(TheNewswire)
Vancouver, BC, Canada – TheNewswire - March18, 2021 - Nickel RockResources Inc. (“the Company”) ( TSXV:NICL ) ( OTC:NIKLF ) is pleased to announce that reverse circulation drillingwill commence by weeks end on the Company’s recently expanded claimblock at Silver Peak, Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. Thisstrategic land package, covering approximately 2,300 acres (930 ha),directly adjoins a western portion of lithium producer Albemarle’s(NYSE: ALB) evaporation ponds and is nearby Cyprus DevelopmentCorp.’s (TSXV: CYP) 5,430-acre Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project
Potential lithium bearing clay and brine deposits,within lake sediments and ash beds, were previously reported in roughdrillers logs of historic geothermal exploration wells on file withthe Nevada State Engineers office (permit #66034A). Well, GPXM2(1994) reported “green to olive green siltstone, mudstone andclay” over a thickness of 510 ft (155.4m) from 130 ft (39.6m) to 640ft (195m). In January of 2006, Western Geothermal partners drilledhole WGP#2 to a depth of 405 feet (123m) in the Goat Island graben. According to their reports, this hole cut interbedded zones of gravel,silt, and hot spring apron material. More importantly, “from 280ft(85.3m) to 305 ft (93m) fine grained green sand and silt logged asvolcanic ash was encountered. This unit may be correlative to the Main Ash Aquifer, which is amarker bed in other areas of the Clayton Valley Basin ”.
The Nickel Rock land package is also nearby the lithiumclay properties owned by Cypress Development Corp. referred to as the“Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project” which is immediatelyeast of the Albemarle Silver Peak Mine. Exploration and developmentby Cypress has discovered alarge world-class resource of lithium-bearing claystone adjacent to the east of Albemarle’s brine field. Here,lithium mineralization occurs within montmorillonite clays throughoutthe sediments to a depth of at least 150 meters and metallurgicaltesting indicates low-cost processing can be achieved by leaching withlow acid consumption (125 kg/t) and high lithium recovery over 85%Li. These high extractions prove the dominant lithium-bearingminerals present are not hectorite, a refractory clay mineral whichrequires roasting and/or high acid consumption to liberate thelithium. On February 9, 2021 , Cypress Development Corp. announced an upsized bought dealoffering of CAD$17,000,000 which shows the significant interest inthis property and the lithium clay deposit.
Albemarle recently announced on January 7, 2021 that it will commence exploration for clay and evaluatetechnology that could accelerate the viability of lithium productionfrom clay resources in the region. It has been widely reported thatAlbemarle is planning to double its lithium production by 2025 inNevada at the Silver Peak mine by committing between US$30 million andUS$50 million in additional investment on the property.
Mr. Robert Setter, Company President and CEO comments“The clay layers encountered in the 1994 geothermal well are beneathgravel and alluvial cover and do not form obvious outcrops. TheCompany’s claims cover likely concealed faults shown in geophysicalstudies conducted by Sierra Geothermal Power Corporation in the 2008-2010 period, which the Company believes to be important in theformation of lithium-bearing clays. We are excited about capturingthe renewed investor interest for the potential of lithium bearingclays in the region.”
Nickel Rock claims cover various geothermal featureslike tufa (hot spring limestone carbonate formations) and sinters(sedimentary rock formations primarily composed of silica precipitatedfrom hot waters) representing locations of upwelling hydrothermalfluids that may play a role in the formation of lithium rich claydeposits. Clayton Valley has several known occurrences of lithiumbearing clays and tuffs as documented by academic publications andrecent drill results released by Cypress Minerals and others.
About Clayton Valley LithiumProject
Clayton Valley is a down-dropped closed basin formed bythe Miocene age Great Basin extension and is still active due tomovement along the Walker Lane structural zone. As a result, thebasin has preserved multiple layers of lithium bearing volcanic ash,resulting from multiple eruptive events over the past 6 million yearsincluding eruptions from the 700,000-year-old Long Valley Calderasystem and related events. These ash layers are thought tocontribute to the lithium brines extracted by Albemarle and are alsolikely involved in the formation of the exposed lithium rich claydeposits on the east side of Clayton Valley. https://nickelrockresources.com/clayton-valley-lithium/
Qualified person
Alan Morris is a qualified person as defined byNational Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical informationcontained within this news release.
About Nickel Rock ResourcesInc .
Nickel Rock Resources is a Canadian-based mineralexploration company with a highly focused effort on exploration forhigh-value battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV)market. The company recently announced several acquisitions resultingin a significant property package prospective for awaruite, anaturally occurring nickel-iron alloy important in the manufacture ofenvironmentally efficient batteries for the electric vehicle marketsglobally.
Nickel Projects
The Mount Sidney Williams Group consists of five claimblocks in four groups with a total area of 6,125.32 hectares in thearea surrounding Mount Sidney Williams, both adjoining and near theDecar project of FPX Nickel Corp., located 100 kilometres northwest ofFort St. James, B.C., in the Omineca mining division. Metallicmineralization includes nickel, cobalt, and chromium. At least some ofthe nickel mineralization occurs as awaruite.
The Mitchell Range Group area claim consist of twocontiguous claim blocks covering 3,134.70 hectares with demonstratedmetallic mineralization including nickel, cobalt, and chromium.Nickel-cobalt mineralization has not been well explored, but thepresence of awaruite has been documented. The company is planningdetailed exploration for the upcoming exploration season.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Robert Setter”
Robert Setter, President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange norits Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in thepolicies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for theadequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may containforward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to,comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subjectto various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements ofhistorical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcomingwork programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security ofmineral property titles, availability of funds, and others areforward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guaranteeingfuture performance and actual results may vary materially from thosestatements. General business conditions are factors that could causeactual results to vary materially from forward-lookingstatements.
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