It’s Now Official, Renforth’s Surimeau Project is The Latest Battery Metals Deposit in North America

In July of this year, Renforth Resources Inc. (CA:RFR – $0.08 & US:RFHRF – $0.07 & GER:9RR – €0.05) completed a program of four drill holes at the Surimeau property. The drilling was planned to cut the main structural zone from the reverse angle of previously drilled holes at the Victoria West target area. This alignment would provide more information on the dip and true width of the structural features. Drilling was also extended to greater depths.

As the drilling commenced, the initial inspection confirmed that wide zones of mineralization had been encountered. Visible copper and nickel minerals were observed in the drill core from each hole. Heightened expectations from this promising start contributed to the speculative interest for the property. However the high volume of samples generated a backlog at the laboratory and the results were delayed.

Renforth later reported that some of the assay results had been received in the weeks afterward, but management elected to wait until the full assay data for all of the drilling work from the Victoria West target were in hand before issuing the results. This week the Company presented the complete assay results for this important target area.

A total of 21 drill holes have now been completed at Victoria West during three different phases of exploration. This work represents more than 4,423m of drilling in the combined program. As expected, the assay data confirms a wide corridor volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization extending continuously for more than 2.2 kilometers along strike. More importantly, every drill hole in the program achieved at least one significant mineralized interval. Several of the drill holes delivered very attractive sections extending for more than 100m of continuous mineralization. Within these sections, higher grade subintervals were also present, bearing enriched grades of nickel, copper, cobalt and zinc.

Potential for Large Deposit of Critical Battery Metals Illustrated by Exceptional Mineralized Intervals

Renforth highlighted several extensive sections of drill core where promising grades of nickel and cobalt were encountered. In drill hole SUR-21-20 an interval of more than 111m was presented with an average of 0.17% nickel and 139.58 ppm cobalt. This mineralization was encountered starting just 57m from surface. An enriched subinterval of 40m within this section carried an average of 0.22% nickel plus 168.98 ppm cobalt. SUR-21-19 and SUR-21-04 also encountered intervals of more than 100m of mineralization with slightly lower grades of nickel and cobalt, starting further below surface. Higher grade subintervals were also reported in these drill core samples.

Another promising factor is the elevated nickel grades that were encountered at the lower depths of the drilling work. In SUR-21-19 a mineralized interval was reported extending to below 283m that included a section of 58.5m bearing 0.12% nickel and 92.22 ppm cobalt. A deeper subinterval extending below 200m in depth from SUR-21-15 included more than 7m with an average of 0.13% nickel and 103.16 ppm cobalt. Nearly 200m down in SUR-21-20, a subinterval of 2.6m was mineralized with 0.23% nickel and 247.04 ppm cobalt. VMS style deposits commonly extend to great depths and the highest grade zones are often encountered at the deeper elevations of a system.

In addition to the attractive assay values, Renforth also reported preliminary metallurgical testing results indicating favorable recovery potential through conventional milling and processing options. This work tested the percentage of the nickel from samples that was carried within the sulphide content, versus the nickel present within silicate minerals. The mathematical average of the results for samples taken on Victoria West was over 65% Ni in sulphide. This represents one more positive characteristic of the deposit at this early stage.

Intriguing Distribution of Copper and Nickel Zones

The base metals identified through ongoing exploration work are all considered to be of great significance. Due to increasing demand for Battery Metals there is an urgency to outline large new deposits within North America. The development of new resources will be required to enable manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. Therefore the discovery of these metals within a large initial deposit area at Victoria West builds the value proposition for the project.

Of note, the assay data has revealed that primary minerals of copper and nickel were rarely encountered within the same sections of mineralization. Instead, it was observed that the nickel mineralization was widely distributed through broad intervals of continuous mineralization. The enriched copper and zinc sections were often concentrated at the margins of these zones, in the hanging wall and footwall alteration.

Geological interpretation of this deposit suggests that the nickel mineralization is localized within an ultramafic intrusive mass contributing to the initial phase of alteration in this system. Copper and zinc enrichment along the shoulders of the system may have been emplaced during secondary phases of alteration. Two distinct mineralized bodies are thus immediately adjacent. Some limited mixing of the two styles of mineralization may have also been enabled under high heat and pressure conditions.

One other interesting observation was noted. In the sections of the deposit that were exposed through surface stripping work, higher grades of copper and zinc were observed than would have been expected based on the grades of the drill core samples. This seems to support the concept that an ultramafic nickel/cobalt system was overlaid by a magmatic copper/zinc phase of alteration. Chanel samples of this surface mineralization were extracted during the recently completed fieldwork and submitted for assaying.

Conclusion

A large deposit has now been outlined at the Victoria West target area. Promising characteristics for development potential are already noted at this early stage. Minimal overburden covers the upper elevations of the system. The surface area of the deposit is variable, ranging up several hundred meters in width and continuing more than 2 kilometers along strike. This broad mineralized ‘footprint’ of this deposit is considered very favorable for a potential lower-cost open pit mining scenario.

Attractive grades of Battery Metals have now been confirmed within wide intervals of mineralization. Even further to depth, hints of an enriched deposit area have also been revealed. Meanwhile, a much larger extension along strike remains entirely unexplored. The same geophysical interpreted magnetic anomaly that prompted investigation of Victoria West continues on for several kilometers. This in turn is part of a larger structural corridor extending more than 20km laterally across the property.

In addition to the presence of Battery Metals already demonstrated, there is also the potential for platinum group metals (PGM) content to be revealed within this large mineralized system. Samples of drill core will be submitted for PGM assay. A favorable result would add further economic clout to this emerging discovery.

Another discovery area may already be waiting in the wings. In September, Renforth reported on fieldwork at the Hudson target area located further to the northwest. Samples were extracted from a surface outcrop of quartz veining and a larger alteration zone. Once again, minerals of nickel and other Battery Metals were encountered. This represented the first documented nickel discovery in this part of the property.

The attractive polymetallic mineralization already confirmed at Surimeau may evolve into a development candidate for Battery Metals as work continues. Renforth is already planning the next stage of exploration at the property. Smallcaps Recommendation: BUY.

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