Drilling Commenced - Obonga
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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PANTHER METALS PLC
("Panther" or the "Company")
(Incorporated in the Isle of Man with company number 009753V)
25 October 2022
Drilling Commenced - Obonga
Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) the company focused on mineral exploration in Canada, is pleased to report that the Obonga Project ("Obonga" or the "Project") diamond drilling programme has now commenced at the first of five prospect areas.
The helicopter and first diamond drilling rig arrived at site and mobilised to commence drilling at the Wishbone Prospect ("Wishbone"), to the planned schedule, on Monday 24th October. In order to make most efficient use of the helicopter and stagger the start, the second diamond drilling rig will also mobilise to Wishbone and is due to commence drilling during the course of today.
At Wishbone Panther is seeking to test the expected base metal zonation within the volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") mineral system discovered by the Company's inaugural autumn 2021 two-hole drilling programme.
The Obonga drilling programme is targeting multiple high priority electromagnetic ("EM") and magnetic geophysical anomalies prospective for VMS hosted copper / base metal mineralisation and intrusion hosted nickel, platinum and palladium on the Obonga Greenstone Belt approximately 160km north of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The commencement of this dual drill rig, double-shift, multiple-prospect, diamond drilling programme at Obonga reaffirms our position as an explorer focused on making new discoveries.
A great deal of work has gone into planning and commencing this five prospect drilling campaign, which is designed to test as many geophysical targets, as efficiently as possible, within the available time window and ahead of the onset of winter.
I would personally like to thank the local indigenous communities for their support and welcome in enabling us to proceed to drilling on Obonga this autumn.
We eagerly await the first drill core and look forward to reporting further as the exciting work progresses."
Obonga 2022 Drilling Programme Targets
The Obonga Project covers an area of circa 251km2 providing an 88% coverage of the Obonga Greenstone Belt and currently comprises five high priority prospects for which exploration drilling permits are in place:
Wishbone; Awkward; Survey, Ottertooth; and Silver Rim.
Wishbone Prospect
Planned work at the Wishbone Prospect consists a second phase of drilling to start to delineate the extent of sulphide mineralisation following the discovery of the Wishbone VMS mineral system by Panther's inaugural autumn 2021 two-hole drilling programme 1. At Wishbone, Panther is targeting the base metals copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) as well as potential silver (Ag) and gold (Au).
Anomalous high-grade copper in lake sediment close to the target area increases confidence in the prospectivity of the target area.
The 2021 Wishbone drilling which consisted of two holes for a total 600m of diamond drilling, intercepted multiple lenses of sulphide mineralisation including in drill hole BBR21_WB_001 a 27.3m wide intercept of massive sulphide mineralisation and in hole BBR21_WB_002 51m of sulphide-dominated mineralisation.
The Wishbone discovery was the first significant VMS-style mineralisation to be made on the entire Obonga Greenstone Belt. Given the geological tendency for VMS systems to cluster and repeat and given the presence of highly anomalous copper in lake-sediments nearby, the Wishbone Prospect area is a high priority for Panther.
Awkward Prospect
Awkward presents a highly anomalous magnetic and EM geophysics target related to an interpreted layered mafic intrusion and associated magmatic conduit based on plate modelling of airborne geophysics data and geological mapping. Historic sampling has confirmed the presence of anomalous platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) values, while historical drilling on the periphery of the target reported copper and sulphide mineralisation, which was never assayed, in coarse gabbro and "marble cake' gabbro (matching the description of the Lac des Iles platinum palladium mine varitexture gabbro ore zone, 80km to the south).
Survey Prospect
The Survey Prospect consists an anomalous magnetic and electromagnetic geophysics target adjacent to the geological contact between intrusive mafic rocks and extrusive mafic rocks. A historical report shows a single shallow, 23.5m deep, drill hole in the vicinity, but not on the main target, intersected several meters of massive sulphide but assay results were not documented and the results were not followed-up.
Ottertooth Prospect
Similar to Survey the Ottertooth Prospect consists a coincident anomalous magnetic and EM geophysics target adjacent to the geological contact between intrusive mafic rocks and extrusive mafic rocks. Unlike Survey, Ottertooth is entirely untested with no historical drilling reported in the vicinity.
Silver Rim Prospect
The Silver Rim Prospect is defined by coincident magnetic and EM geophysics anomalies in an area which has yielded elevated silver in soil samples. Anomalous lithium has also been identified in lake sediment at the target. The area remains otherwise untested. With No historical drilling in the vicinity.
Reference Notes
1 Panther Metals PLC company announcement, VMS Mineral System Discovered on Obonga Project, dated 18 January 2022
( https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/panther_metals/news/rns/story/x8kld5x )
For further information please contact:
Panther Metals PLC:
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer: +44(0) 1462 429 743
+44(0) 7971 957 685
Mitchell Smith, Chief Operating Officer: +1(604) 209 6678
Broker:
SI Capital Limited
Nick Emerson +44(0) 1438 416 500
Notes to Editors
Panther Metals PLC is an exploration company listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Panther is focussed on the discovery of commercially viable mineral deposits. The Company's operational focus is on established mining jurisdictions with the capacity for project scalability. Drill targets are assessed rapidly utilising a combination of advanced technologies and extensive geological data to decipher potential commercial viability and act accordingly. Panther's current geological portfolio comprises of three highly prospective properties in Ontario, Canada while the developing investment wing focuses on the targeting of nickel and gold in Australia.
Obonga Project
Panther Metals acquired the Obonga Greenstone Belt in July 2021 and have already identified five prospective primary targets: Wishbone, Awkward, Survey, Ottertooth and Silver Rim. A successful Phase 1 drilling campaign at Wishbone in Autumn 2021 revealed the presence of significant VMS-style mineralised systems on the property - the first such discovery across the entire greenstone belt. Intercepts include 27.3m of massive sulphide in hole one, and 51m of sulphide-dominated mineralisation in hole two. Both drill holes contained multiple lenses. Anomalous high-grade copper in lake sediment close to the target area has also been identified, increasing confidence in the prospectivity of the location.
Awkward is a highly anomalous magnetic target, interpreted to be a layered mafic intrusion and magmatic conduit based on mapped geology and airborne geophysics. Historic sampling in the area returned anomalous platinum and palladium (Pt, Pd) values, while historic drilling on the periphery of the target intersected non-assayed massive sulphide and copper (assumed to be chalcopyrite), non-assayed disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite in coarse gabbro, and non-assayed 'marble cake' gabbro (matching the description of the Lac des Iles Mine varitexture gabbro ore zone).
Two additional named targets, Survey and Ottertooth, both displays further coincident magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies and are adjacent to the contact between intrusive and extrusive mafic rocks. Historic drilling at Survey intersected several meters of massive sulphides in multiple intersections (main parts of the anomaly remain untested) while Ottertooth remains untested in its entirety.
Dotted Lake Project
Panther Metals acquired the Dotted Lake Project in July 2020, it is situated approximately 16km from Barrick Gold's renowned Hemlo Gold Mine. An extensive soil programme conducted in 2021 identified numerous gold and base metal targets, all within the same geological footprint. Following the installation of a new trail providing direct access to the target location, an initial drilling programme in Autumn 2021 confirmed the presence of gold mineralisation within this system with anomalous gold continuing along strike and present within the surrounding area.
Manitou Lakes Project
The Manitou Lakes gold project is located approximately 300km's east of Thunder Bay, Ontario and covers a total area of around 98sq km's.
There are over 200 known gold occurrences on the Manitou Lakes project area with the wider Eagle/Manitou Lakes greenstone belt hosting numerous historic gold producers and is prospective for Archean age orogenic gold and associated base metal deposits.
Exploration work conducted by Shear Gold on the Project to date has identified numerous gold bearing structures and favourable geological host rocks through early-stage mapping and surface sampling. The work has focussed on two target areas, being the West Limb Gold Property and the Glass Reef Gold Property, both of which host historic gold mines which have never been systematically explored using modern techniques or drill tested
Big Bear Project
The acquisition of various prospects in 2018 and 2019 consolidated previously fragmented areas into the wider Big Bear umbrella project, priming Panther Metals for extensive and comprehensive exploration in the area. A total of 253 geophysical anomalies have been identified, with 39 designated for priority investigation. Gold in soil anomalies in have been identified in five areas, ranging up to 0.71g/t, extending up to 250m wide and open along strike. Gold bearing quartz veins have been outlined within seven separate areas (two with rock and vein samples grading 1 to 5 g/t Au, four with quartz vein sample assays above 5g/t Au, and two quartz samples collected at 50m separation on an E-W trending vein open in both directions returning 105.5g/t Au and 112g/t Au respectively).
The Little Bear Lake and Schreiber prospects are of particular interest to the company: historic work programmes in 2010 and 2011 targeted an intense magnetic response from both. Assays yielded from the 1.6km long gold trend included 6m at 1.5g/t Au, up to 53.7g/t Au and 19.25 g/t Ag in rock chip and 18.2g/t Au and 1.03g/t Ag in soil. Historical bulk sampling reported 150t averaging 17.6g/t Au, while historical drill intersections include 0.55m at 19.2% Zn and 4.6% Cu from 15.2m depth.
Panther Metals Australia
Following the listing of Panther Metals' Australian assets on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") in December 2021, the valuation of the Company's 36.6% holding in the business has risen by over 30% to a valuation of almost £3m. The ASX listing has provided the Australian projects with the necessary capital to advance drill-ready targets focused on nickel and gold (within the Tier 1 Mining Districts of Laverton WA and in the NT). Through this spin-out Panther holds an attractive investment prospect, without any disruption to the Company's capital structure and without any financial obligations.
Conclusion
Panther Metals understand that the commercial realities of building an exploration company requires expertise in geology, finance, and the markets within which they operate. The Company's extensive network of industry leaders allows it to meet these objectives. Ultimately however, drilling success is the only route to discovery: the fundamental objective of any exploration company. Once Panther's world-class geological team identify the anomalies, they work hard to get drilling. The drill hole is the only place where substantial and sustained capital growth originates and it's with that operational focus Panther Metals will continue to advance.
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