Champion Electric Metals identifies 3 New High-Priority Prospects at Lithium Project in James Bay

Champion Electric Metals Inc. is providing an update on its ongoing exploration work at its James Bay lithium property in Quebec. 

While fieldwork is still underway and data is continuously being collated, three high-priority prospects have already emerged as being likely hosts of a lithium caesium tantalum (LCT) type pegmatite system, including a new target on the southeast side of the Property near the neighbouring Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette lithium deposit. Detailed follow-up work over these three newly identified targets is the priority of the concluding field mapping season. Applications for drilling permits over these targets have been submitted in anticipation of confirmatory results from the sampling program.

Fieldwork Summary

Field activities recommenced on August 3, 2023, as soon as the team could safely return to the project after the wildfires in the region were under control. In addition to the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and high-resolution aerial photography survey being completed, the team undertook a first-pass project-wide mapping and sampling campaign, including in-field X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, targeted rock saw sampling, and till geochemical sampling. As of this update, the Champion Electric team has collected 678 rock samples for laboratory analysis, of which 670 have been classified as pegmatites or rocks having pegmatitic texture. An exploration activity summary map is provided in Figure 1.

Jonathan Buick, President & CEO, commented: 

"The vastness of our property in James Bay is truly impressive, requiring a 30-minute helicopter flight to cross from one end to the other. Our land package is situated in a zone that experienced a lot of glacial erosion and deposition, so outcrop is sparse among all the covering glacial sediments. The team did an amazing job during this first phase at examining every known or suspected outcrop over the shortened field season to vector in on some exciting targets. We have now generated three high-priority prospects in the neighbourhood of Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette deposit. These are already undergoing follow-up work before the first snow. We look forward to updating the market once all the results are in."

Geological Mapping and Rock Sampling

Over the last two months, a mixed team of geologists and technicians of up to 12 people led by Dr. Eric Hebert, P.Geo., a member of the Ordre des Géologues du Québec (OGQ), visited and documented dozens of areas of outcrop. The work was supported by helicopter and 4x4 trucks where road access permitted.

The team walked approximately 630 kilometres of traverses and collected 678 rock samples so far, including 670 classified as pegmatites or with pegmatitic texture. The Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles (MERN) of Quebec produced a large-scale regional geological map, which is relatively accurate when it comes to major rock units. However, since most of the Property is covered by Quaternary glacial and alluvial sediment, there are important discrepancies at the property scale. For instance, the Company's work has confirmed that the inferred extent of the greenstone belt covered by the Property was underestimated by the MERN maps. This means that there is likely more ground in need of careful exploration beneath the cover. 

Results from the LiDAR and high-resolution aerial photography survey are still pending and could not be incorporated into the current fieldwork programs. Review and interpretation of this data will occur over the coming months, and newly identified outcrops will form the basis of the 2024 mapping campaign.

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