(TheNewswire)
March 22, 2022 – TheNewswire- Rockport, Ontario - New Age Metals Inc.(TSXV:NAM ) ; ( OTC:NMTLF ) ; ( FSE:P7J.F) (“NAM” or “Company”) is pleased toannounce the launch of its rhodium (“Rh”) assay program on 2021metallurgical drill core samples from NAM’s 100% owned River ValleyPalladium Project near Sudbury, Ontario. Based on encouraging recentRh assay results from historical core (see Company press releasesdated March 2, 2021 and December 12, 2021), NAM has commenced a muchlarger rhodium assaying program of all the samples used to make-up thecomposite samples for the ongoing metallurgical testwork. The purpose of this rhodium assay programis to further investigate whether Rh could be a payable metal for anyfuture potential mining and mineral processing operation at RiverValley.
Rhodium MinMet Assay Program
In February and March 2022, 543 mineralized samplesfrom four of the mineralized zones at River Valley were delivered toGeoscience Laboratory in Sudbury for Rh assay. Breakdowns of the coresampling for Rh assay by mineralized zone and by drill hole are shownin Figure 1 and Table 1. All the samples were ¼ HQ size core drilledfor fresh rock material to be used in metallurgical studies. The samples selected for Rhassay are those that have been used to make-up the grade variabilitycomposites for testwork at SGS Canada Inc, from which metal recoverieswill be determined . The Rh assay samples arecurrently in processing and preparation at the Geoscience Laboratory.In addition to Rh, the assays will include results for iridium(“Ir”) and ruthenium (“Ru”), which are also very valuablePGMs. The assay results are anticipated to be available in summer2022.
In addition to the primary applications in the payablemetal investigation, the Rh assay results will also be utilized togenerate more reliable regression equations to more accuratelypredict
Rh grades for each of the major mineralized zones at River Valley.Given the high metal price (US$20,000/oz Rh as of March 7, 2022Source: Kitco.com), this input could potentially add significant valueto future Mineral Resource Estimates and even Mineral ReserveEstimates for the Project. Concurrently, additional Rh assaying of historical drill core isalso planned to continue in 2022, mainly from the Dana South andLismer Ridge Zones, as outlined below.
Figure 1. Sampling of 2021metallurgical hole drill cores for rhodium assay. The background imageis from the 2014 LiDAR survey of the River Valley Property. The 2021Updated Mineral Resource Estimates given for each palladiummineralized zone and for the River Valley Intrusion overall are for a$15/t NSR cut-off.
Note that the Pine Zone occurs in the footwall to the Dana North Zoneand is not exposed at surface.
M&I = Measured plus Indicated Mineral Resources; Inf = InferredMineral Resources.
*Rh is regressed on Pt (platinum)for the River Valley Project
Concurrent Rhodium Evaluation WorkPrograms
Based on improved PGM and especially Rh metal prices,NAM decided in 2020 to initiate a
Rh evaluation program focused on re-assaying historical River Valleydrill holes for Rh.
The primary purpose of that program is to determine the contents of Rhin each of the major mineralized zones for direct inclusion in futureMineral Resource estimations of the River Valley Deposit. Thehistorical drill holes to be sampled are carefully selected fromrepresentative drill cross-sections of priority mineralized zones,starting at the Pine and Lismer North Zones in Phases 1 and 2 in 2020and 2021, and then progressing to the Dana South and Lismer RidgeZones in Phases 3 and 4 in 2022 and 2023. Samples from mineralizedcore intervals above the lower cut-off grade and adjacent material atPine and Lismer North were submitted to the Geoscience Laboratory, forPGM assay with enhanced detection limits. Results from completedPhases 1 and 2 of the Rh evaluation program are summarizedbelow.
Phase 1 (2020): Rhodium at PineZone
Rhodium at Pine Zone was determined from 303 out of2,443 drill core samples. The sampled drill holes were completedbetween 2015 and 2020. Assays ranged in grade from the lower detectionlimit up to 0.177 g/t Rh. Fifty of the samples returned assays>0.05 g/t Rh. Rhodium was interpreted from statistical analysis tooccur with sulphides and not chromite, which differs from otherRh-bearing deposits elsewhere and could potentially simplify futuremetallurgical recovery processes.
Phase 2 (2021): Rhodium at LismerNorth Zone
Rhodium at Lismer North was determined from 187samples. The highest assay result was 0.595 g/t Rh and a total of 25samples returned assays >0.05 g/t Rh. As for the Pine Zone, Rh atLismer North does not correlate with chromium, and therefore isunlikely to be held in chromium-bearing phases like chromite. In 2022,Phases 3 and 4 of the Rh evaluation program will take samples fromhistorical drill holes completed at the Dana South and Lismer RidgeZones for Rh assay at Geoscience Laboratory in 2022 and 2023.
About Rhodium
Rh is the rarest and most valuable ofthe PGMs . The main use for Rh is in catalytic convertersdesigned to clean vehicle emissions. This metal is particularly effective in cleaning nitric oxideemissions from internal combustion engine vehicles . Themajority of Rh is produced as a
by-product of platinum mining in South Africa. South Africa is theworld’s largest producer of Rh (~80%), followed by Russia (~10%),Zimbabwe (~5%), Canada (~2%), and the USA (~2%).
The global average mineral resource/reserve grade is 0.281 g/t Rh,with the lowest reported mineral resource/reserve grade of 0.010 g/tRh and the highest reported mineral resource/reserve grade of 0.381g/t Rh (source: S&P Global, 2020). Note that on March 7, 2022, the rhodium price reached ,000/oz(Kitco).
About River Valley PalladiumProject
The River Valley Palladium Project is located 100 road-km east fromthe City of Sudbury.
The Project area is linked to Sudbury by a network of all-weatherhighways, roads and rail beds and is accessible year-round with hydrogrid and natural gas power nearby. River Valley enjoys the strongsupport of local communities, like the village of River Valley, 20 kmto the south.
Fully executed Memorandum of Understandings are in place with localFirst Nations, environmental baseline studies re-commenced in 2020,and archeological studies were completed in 2021.
The current Mineral Resource Estimate was announced in a press releasedated October 5, 2021 (Figure 2). At cut-offs of CDN$15/t NSR (pitconstrained) and CDN$50/t NSR (out-of-pit),
the Mineral Resource Estimate consists of: 89.9 Mt grading 0.54 g/tPd, 0.21 g/t Pt, 0.04 g/t Au and 0.06% Cu, or CDN$47.58/t NSR in theMeasured and Indicated classifications; and 94 Mt grading 0.35 g/t Pd,0.16 g/t Pt, 0.04 g/t Au and 0.06% Cu, or CDN$31.69/t NSR in theInferred classification. Contained metal contents are 2.3 Moz Pd+Pt+Auin the Measured and Indicated classifications and 1.6 Moz Pd+Pt+Au inthe Inferred classification.
The 2019 PEA results for the River Valley Palladium Project wereannounced in a press release dated June 27, 2019, and are based on theupdated 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate for River Valley. The 2019 PEAoutlines a 20,000 t/day open pit mine and processing plant operationproducing an average of 119,000 ounces of PdEq per year over a minelife of 14 years. Using base case metal prices of US$1,200/oz Pd,$1,050/oz Pt and $3.25/lb Cu, the PEA showed a pre-tax NPV5% of US$261million and a pre-tax IRR of 13%. Ata +20% palladium price of $1,440/oz Pd, the pre-tax NPV5% increases to$501M and the pre-tax IRR to 19%. Note that as of March 7, 2022, thepalladium price reached a new all-time high of 3,499/oz(Kitco).
The 2021 updated Mineral Resource Estimate will form a basis for theongoing Pre-Feasibility Study of the River Valley Palladium Project.
About NAM
New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development companyfocused on the discovery, exploration and development of green metalprojects in North America. The Company has two divisions; a PlatinumGroup Metals division and a Lithium/Rare Element division.
The PGM Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce,district scale River Valley Project, one of North America’s largestundeveloped Platinum Group Metals Projects, situated
100 km by road east of Sudbury, Ontario. The Company completed a positivePreliminary Economic Assessment on the Project in 2019 and, is fullyfinanced to complete a
Pre-Feasibility Study on the Project in 2022. In addition toRiver Valley, the Company owns 100% of the Genesis PGM-Cu-Ni Projectin Alaska, and has plans to complete a surface mapping and samplingprogram in 2022.
The Lithium Division is one of the largest mineralclaim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Companyis exploring for hard rock lithium occurrences and various rareelements such as tantalum and rubidium. The plans for 2022 include additionalgeophysical surveys and a maiden drill program on the Lithium OneProject, phase two drill program at Lithium Two Project, and a fieldprogram to follow up prospective targets identified on the five gridscompleted in the 2021 geophysical surveys. On September 28, 2021, theCompany announced a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL,ASX: MIN), the world’s fifth largest lithium producer, to exploreand develop the Company’s lithium project portfolio.
Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective ofoptioning our projects with major and junior mining companies throughto production. The Company is actively seeking an option/ jointventure partner for its road-accessible Genesis PGM-Cu-Ni project inAlaska.
Investors are invited to visit theNew Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can reviewthe company and its corporate activities. Any questions or commentscan be directed to info@newagemetals.com or Harry Barr at Hbarr@newagemetals.com or Cody Hunt at Codyh@newagemetals.com or call 613 659 2773.
If you have not done so already, we encourage you tosign up on our website ( www.newagemetals.com ) to receive our updated news.
Qualified Persons
The contents contained herein that relate to thescientific and exploration results for the River Valley Project isbased on information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Dr. Bill Stone,P.Geo., a consulting geoscientist for New Age Metals. Dr. Stone isthe Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and hasreviewed and approved the technical content of this newsrelease.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“ Harry Barr”
Harry G. Barr
Chairman and CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its RegulationServices Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXVenture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracyof this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements:This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risksand uncertainties. These statements may differ materially fromactual future events or results and are based on current expectationsor beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may bedeemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition,forward-looking statements include statements in which the Companyuses words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”,“believe”, “anticipate”, “confident”, “intend”,“strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “project”,“goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similarexpressions. These statements by their nature involve risks anduncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on avariety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’sability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely makeavailable adequate current public information, additional or differentregulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may beimposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filedby the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recentreports that identify important risk factors that could cause actualresults to differ from those contained in the forward-lookingstatements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to reviewor confirm analysts’ expectations or estimates or to releasepublicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflectevents or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect theoccurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place unduereliance on forward-looking statements.
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