Battery metals exploration company MetalsTech (ASX:MTC) has commenced fieldwork at its Rusty Lake and Bay Lake cobalt projects, located in Onterio Canada, collecting a series of samples for further analysis.
The sampling results are much anticipated as the company tests cobalt rich veins identified at Rusty Lake, a historic mining site that has produced stockpile grades of up to 11.85% cobalt, 8.64% nickel and over 10,000 grams per tonne gold.
The nearby Bay Lake project has also historically contained high levels of cobalt with previous assay results recording figures as impressive as 15.36% cobalt.
As part of the exploration activates MetalsTech will also conduct a field mapping exercise, identifying target areas for further inspection – a critical precursor to a maiden drilling campaign.
On-site activities including geological mapping and rock chip sampling have commenced. MetalsTech managing director, Mr David Riekie said.
“This will be followed up with a systematic exploration program that will also include geophysics and soil geochemistry to define additional drill hole locations as part of our maiden programs.
“Our maiden drilling program will enable us to better understand this unique geology which appears to be rich in cobalt along with a suite of other attractive metals such as silver, copper and nickel. These metals are in high demand and we are well positioned to take advantage of the buoyant market conditions as we look to forge relationships with high-tech end-users in North America and elsewhere globally,” he said.
Both Rusty Lake and Bay Lake are situated near the historic mining town of Gowganda, which hosts a geological formation containing a series of cobalt-silver deposits.
For more than a century the cobalt district of Ontario has been a prolific mining region, and MetalsTech will also look to leverage a number of mining services – such as drilling providers – who are already based within the district.