Electra Battery Materials Corporation confirmed today the existence of a new cobalt zone in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, following the receipt of assay results from drilling at its Ruby prospect. The new drill intercepts are located in close proximity to the Company’s flagship Iron Creek cobalt-copper deposit. Results from Electra’s summer exploration program support a more extensive drill campaign to determine the full extent of Ruby’s mineralization.
“Significant investments are being made in North America to onshore the electric vehicle supply chain, and the State of Idaho has an important role to play in developing a domestic supply of critical metals such as cobalt,” said Trent Mell, Electra’s CEO.”
Mr. Mell added, “The assay results pave the way for additional drilling and underscore the potential for Idaho to become and important source of cobalt in the U.S. and reduce North America’s reliance on foreign supply.”
“Drill results confirmed the presence of significant cobalt mineralization identified in the chargeability anomaly imaged in this year’s 3D-induced polarization survey,” said Dan Pace, Electra’s Principal Geologist. “Additional drilling is warranted to evaluate the extent of the mineralization, which has a similar geophysical footprint to the Iron Creek deposit.”
The Iron Creek Project is located within Electra’s Idaho property, which consists of mining patents and exploration claims over an area of 2,300 hectares covering the strike extent of strata hosting mineralization. Historic underground development at Iron Creek includes 600 metres of drifting from three adits. An all-weather road connects the property to a state highway and nearby towns, Challis and Salmon.
Iron Creek is one of several cobalt-copper resources and prospects within the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a prospective mineralized system that contains the largest primary resources of cobalt in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Within Electra’s own property boundaries, numerous satellite targets have been identified, including the Ruby Zone cobalt prospect located 1.5 km southeast of Iron Creek which is the focus of the 2022 program