First Cobalt Corp. is pleased to announce its 2018 exploration program for its Cobalt Camp properties in Ontario, Canada. The $7 million program includes over 26,000m of drilling on 13 different targets.
The 2018 program is a significant expansion over 2017 exploration activities and will test mineralized areas throughout the Cobalt Camp proximal to more than 10 past-producing mines known to contain cobalt in addition to new targets within three regional areas.
“Having consolidated the Cobalt Camp land package, the objective of the 2018 drill program is to use our strong treasury to blanket the Camp, testing the near-surface potential of many areas with different styles of mineralization and diverse geological settings that have never been assessed for their cobalt content,” says Trent Mell, President and CEO. “In addition to Keeley-Frontier, 12 new properties will be drilled on our 100 square kilometre land package, including Bellellen, Drummond, Silver Banner and Silverfields.”
The drill program will test cobalt targets occurring in different styles of mineralization and in diverse geological settings.
Highlights
• 26,500m of drilling planned at 13 targets across the Cobalt Camp, testing different geological settings;
• Geophysical testing techniques including downhole and ground geophysical surveys, televiewer surveys, soil geochemistry will be applied in some areas to refine targets in this program;
• Regional mapping and prospecting will be conducted throughout the Camp with emphasis on the highly under-explored Central Cobalt area; and
• Digitization and 3D modelling of 100 years of data are ongoing to facilitate new structural interpretations for drilling target follow-up in 2018.
2018 Cobalt Camp Program
The 26,500 metre drilling program has been designed to test mineralized areas throughout the Cobalt Camp with known historical production of cobalt and silver. These areas include the Kerr, Drummond, Juno, Ophir, Hamilton, Silver Banner and Silverfields mines in Cobalt North, the Caswell mine in Cobalt Central, and the Bellellen, Keeley and Frontier mines in Cobalt South.
“Preliminary exploration activities in 2017 provided valuable insights on structural controls in various areas of the Camp. We have undertaken a review of the historical records as well as integrated new data from the Camp and, with our expanded team and increased budget, now plan to target at least 13 different areas over the year,” says Frank Santaguida, Vice President of Exploration. “The broad range of cobalt mineralization styles and associated metals such as silver, nickel, copper, zinc and lead require a widespread, systematic approach across the Camp. We are also looking at applying innovative methods and techniques to maximize the efficiency of this program.”
Results from the 2017 drill program indicate that cobalt occurs as different styles of mineralization in the Cobalt Camp largely due to different geological settings. This program will test several prospective areas to ascertain near-surface mineralization potential. Shallow surface drilling methods, such as reverse circulation drilling will be utilized at some prospects prior to diamond drilling to more accurately define the extent and dip character of the veins and determine if cobalt grades are sufficient for follow-up.
Downhole geophysical surveys and televiewer surveys will be done on selected holes throughout the year based on the successful application of these methods in the 2017 program. The intention of these surveys is to identify possible extensions of cobalt-bearing veins beyond the holes and to better define the orientation of veins and other host-rock structures for further drill targeting.
Regional mapping and prospecting programs will start in the spring and run through the summer and fall throughout the Camp with emphasis on the Central Cobalt. This area was historically highly under-explored. In addition, soil geochemical and ground geophysical techniques will be used in some areas to better define the extent of cobalt mineralization prior to drilling the known vein systems.
A new NI 43-101 technical report is being compiled on the consolidated land package including recently acquired claims and including results from the 2017 drill program. This report is anticipated for completion during the first quarter of calendar 2018.
(First Cobalt Corp.)
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