(TheNewswire)
December 14, 2020 - TheNewswire - Vancouver, BritishColumbia - Nickel RockResources Inc. (“the Company”) ( TSXV:NICL ) ( OTC:SSMLF ) is pleased toannounce that planning for our 2021 exploration programs is underwayand to fund these programs we are pleased to announce that we havearranged a flow-through non-brokered private placement offering of4,000,000 flow-through units (FT Units”) at $0.13 per FT Unitraising gross proceeds of $520,000. Details ofthe exploration program will be outlined in a NI 43-101 report soon tobe released.
Each FT Unit is comprised of one common share and oneshare purchase warrant (“Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitlethe holder thereof to purchase one additional common share of theCompany at an exercise price of $0.15 per share for a period of twoyears from closing, subject to TSX Venture Exchange (“Exchange”)approval.
Finder’s fees will be issued in connection with theprivate placement and are subject to Exchange approval. Allsecurities issued will be subject to a four month and a day holdperiod under applicable Securities Laws.
CorporateUpdate
From March of this year, the Company has beencontinually active and has accomplished a lot during a time of globaluncertainty caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. This progresshas positioned the Company for a bright and successful future.
Most recently, the Company has been completelyrebranded as Nickel Rock Resources to reinforce our plans for exploring and developing great nickel assets. To facilitate this plan the Company completedan equity financing totalling $1,000,000 and successfully acquired a 100% interest inseveral highly prospective claims which include the Hard Nickel CentreGroup(which includes the Klone claim group), Hard Nickel 3, HardNickel 4 and the Nickel 100 claim group. The acquisition of theHard Nickel Group and the Nickel 100 claims are subject to Exchange approval. The properties are located nearCanada’s prolific Omineca mining district 100kms northwest of FortSt James, British Columbia. Nearby is the prolific Mt. Milligan mineowned and operated by Centerra. The area is very prospective fornickel-based mineral deposits as can be demonstrated by the recentlyannounced Baptiste Nickel Deposit owned by FPX Minerals. Also, a keypart of the rebranding of Nickel Rock, is the launch of our newwebsite ( http://www.nickelrockresources.com/ ) and a soon to be launched social media campaign.
The Nickel Rock Resources mineral claims are partiallyunderlain by rocks like those hosting the Decar project of FPX Nickelwhere mineralization includes nickel, cobalt, and chromium. At leastsome of the nickel mineralization occurs as awaruite which is anaturally occurring nickel-iron alloy important in the manufacture ofenvironmentally efficient batteries for the electric vehicle marketsglobally. The mineral awaruite is both highly magnetic and very denseand is therefore amenable to concentration by mechanical processesincluding magnetic and gravity separation. This style of deposit isunique and presents considerable metallurgical and processing costsaving advantages.
Significantly, the awaruite found is found in aserpentinized ultramafic rock. In 2018, G. Dipple at the University ofBritish Columbia began the Geoscience BC funded research project“Carbon Mineralization Potential Assessment for BC” scheduled forcompletion in early 2021. In late 2020 a preliminary assessment reportwas published. One of the key items from the report was“ The use of reactive serpentinite tailingsfrom nickel mining as a carbon sink has the potential to make nickelmining carbon neutral or a net carbon sink. ”The presence of serpentinized ultramafic rocks has been repeatedlydocumented in the areas covered by the claims of the Nickel RockProjects, as well as at FPX Nickel Corp.’s Decar Project (Dipple, G.et.al., Geoscience BC Report 2020-15). The funds to be received fromour flow through financing are earmarked for detailed explorationprograms on our two very prospective nickel projects in BritishColumbia and will start as soon as weather permits.
As most readers are aware, nickel is essential for themanufacture of countless products that we rely on daily includingbeing a principal component used in the manufacture of ElectricVehicle (“EV”) Batteries. The battery market only consumes threepercent (3%) of the world’s available nickel but that figure is setto grow substantially. Some projections are forecasting that by 2025there will be more that 140 million EV’s on the road, and by 2030that number could double as the industry is leaning towards batterieswith a higher nickel concentration as they tend to last longer. Thismakes EV’s a more attractive option to consumers and acts as anincentive to make the transition.
The Company has seen the commodity spot price fornickel to be in a steady uptrend while world stockpiles have been onthe decline and EV manufacturers are calling for more supply of nickelbecause nickel quantities are increasing in batteries as they increasethe amount of charge a battery can hold, thus allowing the EV’s totravel greater distances. One such company is Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), theworld’s leading EV manufacturer. Tesla’s Founder, Elon Musk,stated that a very large contract would be signed if a company couldproduce nickel with a lowered carbon footprint by using moreenvironmentally friendly ways of mining. His comments made waves inthe nickel space and several juniors have benefited from his commentsand surged 2 to 3 times their value.
In addition to our nickel exploration properties inCanada, the Company also has 100% title to 77 lithium placer claimscovering over 640 hectares in Clayton Valley, Nevada, which untilrecently has been home to North America’s only producing lithiummine. The Company’s Clayton Valley Project is an early-stagelithium brine prospect in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Plans are beingdrawn up for an exploration program early in 2021 to begin explorationon this well-located mineral project.
Located contiguous and adjacent to Nickel RockResource’s Clayton Valley Project, the Silver Peak Lithium BrineMine and Processing Facility has been in production since 1966 usingtraditional evaporation pond technology and has been until this yearbeen the only producing lithium brine deposit in North America.Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) purchased the mine as part of its acquisition of RockwoodLithium that closed in early 2015. The United States Geological Surveyestimates that over 300 million pounds of lithium carbonate have beenproduced at this facility since 1966.
In addition to adding working capital and addingseveral new 100% owned mineral assets, since the beginning of thisyear, Nickel Rock has added several experiencedpeople to our advisory team which will assistthe Company on all our mineral exploration properties. We look toadd to both our management team and board over the remainder ofcalendar 2021.
Both in the near-term and long-term, the Companybelieves the market for nickel and lithium will remain strong and welook forward to exploring and developing our mineral explorationprojects in North America. The future for nickel and lithium iscertainly bright and Nickel Rock management is extremely positive.
We are pleased that our shareholders support ourcompany and our exploration programs in Canada.
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we lookforward to a great 2021.
Qualified Person
Jacques Houle, P.Eng., a qualified person as defined byNI 43 - 101, is responsible for the technical information contained inthis release. All scientific and technical information in this pressrelease has been prepared under the supervision of Jacques Houle, P.Eng, a consultant and a qualified person within the meaning ofNational Instrument 43-101. Readers are cautioned that the informationin this press release regarding the property of FPX Nickel Corp is notnecessarily indicative of the mineralization on the property ofinterest. The QP has been unable to verify the information in thispress release about the Decar property, (such information was publiclydisclosed in their PEA dated Sept. 9, 2020) and the QP believes it isreliable.
About Nickel Rock ResourcesInc.
The Company is a Canadian-based mineral explorationcompany which has been active in the resource sector in BritishColumbia and elsewhere in Canada. Nickel Rock Resources Inc. is aCanadian based exploration company whose primary listing is on the TSXVenture Exchange. The Company’s maintains a focus on explorationfor high value battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV)market. The Company recently announced several acquisitionsresulting in a significant property package prospective for awaruite,a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy important in the manufactureof environmentally efficient batteries for the electric vehiclemarkets globally.
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 guarantees offuture 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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