VANCOUVER, BC, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ -- Nickel Rock Resources
Inc. ("the Company") (TSXV: NICL), (OTCQB: NIKLF) is
pleased to announce that reverse circulation drilling will commence
by weeks end on the Company's recently expanded claim block at
Silver Peak, Clayton Valley,
Esmeralda County, Nevada.
This strategic land package, covering approximately 2,300 acres
(930 ha), directly adjoins a western portion of lithium producer
Albemarle's evaporation ponds and is nearby Cyprus Development
Corp.'s 5,430-acre Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project
Potential lithium bearing clay and brine deposits, within lake
sediments and ash beds, were previously reported in rough drillers
logs of historic geothermal exploration wells on file with the
Nevada State Engineers office (permit #66034A). Well, GPXM2
(1994) reported "green to olive green siltstone, mudstone and clay"
over a thickness of 510 ft (155.4m)
from 130 ft (39.6m) to 640 ft
(195m). In January of 2006,
Western Geothermal partners drilled hole WGP#2 to a depth of 405
feet (123m) in the Goat Island
graben. According to their reports, this hole cut
interbedded zones of gravel, silt, and hot spring apron material.
More importantly, "from 280ft (85.3m)
to 305 ft (93m) fine grained green
sand and silt logged as volcanic ash was encountered. This unit
may be correlative to the Main Ash Aquifer, which is a marker bed
in other areas of the Clayton Valley Basin".
The Nickel Rock land package is also nearby the lithium clay
properties owned by Cypress Development Corp. referred to as the
"Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project" which is immediately
east of the Albemarle Silver Peak Mine. Exploration and
development by Cypress has discovered a large world-class
resource of lithium-bearing claystone adjacent to the east
of Albemarle's brine field. Here, lithium mineralization
occurs within montmorillonite clays throughout the sediments to a
depth of at least 150 meters and metallurgical testing indicates
low-cost processing can be achieved by leaching with low acid
consumption (125 kg/t) and high lithium recovery over 85% Li.
These high extractions prove the dominant lithium-bearing minerals
present are not hectorite, a refractory clay mineral which requires
roasting and/or high acid consumption to liberate the
lithium. On February 9, 2021,
Cypress Development Corp. announced an upsized bought deal offering
of CAD$17,000,000 which shows the
significant interest in this property and the lithium clay
deposit.
Albemarle recently announced on January
7, 2021 that it will commence exploration for clay and
evaluate technology that could accelerate the viability of lithium
production from clay resources in the region. It has been widely
reported that Albemarle is planning to double its lithium
production by 2025 in Nevada at
the Silver Peak mine by committing between US$30 million and US$50
million in additional investment on the property.
Mr. Robert Setter, Company
President and CEO comments "The clay layers encountered in the 1994
geothermal well are beneath gravel and alluvial cover and do not
form obvious outcrops. The Company's claims cover likely
concealed faults shown in geophysical studies conducted by Sierra
Geothermal Power Corporation in the 2008- 2010 period, which the
Company believes to be important in the formation of
lithium-bearing clays. We are excited about capturing the
renewed investor interest for the potential of lithium bearing
clays in the region."
Nickel Rock claims cover various geothermal features like tufa
(hot spring limestone carbonate formations) and sinters
(sedimentary rock formations primarily composed of silica
precipitated from hot waters) representing locations of upwelling
hydrothermal fluids that may play a role in the formation of
lithium rich clay deposits. Clayton
Valley has several known occurrences of lithium bearing
clays and tuffs as documented by academic publications and recent
drill results released by Cypress Minerals and others.
About Clayton Valley Lithium Project
Clayton Valley is a down-dropped
closed basin formed by the Miocene age Great Basin extension and is
still active due to movement along the Walker Lane structural
zone. As a result, the basin has preserved multiple layers of
lithium bearing volcanic ash, resulting from multiple eruptive
events over the past 6 million years including eruptions from the
700,000-year-old Long Valley Caldera
system and related events. These ash layers are thought to
contribute to the lithium brines extracted by Albemarle and are
also likely involved in the formation of the exposed lithium rich
clay deposits on the east side of Clayton Valley.
https://nickelrockresources.com/clayton-valley-lithium/
Qualified person
Alan Morris is a qualified person
as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the
technical information contained within this news release.
About Nickel Rock Resources Inc.
Nickel Rock Resources is a Canadian-based mineral exploration
company with a highly focused effort on exploration for high-value
battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV) market. The
company recently announced several acquisitions resulting in a
significant property package prospective for awaruite, a naturally
occurring nickel-iron alloy important in the manufacture of
environmentally efficient batteries for the electric vehicle
markets globally.
Nickel Projects
The Mount Sidney Williams Group consists of five claim blocks in
four groups with a total area of 6,125.32 hectares in the area
surrounding Mount Sidney Williams, both adjoining and near the
Decar project of FPX Nickel Corp., located 100 kilometres northwest
of Fort St. James, B.C., in the
Omineca mining division. Metallic mineralization includes nickel,
cobalt, and chromium. At least some of the nickel mineralization
occurs as awaruite.
The Mitchell Range Group area claim consist of two contiguous
claim blocks covering 3,134.70 hectares with demonstrated metallic
mineralization including nickel, cobalt, and chromium.
Nickel-cobalt mineralization has not been well explored, but the
presence of awaruite has been documented. The company is planning
detailed exploration for the upcoming exploration season.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Robert Setter"
Robert Setter, President &
CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This news release may contain
forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to,
comments that involve future events and conditions, which are
subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements
of historical facts, comments that address resource potential,
upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and
security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and
others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not
guaranteeing future performance and actual results may vary
materially from those statements. General business conditions are
factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from
forward-looking statements.
Contact
Nickel Rock Resources Inc.
1220 – 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1H2
604- 428-5690
www.nickelrockresources.com
info@nickelrockresources.com
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SOURCE Nickel Rock Resources Inc.
