Victory Battery Metals acquires 17,792 hectares in the James Bay Lithium District – Richard Mills

2023.02.18

Canada- and Nevada-focused Victory Battery Metals (CSE:VR, FWB:VR61, OTC:VRCFF) is our new pick in the lithium space.

Stingray

Formerly known as Victory Resources, Victory in July, 2022, strengthened its lithium portfolio with the addition of two new properties in Quebec, that are adjacent to Patriot Battery Metals’ Corvette lithium discoveries.

The staked properties are known as Stingray I and II. Stingray I consists of four claims totaling 204 hectares extending directly from the south property line of the Corvette project, with Stingray II comprising 40 claims of 2,041 hectares situated south and southwest of Corvette.

The 44 claims were increased to 49, then to 66 last fall. This week, Victory announced a major expansion of the Stingray properties, acquiring 280 new claims and bringing its total claims in the area adjacent to Patriot’s Corvette to 347.

Victory says its holdings now represent a large ground position in an underexplored area within the emerging James Bay Lithium District.

The James Bay region of Quebec is composed of the Superior Province, an Archean craton that has been deformed by various orogens over time, creating large fault zones containing gold, lithium, copper, zinc and silver mineralization. The majority of the new Stingray claims lie along the same rock unit that was previously mapped by Patriot Battery Metals, containing lithium-bearing pegmatites up to 20 km in length with Li2O values as high as 1,280 ppm.

With the acquisition, the Stingray property array grows from 3,417 to 17,792 hectares. The Stingray claim blocks range from adjacent to Corvette, to several kilometers away, and span over 65 km of east to west strike length.

“Expanding Victory’s presence in this prime location is a priority, allowing us to consolidate the Company’s Stingray property array, streamline exploration efforts and establish a significant presence for further strategic acquisitions and or partnerships,” said Mark Ireton, president of Victory Battery Metals.

The new claims were acquired for a cash payment of $100,000 and 3 million shares. The acquisition is made up of three blocks that will now become part of the Stingray property array:

Block One (Kaanaan Block):

• 146 claims, 7,486 hectares located approximately 2-3 km southeast and east of PMET’s Corvette lithium property;
• Covers eastern extension of major regional fault structure which represents the contact between the Archean metavolcanics and Archean granodiorites. This major structure is believed to have controlled the emplacement of lithium bearing pegmatites within the Corvette lithium project located towards the west.

Block Two (Lac Block):

• 92 claims, 4,730-hectares located approximately 5 km south of Corvette;
• Covers multiple extensions of prospective metavolcanic unit which is a known host of lithium bearing pegmatites within the James Bay area. The Lac Block surrounds and covers unexplored extension from Infinity Stone Ventures (CSE: GEMS) Hellcat project where they have identified five pegmatites within the greenstones.

Block Three (Riviere Block):

• 42 claims, 2,159-hectare block located ~8 km southwest of Corvette;
• Located adjacent to major east-west trending regional structure and geological contact zone between tonalite/granodiorite and metavolcanic/metasedimentary units.

Exploration is all about location, so it is noteworthy that Victory’s neighbor, Patriot Battery Metals, has done extremely well on the back of positive drill results from Corvette.

These include drill intercepts of 1.65% Li2O and 193 parts per million (ppm) Ta2O5 over 159.7m, 1.22% Li2O and 138 ppm Ta2O5 over 152.8m, 2.13% Li2O and 163 ppm Ta2O5 over 86.2m, and 2.22% Li2O and 147 ppm Ta2O5 over 70.1m, including 3.01% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 over 40.7m. Drilling to date indicates a principal spodumene-bearing pegmatite body of significant size and has been traced by drilling over a distance of at least 2.1 km.

The company’s share price more than tripled from mid-November, when it was trading around $5.00, to an all-time high of $17.17, on Feb. 6, 2023.

Victory, meanwhile, says it intends to carry out an initial program of prospecting, reconnaissance mapping and geochemical sampling. The goal is to discover pegmatites similar to those reported on several nearby properties, such as Corvette Lake North.

“The Stingray property array is in a prime location and our exploration team has outlined an initial program, while simultaneously looking for additional strategically aligned property in the area,” Ireton said in the Feb. 13 news release.

Smokey

As Victory continues to advance Stingray in Quebec, its Smokey project in Nevada also holds tremendous potential.

The Smokey lithium property lies approximately 35 km north of Clayton Valley, NV, and 32 km west of American Lithium’s TLC project, within the Big Smokey Valley.

It is also in Esmeralda County, a prolific region for very large-tonnage lithium clay deposits, with grades up to and exceeding 900 ppm.

These include Noram Ventures (166Mt @ 900 ppm), Century Lithium (formerly Cypress Development, 593Mt @ 1,032 ppm), American Lithium (495Mt @ 1,000 ppm), Spearmint Resources, Enertopia and Jindalee Resources.

In this prolific lithium region, Victory’s Smokey project totals 350 claims covering 7,000 acres with excellent access and relatively flat ground.

The property shares similar geological settings to the Clayton Valley and the many exploration projects nearby. Outcropping clay on Jindalee’s property showed lithium grades as high as 930 ppm, possibly trending northwest onto Smokey.

In January, Victory announced it has filed a drill permit application, with newly identified hole locations in an area of interest contiguous with the southwestern part of the original claims block.

“The planned second round drill targets are a perfect combination of step-out drilling on a previous mineralized intersection, along with grassroots targets of claystone sediments within the Weepah Detachment fault and underlying claystones of the Esmeralda Formation,” Ireton said in the Jan. 18 news release.

“The project area and surrounding lands show strong lithium mineralization with the Esmeralda Formation at surface. When combined with the highly encouraging results from Victory’s first-round drilling (completed in 2022) the project area is highly prospective. Only a handful of holes have ever been drilled within the project and surrounding areas, leaving robust potential for additional discoveries of lithium mineralized claystones.”

The proposed program seeks to extend strong lithium mineralization intersected previously in hole 9, which ended in strong claystone-hosted lithium mineralization at 417 feet [127m].

Conclusion

Victory Battery Metals is exploring for lithium in two very prospective regions, the James Bay Lithium District of Quebec, and Nevada’s Esmeralda County.

The Smokey lithium project is proximal to a number of high-tonnage lithium deposits including Jindalee’s contiguous property with outcropping clays of 930 ppm.

The majority of the new Stingray claims lie along the same rock unit that was previously mapped by Patriot Battery Metals, containing lithium-bearing pegmatites up to 20 km in length with Li2O values as high as 1,280 ppm. The Stingray claim blocks range from adjacent to Corvette, to several kilometers away, and span over 65 km of east to west strike length.

Global demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow five-fold by 2030. In the United States, the demand is one magnitude higher, at 6X, and could translate to $55 billion by the end of the decade.

AOTH’s latest dive into the global lithium market can be read here:

Lithium market booming as supply chases demand

With an abundance of battery metals and cheap hydroelectric power, particularly in Quebec, Canada is uniquely positioned to become an EV leader, from the mining and processing of metal ores, all the way up to the manufacture and assembly of electric and hybrid vehicles.  

Electric cars are expected to account for nearly 80% of EV market revenues and 83% of battery demand over the next two decades.

Companies like Victory Battery Metals, are well-placed to benefit from the global electrification and decarbonization trend. Cashed up from an $812,000 private placement, I’m expecting plenty of news flow.

Victory Battery Metals (CSE:VR, FWB:VR61, OTC:VRCFF)
Cdn$0.09, 2023.02.17
Shares Outstanding 47.3m
Market cap Cdn$4.0m
VR website 

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com
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