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Global Energy Metals has a promising portfolio of projects in key jurisdictions

Last updated: 11:00 07 Jun 2019 BST, First published: 14:24 06 Jun 2019 BST

Snapshot

Global Energy Metals has in-depth expertise in battery metals, a diverse portfolio of assets and has a compelling future with projects in Australia, Nevada and Ontario

cobalt
  • Has an option on two battery metal projects, the Lovelock cobalt mine and Treasure Box projects, located around 150 km east of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada

  • Also positioning itself as a leading cobalt explorer and developer in the well-known Mt. Isa mining district in Queensland, Australia

  • Owns 70% of the Werner Lake Cobalt Mine in Ontario

  • Deal to use Canada Cobalt Works' Re-2OX technology is compelling -- it skips the normal smelting process to achieve high recovery rates for cobalt, nickel and copper, while also removing 99% of arsenic


Global Energy Metals Corp (CVE:GEMC) (OTCMKTS:GBLEF) is building a diverse portfolio of exploration and growth-stage cobalt assets. The firm has a focus on acquiring metals and mining companies with a focus on metals in the rechargeable battery market and energy storage sector. It aims to acquire cobalt, lithium, graphite, and other battery metals projects.

The company has an option on two battery metal projects, the Lovelock cobalt mine and Treasure Box projects, which are located in Churchill County, around 150 km east of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.

In addition to the two Nevada projects, in which the firm has an option to acquire an 85% interest in, Global Energy Metals also owns 70% of the Werner Lake Cobalt Mine in Ontario, and has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the Millennium Cobalt Project and two neighbouring discovery stage exploration-stage cobalt assets in Mt. Isa, Australia.

Right place, right time

The firm has its footprint in multiple countries, providing a diverse portfolio of assets. 

In Australia, the firm is positioning itself as an explorer and developer in the well-known Mt. Isa mining district in Queensland, Australia, as it advances its flagship Millennium Cobalt project and Mt. Dorothy and Cobalt Ridge projects aimed at creating a district-scale cobalt exploration and development opportunity. ​​​

Millennium is a jurisdictionally safe, growth-stage exploration project with a large defined zone of cobalt-copper mineralization which remains open at depth and along strike. Millennium is located close to well-established mining, transport and processing infrastructure, along with a skilled workforce in the regional centres of Mount Isa and Cloncurry. It's a deal that is pivotal, and would bolster GEMC's footprint by 20X for the firm's Australian land position. 

The firm is also promisingly-positioned in Nevada, where the company holds an option on two battery metal projects, the Lovelock cobalt mine and Treasure Box projects. Nevada is a noted mining-friendly state, and the projects have several copper-gold projects nearby, benefiting from strong infrastructure. Not to mention its location, 150 kilometres east of Sparks Nevada, home to Tesla’s Gigafactory 1.

The Nevada project is a historic producer, which had a limited but high-grade production of cobalt, nickel and copper in the 1880s, but hasn't been explored in modern times. The firm is drill ready there, with eight diamond drill targets identified in addition to geological mapping, chip and channel sampling and geophysics.

In Canada, the firm owns 70% of the Werner Lake Cobalt Mine in Ontario, located in northwestern Ontario, near the Ontario-Manitoba border in the Kenora mining district. The two largest cobalt deposits defined to date are the Werner Lake and West Cobalt deposit, of which both are controlled by GEMC. These are also historical producing mines, with opportunities to define addition high-grade cobalt zones at these deposits, as well as more broadly thoughrough the area. 

Cobalt production constrained

Cobalt, a silverish-gray metal, is an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones as well as plug-in electric vehicles.

But its production is constrained, with 99% of cobalt being produced as a co-product, and two-thirds coming from the politically turbulent Democratic Republic Congo (DRC). Many high-grade cobalt properties around the world can’t be developed because they have toxic materials associated with them. It's estimated that 84% of cobalt is processed in China.

Eyes are turning elsewhere, in places like Australia and Canada, and for GEMC, that’s welcome news.

How it is doing

It's been a busy 2019 for Global Energy Metals, which continues to actively push forward all of its projects. 

In April, the firm closed a C$800,000 oversubscribed financing round, issuing 16.27 million shares priced at $0.05 apiece for gross proceeds of $813,500, which will be used for exploration and development at the Lovelock mine and Treasure Box projects in Nevada.

The firm also recently revealed news that it has received regulatory approval for a deal that will see it use Canada Cobalt Works' Re-2OX technology for one year, with an aim to rapidly advance its Nevada projects. The proprietary process, known as Re-2OX, extracts cobalt, precious metals and base metals without using a traditional smelter.

Earlier in 2019, the firm reported encouraging drill assays from the Werner Lake Cobalt project in Ontario, where it appears that the current mineral resource can be expanded. The high-grade assays come from joint-venture partner Marquee Resources Ltd

Its objective in the 2018 drill campain was to confirm the "extent and continuity of high-grade cobalt mineralization at Werner but has also extended the limits of mineralization defined by the current mineral resource model," said Paul Sarjeant, the company's vice president of projects in a release.

Werner Lake is one of the most advanced, near-term production primary cobalt mine project in Canada and has a higher confidence indicated resource of 57,900 tonnes at 0.51% cobalt for 653,000 pounds of cobalt.

Inflection points

On a broad level, one important factor to note is the electric vehicle revolution, and what role cobalt will play in that. The energy storage revolution is propelling high demand for the key battery minerals. The prospect of a booming electric vehicle market is expected to boost demand, with some estimates indicating that demand for cobalt could grow at an average rate of approximately 5% to 8% per year for the next several years.

On a project specific level, the Lovelock and Treasure Box projects represent a "unique opportunity to make a new battery metals discovery in Nevada, a proven mining district ranked as the most attractive mining jurisdiction by the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2018," noted the company in a recent release.

GEMC's recent deal, giving it the ability to use Re-2OX technology is compelling -- it skips the normal smelting process to achieve high recovery rates for cobalt, nickel and copper, while also removing 99% of arsenic. The move expands the potential of the Lovelock mine and could potentially create battery-grade cobalt sulphate.

This is just one part of a wider exploration and drill program, which will help give better understanding of the potential of GEMC's Nevada-based projects. Global Energy Metals is currently pulling together plans for its exploration and drilling campaigns to advance the battery metals project, which has a promising future. The region is compelling and shows strong enrichment in cobalt, nickel and copper, making it attractive for further exploration and expansion through other opportunities. 

2019 will be a busy season for the company with multiple programs ongoing. The race to deliver cobalt is far from over, in fact, it's not expected to peak for an estimated five to 10 years.

CEO says strategy is "one of exploration, move it to a development stage and bring in partners"

Mitchell Smith, CEO of GEMC, says the company's strategy is "one of exploration, move it to a development stage and bring in partners that we have currently," noting the group has a strategic partnership with a Chinese group, Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co. 

Contact Katie Lewis at katie@proactiveinvestors.com

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