America for cobalt deposits that are similar in structure to the deposits found in Missouri and the DRC.

Grindstone Project

In September 2018, Canadian Energy Materials acquired the 3,846-hectare Grindstone copper-nickel-cobalt project in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. The geography underlying the project is consistent with mineralization styles found in the DRC. The company will be targeting a 14-kilometer-long magnetic anomaly with exceptional stream sediment and soil geochemistry.

Exploration

The property was discovered by Noranda in the early 1990s. Noranda has conducted limited, shallow 433-meter drill program, which was not able to find a source for the magnetic or cobalt anomalies found on the property. Noranda was able to uncover a two-kilometer drainage target area that hosted eight stream sediment samples that returned anomalous nickel and copper values and returned samples grading between 291 ppm and 900 ppm cobalt.

A systematic soil sampling program was then conducted over this area and confirmed the presence of anomalous copper, nickel and cobalt in the stream sediment samples. The program also outlined a direct correlation between the nickel and cobalt and a direct spatial correlation for the copper. Highlights from the soil sampling program include an assay of 620 ppm cobalt. Rock samples were also taken from outcrops when accessible and then were assayed for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, nickel and manganese. Samples returned values of 530 ppm cobalt, 0.11 percent nickel and 0.66 percent manganese.

In 2018, a helicopter-borne magnetotelluric and magnetic surveys were flown over the property and covered an area of approximately 75 square kilometers. The surveys, along with geochemical, geological and geophysical data, identified seven high-priority targets in areas that have highly anomalous stream and soil geochemical anomalies.

Moving forward

Moving forward, Canadian Energy Materials will be completing a drill program at Grindstone. Phase 1 drilling will include approximately 2,500 meters of drilling across seven high-priority, road-accessible targets, which were identified through the review of the available geochemical, geophysical and geologic data from 2018.