Grid Metals Corp. (“Grid” or the “Company“) (TSXV:GRDM)(OTCQB:MSMGF) is pleased to announce the favourable results of initial metallurgical testwork showing high metal recoveries on core samples from the Central Parisien Lake palladium zone at its 100% owned East Bull Lake property near Sudbury, Ontario. The Company is also pleased to report that rhodium – the most valuable of the platinum group metals, is present in sufficiently high concentrations to be considered as a potential, additional pay metal in future metallurgical and economic assessments.
Preliminary Metallurgical Testwork
Earlier this year, Grid contracted XPS Expert Process Solutions – A GLENCORE Company to complete preliminary metallurgical testwork on composite samples prepared from coarse rejects and quarter-core samples from three drill holes that intersected the Central Parisien Lake Zone. This zone has been a focus of recent drilling and is the most advanced of several known surface trends of palladium mineralization on Grid’s >20 km long East Bull Lake palladium property.
The final report from the new metallurgical study has now been received and includes the following highlights obtained from an initial locked cycle test:
- Excellent modeled concentrate grade of 102.5 g/t palladium (Pd)
- Favourable palladium and copper recoveries of 77.3% and 88.9%, respectively
The XPS study was designed to investigate the potential to produce a palladium-rich sulfide concentrate from a relatively low-grade composite sample with a head grade of 1.21 g/t Pd. This palladium grade is considered to be representative of the recent drill intersections of near surface mineralization in the Central Parisien Lake Zone and is also believed to match the representative palladium grade that would be required to support a future open pit mining operation
Dr. Dave Peck, the Company’s Vice President of Exploration and Business Development commented “We are very encouraged by the initial metallurgical test results. We had hoped to see a ~100 g/t palladium concentrate grade from this initial testwork and we achieved that. Both the palladium concentrate grade and recovery are well within the range seen at active PGM mining operations including the Lac des Iles mine and mill complex in northwestern Ontario, which produces a premium-grade, palladium-rich concentrate that is highly sought after by the world’s toll base metal + PGM smelting businesses. Demonstrating that we have favourable metallurgical characteristics at East Bull Lake is a significant milestone for the project.”
Rhodium Assays
The Company has received the results from 32 total PGM analyses that were performed by Actlabs (Ancaster). The samples were taken from several different drill holes completed by Grid in 2020 and 2021. Complete results are provided in the Appendix. Rhodium abundances range from 0.05 to 0.22 g/t (50 to 220
ppb). The ranges of Pd and Pt values for the same samples are 0.84 to 38.5 g/t and 0.19 to 6.49 g/t. The results indicate that rhodium may be present in economically recoverable abundances and could therefore become an important byproduct metal in any future mining operations targeting the Central Parisien Lake Zone. For reference, the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa has typical rhodium grades of 0.1 to 0.4 g/t1 and is an important source of the world’s current rhodium mine production.
General Corporate Update
At East Bull Lake a three-month field program targeting several under-explored trends of coincident palladium mineralization and favourable geophysical signatures is expected to be completed next month. A decision on where to focus and when to start the next phase of drilling will be largely based on the summer mapping and surface sampling results.
On the Bannockburn nickel project located near Timmins, Ontario the Company is awaiting analytical results for seven of the eight holes completed in the spring 2021 drilling program.
In Manitoba, the Company is in the process of applying for work permits to allow a new phase of exploration and resource extension and conversion drilling at its Makwa and Mayville Cu-Ni-PGM-Co and lithium properties in the southeastern part of the province.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Grid Metals applies best practice quality assurance and quality control (“QAQC”) protocols on all of its exploration programs. For the current drilling program, core is logged and sampled at a core facility located in the town of Massey, Ontario – approximately 30 km south of the property. NQ-size drill core samples are cut into halves using a diamond saw. Standard sample intervals of 1.00 metre length are used unless a major geological, structural or mineralization boundary is encountered. Samples are bagged and tagged and transported by courier to, for this news release, the Actlabs Thunder Bay analytical facility. Actlabs analyzes each sample for Pd, Pt and Au using a lead collection fire assay on a 30 g pulp split and an ICP-OES finish. Copper, Ni and Co are analyzed using a ‘near total’ fusion multi-acid digestion and an ICP-OES finish. The Company uses two PGE certified reference materials (“CRMs”) and one analytical blank purchased from Canadian Resource Laboratories to monitor analytical accuracy and check for cross contamination between samples. One of the CRMs or the blank are inserted every tenth sample within a given batch. The analytical results for the two CRMs and the blank for the sample batches reported here did not show any significant bias compared to the certified values and the results fell within the acceptable limits of variability.
Dr. Dave Peck, P.Geo., has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release for purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
Reference
1 United States Geological Survey, Special Investigations Report 2010-5090-Q.
About Grid Metals Corp.
Grid Metals Corp. is an exploration and development Company that has three projects focused on Nickel Copper-PGM-Cobalt. In addition to the East Bull Lake Palladium Property the Company is currently active at its Bannockburn Nickel project near Timmins, Ontario where the target is bulk tonnage nickel mineralization. The Company has a PEA stage Ni-Cu-PGM project (Makwa- Mayville) in southeastern Manitoba.
To find out more about Grid Metals Corp., please visit www.gridmetalscorp.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Grid Metals Corp.
Robin Dunbar – President, CEO & Director Telephone: 416-955-4773 Email: rd@gridmetalscorp.com
David Black – Investor Relations Email: info@gridmetalscorp.com
We seek safe harbour.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of the Securities Act (Ontario) (together, “forward-looking statements”). Such forward-looking statements may include the Company’s plans for its properties, the overall economic potential of its properties, the availability of adequate financing and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements to be materially different. Such factors include, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to potential political risk, uncertainty of production and capital costs estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, physical risks inherent in mining operations, metallurgical risk, currency fluctuations, fluctuations in the price of nickel, cobalt, copper and other metals, completion of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, the inability or failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the most recent financial period and Material Change Reports filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements.
Appendix: Rhodium, platinum and palladium analyses for selected drill core samples from the Central Parisien Lake Zone, East Bull Lake palladium property.
| Sample# | Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Rh (ppb) | Pt (ppb) | Pd (ppb) |
| 360073 | EBL21-01 | 66.00 | 67.00 | 1.00 | 109 | 866 | 3290 |
| 360089 | EBL21-01 | 81.00 | 82.00 | 1.00 | 67 | 894 | 2420 |
| 361174 | EBL21-06 | 51.00 | 52.00 | 1.00 | 158 | 824 | 3100 |
| 361179 | EBL21-06 | 56.00 | 57.00 | 1.00 | 81 | 755 | 3130 |
| 361181 | EBL21-06 | 57.00 | 58.00 | 1.00 | 125 | 1250 | 3720 |
| 361228 | EBL21-06 | 100.00 | 101.00 | 1.00 | 48 | 804 | 2000 |
| 361375 | EBL21-07 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 1.00 | 189 | 1350 | 9400 |
| 361447 | EBL21-07 | 72.00 | 73.00 | 1.00 | 95 | 748 | 2910 |
| 361468 | EBL21-07 | 91.00 | 92.00 | 1.00 | 85 | 803 | 2850 |
| 361469 | EBL21-07 | 92.00 | 93.00 | 1.00 | 87 | 703 | 2480 |
| 361471 | EBL21-07 | 93.00 | 93.80 | 0.80 | 106 | 845 | 3080 |
| 287966 | EBL20-13 | 4.00 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 157 | 906 | 2380 |
| 287975 | EBL20-13 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 1.00 | 60 | 392 | 1370 |
| 287982 | EBL20-13 | 18.00 | 19.00 | 1.00 | 40 | 681 | 1810 |
| 288001 | EBL20-13 | 35.00 | 36.00 | 1.00 | 58 | 480 | 1910 |
| 288018 | EBL20-13 | 51.00 | 52.00 | 1.00 | 35 | 194 | 1130 |
| 288047 | EBL20-13 | 77.00 | 78.00 | 1.00 | 58 | 419 | 1930 |
| 288053 | EBL20-13 | 82.00 | 83.00 | 1.00 | 55 | 406 | 1840 |
| 288056 | EBL20-13 | 85.00 | 86.04 | 1.04 | 120 | 911 | 3580 |
| 288065 | EBL20-13 | 92.00 | 93.00 | 1.00 | 156 | 640 | 3010 |
| 288066 | EBL20-13 | 93.00 | 94.00 | 1.00 | 68 | 613 | 3190 |
| 288071 | EBL20-13 | 97.00 | 98.00 | 1.00 | 80 | 562 | 2420 |
| 288079 | EBL20-13 | 105.00 | 106.00 | 1.00 | 110 | 882 | 3340 |
| 288045 | EBL20-13 | 75.00 | 76.00 | 1.00 | 58 | 481 | 1770 |
| 361735 | EBL21-08 | 199.25 | 200.00 | 0.75 | 77 | 925 | 4210 |
| 365553 | EBL21-09 | 49.00 | 50.00 | 1.00 | 148 | 2000 | 5810 |
| 365676 | EBL21-09 | 158.76 | 159.30 | 0.54 | 45 | 6490 | 38500 |
| 365793 | EBL21-10 | 67.00 | 68.00 | 1.00 | 216 | 2010 | 6280 |
| 361889 | EBL21-11 | 97.00 | 98.00 | 1.00 | 90 | 960 | 2840 |
| 366061 | EBL21-12 | 98.00 | 99.00 | 1.00 | 128 | 1000 | 4350 |
| 366186 | EBL21-15 | 44.00 | 45.00 | 1.00 | 45 | 1240 | 841 |
| 366187 | EBL21-15 | 45.00 | 46.00 | 1.00 | 45 | 1370 | 1160 |
SOURCE: Grid Metals Corp.