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First Class Metals #FCM – Operations update
First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals” “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK listed metals exploration company seeking economic metal discoveries across its extensive land holdings, remains focused in northern Ontario, Canada, is pleased to announce significant advancements in field activities and supporting technical developments.
Highlights
· Coco East property- field work completed, base metal potential.
· Sunbeam Project- 85 samples from Nuinsco diamond core drilling dispatched for assay.
· North Hemlo- 25 coarse rejects from Dead Otter trend to be re-assayed by Photon Assay
· Zigzag Lithium & Critical Metals Project- Award of an Exploration Permit for three years
Marc Sale First Class Metals CEO Commented:
“At FCM we persist in our aim of enhancing the value of the portfolio. The field work at Coco East ensures the property’s positive standing beyond 2024, furthermore we eagerly await the results from the prospecting in a new area of historic potential. The review of the historic drill core from the Sunbeam Property was our initial focus this year after EGS ‘found’ the TerraX core. The significance of the review is the revelation that from the stripping at Roy and Pettigrew the host porphyry was proved to be auriferous: successful resampling here could revolutionise the property’s potential.
Despite Dead Otter’s assays being the highest recorded from the North Limb of Hemlo, we suspect coarse gold might be skewing fire assay results, possibly misrepresenting the samples. Adopting Photon Assaying, a relatively new method, may resolve this issue.
Lastly the award of a further three years Exploration Permit at Zigzag, supported by the Whitesand First Nation is a welcome event. The permit opens up the new structure we delineated in the south and gives us more options on the core structure that we drilled last December.
It’s been a busy few months for FCM as we enter the summer period with a lot of activity still to look forward to.
As a follow up to my recent field trip to northwest Ontario we have populated additional information to the Data Room and received request from a further company to review specific properties.”
Coco East
The Coco East property not only has potential for precious metal targets but also base metals. The geophysical anomaly in the northern sector has been interpreted as a potential eastern continuation of the ‘zinc belt’ from the Winston Lake area.
Figure 01 Showing the recently re-discovered adit – mine working – in the norther area of the property.
FCM through Emerald Geological Services (‘EGS’) recently undertook a prospecting programme in the northern sector of the property. A previously unknown adit was encountered. Searches of the Ontario Mineral Index ‘OMI’ registrar is ongoing to ascertain if there is any historical information associated with the workings. A number of rock samples were collected from this area of the adit as well other locations and will be dispatched for analysis.
The exploration programme whilst brief has been successful and importantly the assessment credits the work generates will ensure the property remains in good standing into the ’25 field season.
North Hemlo, Dead Otter Trend
The Dead Otter Trend has discontinuous outcrop along the identified >3km strike. The structure mimicking the granite / mafic volcanic contact is sheared and contains significant quartz veining. Where outcrop allows sampling, the gold reported in assays has reached 19.6ppm Au, (19.6g/t). However, there are areas where, whilst gold has been visibly identified in rock samples, the assays have not reflected the apparent potential to report significant gold values. There is possibly a ‘coarse gold issue’ in the northern sector. Additionally, the presence of silver and gold telluride (calaverite) further suggests that the assays are not reflecting the true gold content of the quartz / shear.
Given the relatively small fraction of the overall samples that are used in a standard 50g Fire Assay method, FCM through EGS has selected 25 samples for Photon Assay which utilises a 500g sample in the assay. The sample is run through a high energy X-ray machine which excites the atomic nuclei in the rock, causing them to emit gamma rays at specific energy levels. These emitted gamma rays allow for the detection of gold and silver within the rock sample and, is a non-destructive methodology, as opposed to traditional fire assay, allowing the sample to be retained for further analysis.
The samples are from the original Dead Otter Showing (3.1ppm Au), the ’19 grammer’ as well as samples from Bobby’s Showing which reported 2.2ppm Au.
It is anticipated that this new method of analysis will enhance the potential of the Dead Otter trend and help focus stripping programme the planned this field season.
Sunbeam
After a review of the historic TerraX and Nunisco drill core a total of 83 half core samples (plus one standard and a blank) have been submitted to assay for gold by Fire Assay and a silver / multi element package.
The basis for the additional review and sampling of the core results from the stripping programmes at Roy and Pettigrew that identified that the hosting porphyry was anomalous in gold, with one grab sample reporting over 4ppm Au.
Zigzag
The Exploration Permit application to the Ontario Ministry has been approved for a further three years. The granting of the Permit allows for stripping and further drilling on the main zone identified by FCM’s prospecting, channel sampling and drilling in 2023. The zone remains open in all directions, including down dip.
Previously reported results from an MMI soil sampling programme indicated not only is the main zone open past FCM and historical drilling and channel sampling locations but that there exists the possibility of a subparallel or spur structure to the south (anomalous values reported included Li, up to: 2,600ppm; 4,290ppm Rubidium; 920ppm Cs. The granted permit will allow this to be stripped and if warranted drilled.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
|
James Knowles, Executive Chairman |
07488 362641 |
|
|
Marc J Sale, CEO |
07711 093532 |
Novum Securities Limited(Financial Adviser)
|
David Coffman/ George Duxberry |
www.novumsecurities.com |
(0)20 7399 9400 |
NOTES TO EDITORS
First Class Metals PLC – Background
First Class Metals listed on the LSE in July 2022 and is focused on metals exploration in Ontario, Canada which has a robust and thriving junior mineral exploration sector. In particular, the Hemlo ‘camp’ near Marathon, Ontario is a proven world class address for gold exploration, featuring the Hemlo gold deposit operated by Barrick Gold (>23M oz gold produced), with the past producing Geco and Winston Lake base metal deposits also situated in the region.
FCM currently holds 100% ownership of seven claim blocks covering over 180km² along a 150km strike of the Hemlo-Schreiber-Dayohessarah greenstone belt, exploring for gold, base metals, and rare earth element mineralization. In addition, FCM is carrying out a joint venture with Palladium One on the West Pickle Lake Property in the region, a drill-proven ultra-high-grade Ni-Cu project.
The flagship property North Hemlo had a high-definition low level magnetic Heli-borne survey flown in April 2022, this was followed with ground prospecting which ultimately defined the ‘Dead Otter Trend’ which is a discontinuous 4.5km gold anomalous trend with a 19.6g/t Au peak grab sample. This sampling being the highest known assay ever recorded on the North Limb of Hemlo.
In October 2022 FCM completed the option to purchase the historical high-grade past-producing Sunbeam gold mine near Atikokan, Ontario, ~15 km southeast of Agnico Eagle’s Hammond Reef gold deposit (3.3 Moz of open pit probable gold reserves).
FCM acquired the Zigzag Project near Armstrong, Ontario in March 2023. The property features Li-Ta-bearing pegmatites in the same belt as Green Technology Metals’ Seymour Lake Project, which contains a Mineral Resource estimate of 9.9 Mt @ 1.04% Li2O. Zigzag was drilled prior to Christmas 2023 and results have now been released.
The significant potential of the properties for precious, base and battery metals relates to ‘nearology’, since all properties lie in the same districts as known deposits (Hemlo, Hammond Reef, Seymour Lake), and either contain known showings, geochemical or geophysical anomalies, or favourable structures along strike from known showings (e.g. the Esa project, with an inferred Hemlo-style shear along strike from known gold occurrences).
First Class Metals #FCM – West Pickle Lake: Nickel Drill Results
First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals” “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK metals exploration company seeking large scale metal discoveries across its extensive Canadian Schreiber-Hemlo Sunbeam and Zigzag land holding is pleased to report that Palladium One continues to intersect potentially economic Ni-Cu mineralisation in and around the West Pickle Lake (“WPL”) Joint Venture area.
Highlights adapted from Palladium One release1
- In the West Pickle Lake area, chonolith / feeder dyke structures now extend over more than five kilometres of strike length.
- Drilling along the eastern margin of the West Pickle Zone targeted bore hole electromagnetic anomalies (“BHEM”) returned 1.8% Ni and 1.0% Cu over 1.5 metersin hole TK23-134 (Figure 1).
- A new nickel zone has been identified with intercepts returning up to 0.4% Ni and 0.2% Cu over 2.7 meters including 1.0% Ni and 0.4% Cu over 0.9 meters in hole TK23-128 in an area with soil anomalies as high as 0.15% Ni, 0.27% Cu and 86 parts per billion (“ppb”) Pd + Pt (Figure 1).
1Palladium One Drilling Confirms Mul | Palladium One Mining Inc. (palladiumoneinc.com)
Of significance are holes TK23-134, on the eastern extent of the WPL JV area and hole TK23-128, to the north-west of WPL and close to the 100% owned North Hemlo block of FCM.
Marc J. Sale CEO commented:
“I remain encouraged with the progress the Palladium One exploration is making in the WPL zone and the wider discovery area. Particularly the success near to the FCM claim boundary with the results from TK23-128.”
“FCM will continue to pursue third party interest in this sector of North Hemlo.”
Figure 1 extracted from Palladium One news release 01/02/24. Showing the position of drill hole TK23-134. In the JV area, as well as TK23-128 to the NW of WPL and close to the North Hemlo property boundary.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
| James Knowles, Executive Chairman | JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com | 07488 362641 |
| Marc J Sale, CEO | MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com | 07711 093532 |
Novum Securities Limited
(Financial Adviser)
| David Coffman/ George Duxberry | www.novumsecurities.com | (0)20 7399 9400 |
First Class Metals #FCM – Leveraging the global metals supply crunch
First Class Metals #FCM – Leveraging the global metals supply crunch and generating value in the metals revolution
There’s no way around it; we’re in the midst of a metal consumption crisis. Whether it’s the niche battery metals powering the electric vehicle revolution… The industrial metals supporting worldwide urbanisation and population growth… Or even the precious metals sought out as safe havens amid escalating volatility… The quantities we’re consuming are set to rise long in to the future.
Link here to read this exclusive report:
First Equity – Buy First Class Metals plc (FCM.L), valuation per share in the range of 24p to 30p
The next few months are likely to be a news-flow intensive period for First Class Metals plc (FCM), with exploration drilling likely on at least two high priority properties and work planned to move other prospects towards drill- ready status. In this updated research note we look at FCM’s exploration properties to understand the catalysts that could spark a share price uplift. We also analyse the additions made over the last 12-months to FCM’s expanding exploration portfolio of interests.
- Sunbeam is the most advanced asset that produced gold between 1898 and 1905, upon which it is estimated 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of gold at a 13.0 g/t grade exist in old workings.
- Several exploration targets and trends at Sunbeam have been identified. Following channel sampling work, some of these are likely to be drilled within the next few months.
- The high-grade nickel drill results reported by JV partner Palladium One (PDM) at West Pickle Lake (WPL) provides clear evidence that a district- scale sulphide nickel play has emerged on the North Hemlo properties.
- The management believe similar high-grade mineralisation discoveries at WPL could also be present on their 100%-owned North Hemlo properties. One prospect targeted for near term drilling is ‘Dead Otter Lake’, where high grade gold samples have been recorded.
- FCM expanded its footprint at North Hemlo by 30% in area after securing a JV earn-in deal with OnGold in July 2023.
- The addition of the Zigzag earn-in JV provides investors with exposure to a property prospective for a vital battery metal, lithium, from which historic drilling has returned lithium grades of over 1.00% lithium.
First Class Metals has made notable advancements since listing on the LSE 12-months ago, by adding three new exploration properties (Sunbeam, Zigzag and OnGold), and through improving value to these and its existing projects. Despite this progress, the shares are now back to around their IPO placing price of 10p per share, after trading at between 15p and 17p for the last two months of 2022.
A drop in sector wide sentiment towards junior exploration companies may have impacted the share price in the last six-months, as investors have become more risk-adverse and aware of potential downside risks such as commodity price falls or exploration disappointment. Nevertheless, such an environment can create a good entry point for investors.
As explained in our last research note in January, we still believe the company should command a market cap valuation in the region of £20m, possibly as high as £25m, given the recent addition of new projects, coupled with its high quality and exciting exploration properties within a low risk and established mining jurisdiction. A market cap of around £20m to £25m would imply a value per share in the range of 24p to 30p, and thus leads us to a ‘Buy’ recommendation for the shares.
View the full broker note here First Class Meals – First Equity Broker Note 2nd August 2023
First Class Metals #FCM – Commencement of Field Operations
First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals” “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK metals exploration company seeking large scale metal discoveries across its extensive Ontario land holding is pleased to provide an operations update on activities across the portfolio.
Highlights
- Canada field work has been initiated, with three exploration teams deployed.
- Channel Sampling of the Rare Earth Element (REE) Diatreme at McKellar underway.
- Sunbeam historic review widened to encompass detailed core review from historical drill holes. Grades up to 93.3g/t Gold (AU), see table 2.
- Field base set up and exploration soon to commence on the North Hemlo and Esa properties to follow up on the successes of 2022.
First Class Metals PLC through its 100% owned Canadian subsidiary controls nine properties in northwest Ontario, see figure 1. The properties cover collectively 230km² though three properties account for over 60% of the area under licence. The properties have assessment credits through 2023, regardless, FCM intends to undertake exploration of all the properties this field season, with the intention of drilling at least one.
Figure1-Northwest Ontario showing the locations of the FCM properties with Sunbeam in the West through to Zigzag and then the Schreiber-Hemlo Properties in the East.
Marc Sale CEO commented:
“FCM is pleased to announce that exploration has now started for the 2023 Field Season, we have a vigorous programme planned to follow up on last year’s stellar performance, specifically At North Hemlo and Esa with the intention to define drill targets. FCM will also undertake exploration at Sunbeam to define drill targets as well as prospecting the wider licence. Similar work is also intended at Zigzag. Other properties will be explored, further evaluated as time and priorities allow. The priority remains to drill at least one location this season.”
McKellar
Initial field work will focus on the McKellar Rare Earth Element (REE) diatreme, this work has commenced with a programme of sawn channel sampling being conducted, see figure 2.
Figure 2-the Emerald Geological Services (EGS) team cut channels being sampled at McKellar.
The McKellar diatreme occupies a topographic low and occurs within a north trending linear structure. The diatreme breccia may have been emplaced within a shear or fault zone, however, owing to vegetation cover geologic data to confirm this is vague.
Historically general prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling of the diatreme was focused on discerning whether gold, platinum and palladium were associated with the diatreme structure and what REE the diatreme carried.
FCM has previously reported the historic assays from a prospecting programme in 2013 by R Renner, 5 bedrock grab samples were taken and assayed, results of which and other historic reported assayed samples from the diatreme area are included in the table below.
| Historical assay results for selected elements (including REE), McKellar Creek Diatreme: | Value |
| Gold Au | 25 ppb |
| Platinum Pt | 17 ppb |
| Neodymium Nd | 300 ppm |
| Lanthanum La | 400 ppm |
| Beryllium Be | 2.8 ppm |
| Cerium Ce | 513 ppm |
| Yttrium Y | 214 ppm |
| Strontium Sr | 1280 ppm |
| Thorium Th | 180 ppm |
| U308 | 38 ppm |
Table 1-Historic McKellar REE Diatreme grab sample assays.
During a brief campaign in 2022 the team collected ten rock samples, of which nine were grab samples of outcrop in the vicinity of an identified drill hole and the other a ‘float’ / boulder sample in a creek immediately to the southwest. The results were anomalous but did not replicate the historic grades. It is intended that the current sampling will verify and hopefully even expand the potential outlined by the historic assays.
Sunbeam Historic Drill Core Review
A second team is mobilising to review the historical drill core from the Sunbeam Property. This is in collaboration with and leads on from the detailed review of the historic data which is now complete.
Figure 3-EGS Team loading core for removal to a cutting facility for review.
Historical drilling at Sunbeam by Nuinsco:
In July 2021, Nuinsco reported grading up to 93.3g/t on a drill programme conducted within the Sunbeam Mine area. The drill programme was a follow up on a surface sampling programme which produced results up to 83.5g/t from underground waste rock from the Sunbeam mine. Eight drill holes totalling 1,091 metres were collared. Significant results include:
| Historic-Drill Hole | Assay-Comments/Observations |
| NS-21-01 | 3.98g/t Gold (Au) over 0.6m (from 96.0m) within 3.39m of strongly gold anomalous deformation zone. |
| NS-21-02 | 13.8g/t Au over 0.15m (from 80.85m) within 2.83m of strongly gold anomalous deformation zone. |
| NS-21-03 | 93.3g/t Au over 0.44m (from 99.5m) within 3.19m of strongly anomalous deformation zone. |
| NS-21-05 | 2.94g/t Au over 0.5m (from 118.5m) within 7.50m of strongly anomalous deformation zone. |
Table 2-Selected historic Sunbeam drill assays.
Further, three holes were drilled within 100m of the Pettigrew shafts. Hole 57751 intersected 19.4 g/t Au over 0.63m and 15.17 g/t over 1.37m in two zones separated by 15m.
In 2008, the Rubble occurrence was discovered on the property. Assays of up to 1.42 oz per ton gold have been obtained from pyritized and iron carbonate altered rocks.
A reinterpretation of the geophysics survey conducted by previous owners, Nuinsco is under way with Paterson Grant Watson (PGW).
North Hemlo & Esa
A third team is mobilising next week to continue the exploration at Esa, focusing on the anomalous soil sample results as well as the 0.7ppm boulder identified in the central eastern sector as detailed in the recent news release.
The team currently working on the McKellar diatreme will relocate to the North Hemlo project later this month. In order to bring the prospect to drill ready status, the intention is to follow up the encouraging sampling on the Dead Otter trend which has been sampled along its 3km plus length, which includes numerous gold occurrences up to 19.6 g/t Au. Over the winter months ninety-six lake sediment samples as well as a number of rock samples were collected from North Hemlo, results are pending.
Discussions are ongoing with drill companies to undertake a maiden drilling programme at Esa and or North Hemlo. To this end the Application for an Exploration permit to allow drilling is currently being reviewed by the First Nation groups with traditional lands covering Esa and North Hemlo.
Recon visits-Zigzag, Sugar Cube and Sunbeam
Reconnaissance trips have also been made to the Zigzag, Sugar Cube and Sunbeam properties to assess access. The intention at the Zigzag prospect is to undertake a field programme of sawn channel sampling to better quantify the strike length, width and tenor of the lithium and tantalum potential. The aim is to sample along the exposed outcrop of the pegmatite with sawn channels like at McKellar – equivalent to a horizontal drill hole.
Previous workers have identified Li₂O and Ta₂O5 mineralization along the entire length of the showing from sampling at surface, grading up to 1.68% Li₂O (Lithium Oxide) over 7.9m and 0.168% Ta₂O5 (Tantalum Oxide) over 2.54m in separate channels samples. Several shallow historic drill holes along the occurrence have returned significant intersections, including, (in separate drill holes) an intersection grading 1.08% Li₂O over 6.1m and a separate intersection of 399.8ppm Ta₂O5 over 2.92m. Both intersections were less than 20m down hole.
The occurrence is open along strike and depth and remains to be fully evaluated. It is anticipated that the channel sampling will allow a focused drill programme to be executed later in the season.
Field work at Sugar Cube will be to investigate – ground-truth- the potentially mineralised structures highlighted by the recently completed high resolution magnetic / electromagnetic (EM) survey.
Once the spring access is sufficiently advanced two teams will be deployed to Sunbeam; one will prospect the peripheral claims whilst the second team will focus on the mineralised trends containing the Sunbeam, Roy and Pettigrew mine shafts with the intention of determining drill targets for later in the season.
FCM is committed to exploring the properties currently under its control in order to add value and bring where warranted to a drill point.
For Further Information:
| James Knowles, Executive Chairman | JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com | 07488 362641 |
| Marc J Sale, CEO | MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com | 07711 093532 |
| Ayub Bodi, Executive Director | AyubB@Firstclassmetalsplc.com | 07860 598086 |
First Equity Limited
(Financial Adviser & Broker)
| Jonathan Brown | 0207 3742212 | |
| Jason Robertson | 0207 3742212 |
First Class Metals PLC – Background
First Class Metals is focussed on exploration in Ontario, Canada which is considered a top global destination for explorationwith a robust and thriving junior mineral exploration sector. Specifically, the Hemlo ‘camp’ is a proven world class address for gold/VMS exploration. This geological terrane has significant production, both base / precious metals and a prolific number ofexploration projects and numerous prospector’s ‘showings’.
FCM currently holds 100% ownership of seven claim blocks covering over 180km² along a 150km strike of the Hemlo-Schreiber-Dayohessarah greenstone belt which also contains the >23M oz shear hosted Hemlo gold mine operated by Barrick Gold. Late last year FCM completed the option to purchase the historical high grade (gold) Sunbeam.past producing mine
The significant potential of the properties for precious, base and battery metals relate to: ‘nearology’ insomuch that all properties lie close to identified mineral anomalism, for example Palladium One’s RJ and Smoke Lake nickel projects are close to the FCM’s West Pickle Lake drill proven Ni-Cu project. This also demonstrates the second critical asset the properties hold: vector, anomalies, be they geological, geochemical, or geophysical that have demonstrated mineral potential extend on to FCM’s properties.
The inferred shear on the Esa property is being explored by neighbours both to the west and east where it crosses into their properties. Furthermore, the properties have not been extensively explored either historically or more contemporaneously . This is attributable to the overall lack of outcrop. However, modern exploration techniques are better able to ‘see through’ the ground cover and to identify anomalies.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements which are based on the Company’s expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’, ‘target’, ‘expect’, ‘estimate’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘goal’, ‘believe’, or other words of similar meaning. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise