NRG Reports Consistent High-Grade Brine Intercepts over the First 100 Meters of Drilling at the Hombre Muerto North Lithium Project
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Highlights
- Brine samples collected over the first 100 meters average 905 mg/l Li with a low Mg to Li ratio.
- The hole is now at 300.5 meters in clastic sediments, and brine samples are currently being collected from 300 to 100 meters. Drilling will resume after the sampling is completed.
- Adjacent rotary drill hole for pump testing is at a depth of 173 meters.
NRG Metals Inc. ("NRG" or the "Company ") (TSX-V: NGZ)(OTCQB: NRGMF)(Frankfurt: OGPN) the Company is delighted to report that double packer samples collected over the first 100 meters of the hole average 905 mg/l lithium with a low Mg to Li ratio of 3.0 to 1.0. The assay results are shown in the table below.
Sample From To Li Mg B K Density Conductivity Mg/Li
mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L g/mL mS/cm
HMN-2 100 101 929 2974 331 7263 1.16 206 3.2
HMN-3 90 91 895 2678 382 7399 1.18 209 3.0
HMN-4 78 79 942 3027 329 7299 1.16 207 3.2
HMN-6 70 71 962 3113 318 7343 1.16 206 3.2
HMN-7 58 59 939 2925 355 7430 1.16 207 3.1
HMN-8 37 38 879 2367 445 7772 1.16 210 2.7
HMN-10 28 29 782 1548 585 8177 1.17 212 2.0
HMN-11 18 19 879 3035 373 7135 1.16 206 3.5
HMN-12 9 10 935 3055 342 7323 1.16 206 3.3
Arithmetic Average 905 2747 384 7460 1.16 208 3.0
Drilling has advanced to a depth of 300.5 meters, and brine is present from the surface to the bottom of the hole. The hole has been drilled almost entirely in clastic sediments consisting of poorly consolidated sandstone and conglomerate. Drilling on the hole is currently being paused to collect brine samples from 300 to 100 meters. Once sampling of this interval has been completed, drilling advance will resume.
José de Castro, Chief Operating Officer of NRG Metals Inc., commented, "We are very excited about the exceptional results from the initial sampling. The lithium grades and low Mg to Li ratios exceeded our expectations. The high grades and favorable Mg to Li ratios have the potential to have a very positive impact on any future capital and operating costs should the economic viability and technical feasibility of the project be established."
Meanwhile, the rotary hole located 16 meters east of the core hole has advanced to a depth of 174 meters. This hole will be drilled to a depth of up to 400 meters, depending upon the results obtained in the core hole. The rotary hole is being drilled at a diameter of 12 inches, and upon completion, the hole diameter will be enlarged by reaming to a diameter of 17 inches, and 10-inch perforated casing will be installed so that pumping tests can be performed. If the results warrant, this hole can be utilized as a production well. On site geological staff have also confirmed that a pumping well is being drilled by a competitor, approximately one kilometer south of the Tramo property boundary.
The sampling was conducted with double packer equipment over one-meter intervals approximately every ten meters starting at a depth of 101 meters and working back up the hole. On site QA/QC for the sampling was directed by Cristian Avila of Montgomery and Associates of Santiago, Chile under the supervision of Mike Rosko, also of Montgomery and Associates, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. The samples were assayed by the Alex Stewart Laboratory in Jujuy, Argentina. Alex Stewart employed Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry ("ICP-OES") as the analytical technique for the primary constituents of interest, including those shown in the table. Alex Stewart maintains a strict internal QA/QC program employing multiple standards, re-analyses by AA and calculation of ionic balances. NRG inserted one blank sample and three blind duplicate samples in the sample batch, and all QA/QC results corroborate the analyses reported in this press release. In addition to the packer samples, 27 sealed core samples have been collected at regular intervals from 291 meters to the collar of the hole, and these samples will be sent to a laboratory in the United States for brine release testing.
The project is located in the province of Salta, Argentina at the northern end of the prolific Hombre Muerto Salar, adjacent to FMC's producing Fenix mine and Galaxy Resources' Sal de Vida development stage project.
About the Company
NRG Metals Inc. is an exploration stage company focused on the advancement of lithium brine projects in Argentina. In addition to the Hombre Muerto Norte project, the Company is evaluating its 29,000-hectare Salar Escondido project in Catamarca province where the company recently completed a 400 meter rotary hole, as described in the Company's press release dated May 8, 2018. The diameter of the hole is currently being enlarged by reaming to install casing so that it can be sampled. NRG Metals Inc. currently has approximately 132 million shares issued and outstanding, and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol NGZ, on the OTC QB Market under symbol NRGMF, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under symbol OGPN. The Company currently has working capital of approximately CAD$3.2 million dollars.
The preparation of this press release was supervised by Mr. Michael J. Rosko, a registered professional geologist in the states of Arizona (25065), California (5236), and Texas (6359), and a registered member of Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (#4064687) and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Rosko approves the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed the content of this news release and therefore does not accept responsibility or liability for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release.
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The transaction described in this news release is subject to a variety of conditions and risks which include but are not limited to: regulatory approval, shareholder approval, market conditions, legal due diligence for claim validity, financing, political risk, security risks at the property locations and other risks. As such, the reader is cautioned that there can be no guarantee that this transaction will complete as described in this news release. We seek safe harbor.
On behalf of the board of directors of NRG Metals Inc.:
Adrian F.C. Hobkirk President and C.E.O.
T: Investors / Shareholders Call +1-855-415-8100 / Direct to Adrian Hobkirk +1-714-316-3272 E: ahobkirk@nrgmetalsinc.com
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