Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV:OSI) (NSX:OSN) (FSE:RSR1) (OTCQX:OSIIF)
(
"Osino” or “the Company”) is pleased to report
the completion of the phase 1 earn-in (“Phase 1”) on its
majority-owned Omaruru Lithium Project (
“Omaruru” or “the
Project”) in Namibia by
Prospect Resources
Limited (ASX:PSC) (FRA:5E8) (
“Prospect”)
and announces that Prospect will proceed with the phase 2 earn-in
(“Phase 2”).
Osino entered into an Earn-In and Shareholder
Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Prospect in Q4
2022 whereby Prospect had the right to earn into a 40% interest in
the Project upon completion of Phase 1 and can earn a 51% interest
upon completion of Phase 2. Prospect can earn up to 85% interest in
the Project with Osino carried until completion of a Definitive
Feasibility Study (see Osino press release dated September 30,
2022). Omaruru is located 20km southeast of Osino’s flagship Twin
Hills Gold Project.
Heye Daun, Osino’s President and CEO
commented: “We are encouraged by the results of the Phase
1 program on our Omaruru Lithium Project. Prospect Resources
recently completed drilling program has expanded the known lithium
mineralisation in the area and identified several drill targets
that were previously under cover. The success of the Phase 1
program sets the stage for potential new discoveries during the
Phase 2 drilling campaign planned for Omaruru. We look forward to
Prospect’s upcoming Phase 2 exploration activities and results as
they become available into the next quarter. Osino shareholders
will continue to benefit from exploration success at Omaruru while
the Company remains focused on fast tracking its flagship Twin
Hills Gold Project to production.”
Project Background
The Omaruru Lithium Project is centred on the
village of Wilhelmstal, east of Karibib in Namibia and covers 175
square kilometres (see Figure 1). The tenement is located near
several advanced mining projects including Lepidico’s Karibib
Lithium Project and Osino’s Twin Hills Gold Project.
Osino undertook an initial evaluation of the
lithium potential of the Project from 2019-2021. This work included
mapping, rock grab sampling and a 16 hole (1,942m) RC drill program
in 2020. Prospect has advanced the Project since entering the
Agreement with Osino in 2022, recently announcing a new lithium
discovery from phase 1 drilling results (see Osino press release
dated March 31, 2023).
Omaruru contains 60 visible outcropping LCT
pegmatites, with historical artisanal workings for gemstones common
throughout the tenement and considerable prospectivity for the
identification of further lithium-enriched deposits occurring below
cover in the region (see Figure 2).
The Project offers excellent potential to
delineate a maiden lithium Mineral Resource and identify new
deposits to build a project of sufficient scale, as well as
establishing a strategic position in Namibia, providing an
attractive growth pipeline in the battery minerals sector and
continued investment in a desirable jurisdiction of sub-Saharan
Africa.
Figure 1: Omaruru Lithium Project
location relative to the Twin Hills Gold Project, other Osino
projects and mines and deposits in the
area.
Follow-Up Phase 1 RC Drilling Program
Prospect completed its follow-up Phase 1 RC
drilling programme at Omaruru (focussed on Karlsbrunn, Brockmans
and regional prospects) in late June, with 27 holes completed for
1,839 metres. All assay results from this drilling have now been
received and are reported in this release.
Karlsbrunn Main
Figure 2 shows the location of the RC drill
holes completed at Karlsbrunn Main to date and the surrounding site
infrastructure, including surveyed underground adit locations
(yellow), outline of the mapped pegmatite for the lithium deposit,
the historical surface disturbance and the interpreted strike of
the mineralised root zone (the dashed purple line shows strike
direction to the northeast).
It also outlines the anomalous lithia
intersections returned from the vertical adits (in green text) that
were recently reported by Prospect (refer ASX Announcement dated 26
April 2023), which outline the extent of high-grade mineralisation
(~1% lithia) over a significant distance at Karlsbrunn Main.
Figure 2: Location map showing completed RC drill
holes at Karlsbrunn Main
Five holes for 345m of drilling (OMR045-OMR049)
were completed at the deposit as part of the follow-up Phase 1
program (two holes were abandoned). Significant
intersections returned include:
- 35m @ 0.85% Li2O
from surface, including 5m @ 1.03% Li2O from 1m, and 13m @ 1.04%
Li2O from 12m (OMR046)
- 18m @ 0.88% Li2O
from surface and 13m @ 0.79% Li2O from 21m (OMR045)
The drilling was aimed at extending the
deposit’s main root zone feeder system to the northeast. Drillholes
OMR045 and 046 indicated a thickening of mineralization in this
location and returned excellent widths of higher-grade lithium,
with the system still open in that direction. Additional soil
geochemical sampling in this corridor to the northeast will be
undertaken as part of the Phase 2 exploration program, and drilling
will then be employed to target potential buried extensions of the
root zone in that region.
The lithium mineralization at Karlsbrunn Main
appears zoned either side of an unmineralized quartz core, is
dominated by lepidolite and petalite, and is hosted in a folded
rock sequence of marbles and calc-silicates.
Bergers
The Bergers deposit is located about 4.5 km to
the east of the Karlsbrunn Main deposit and consists of a central
area of subdued outcropping lithium mineralization (see Figure
3). On 26 April 2023, Prospect announced the results of
a geochemical soil sampling program over Omaruru, which included
grids over interpreted, concealed pegmatites at Bergers NE and
Bergers SW. The soil sample results were very encouraging and
showed strong, cohesive anomalies in LCT pathfinder elements over
both the geochemical grids at Bergers.
During the follow-up Phase 1 program, 431m of
first-pass exploratory scout drilling was completed in seven (7)
holes covering the Bergers NE and Bergers Central areas. The
Bergers SW area was found to be too challenging to drill with a
conventional RC rig and is planned to be targeted in Phase 2 using
a more suitable machine for the hilly terrain.
The maiden drilling program completed over
Bergers produced positive results, including 7m @ 0.84% Li2O
(OMR032) from only 16m depth (at Bergers NE), where no pegmatite
outcrop was visible, but had been inferred from the overlying soil
geochemical anomalies (Figure 4).
This downhole intersection included two separate
higher-grade zones of lithium mineralization in the form of
petalite, that returned 2m @ 1.46% Li2O from 16m and 2m @ 1.21%
Li2O from 21m. Further drilling is required down dip of OMR032, to
determine continuity and widths of the high grade
mineralization.
In addition, drillhole OMR037 at Bergers
Central, generated 3m @ 0.71% Li2O from 25m, interpreted to be
petalite mineralization. It also remains open at depth and will be
targeted during the planned Phase 2 exploration program.
The limited scout drilling program completed for
Bergers demonstrates the broader high-grade lithium potential for
the Omaruru Project. It also shows that the geological mapping and
follow-up soil geochemical sampling completed by the Prospect
exploration team here were very effective first-pass lithium
exploration techniques for wider use at Omaruru.
Figure 3:
Detailed map
showing location
of mapped
pegmatite occurrences
at Omaruru
Figure 4: Regional Map showing encouraging first
pass assay results at Bergers
Brockmans
The Brockmans area was targeted by 10 holes for
712m during the follow-up Phase 1 program, with 7 holes positioned
close to the previous high-grade intersection in drill hole OMR018
(6m @ 1.30% Li2O from 13m; see Prospect ASX Announcement dated 28
March 2023).
The drilling failed to extend the zone
laterally, with only one hole (OMR027) returning an anomalous
intercept of 2m @ 0.67% Li2O from 21m. This may indicate that that
the higher-grade zone in OMR018 resulted from a thickening or
flexure in the pegmatite intrusive there.
There remains a 500m section north of OMR018 at
Brockmans that has not been drilled comprehensively to date and
this area is considered a lithium target based on the thick
pegmatite mapped in that locality.
The other three holes completed at Brockmans did
not intersect anomalous grades of lithium, although holes OMR024
and 025, completed to test a geochemical soil anomaly at Brockmans
SW, cannot yet be considered a definitive test of the prospectivity
given the anomaly stretches over at least 200m of strike.
Karlsbrunn NE
Four short RC holes for 270m targeted a diffuse
geochemical soil anomaly at this prospect, with two holes collared
into the hanging wall marble host rock and two clipping the edge of
the soil anomaly producing low-grade results.
The Karlsbrunn NE soil grid is planned to be
extended in Phase 2 to better define that anomaly (for future
drilling), which is located just over a 1 km northeast of
Karlsbrunn Main (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Regional Map showing recent drilling
(yellow dots) and proposed Phase 2 Exploration
Geological Mapping
During the Phase 2 program, the area adjacent
and southeast of Karlsbrunn Main is set to be geologically mapped
and sampled in more detail, with early reconnaissance and satellite
imagery over that region indicating the presence of numerous
pegmatite swarms with potential petalite mineralization present
(target location is delineated in Figure 5).
Geochemical Soil Sampling
Prospect completed detailed soil geochemical
sampling at Omaruru over eight separate grids in January (results
were reported in Prospect ASX Announcement dated 26 April
2023).
Follow-up drilling of lithium targets delineated
from that work has proved that this early-stage exploration
technique has been effective for Omaruru, using the LCT pathfinder
elements analyzed.
The identification of “blind”, concealed lithium
mineralization as petalite at Bergers NE and Bergers Central during
the current drilling campaign is testament to its value being more
widely employed at the Omaruru Project.
As such, the upcoming Phase 2 exploration work
is set to expand and infill soil sample grids northeast and south
of Karlsbrunn Main, and northeast of the original Spirit SW grid,
where it adjoins the historical Spirit mine workings and has
previously generated an intercept of 6m @ 0.72% Li2O (KBR010) in RC
drilling completed by Osino Resources Corp. (see Prospect ASX
Announcement dated 29 September 2022). A 700m section of
intermittent pegmatite strikes NE-SW in this region and surface
lithium mineralization is prevalent.
The new soil sampling work planned adjacent to
Spirit is aimed at generating new concealed lithium targets in
“blind” pegmatite deposits. Locations of the newly proposed soil
sampling grids adjacent to Karlsbrunn Main and Spirit are shown on
Figure 5 above.
Phase 2 Program
With completion of the Phase 1 earn-in to 40% of
the Omaruru Project, the decision to move forward into Phase 2
earn-in has been taken by Prospect.
Planned Phase 2 exploration activities
include:
- Expand and
infill geochemical sample grids at Karlsbrunn NE and Spirit.
- Detailed
geological mapping and sampling of the prospective region SE of
Karlsbrunn Main.
- Follow up mixed
RC/RAB drilling of targets at Karlsbrunn NE after soil survey
extensions.
- RAB/light RC
drilling infilling and extending anomalous results located at
Bergers Central.
- RC drilling to
the north of Brockmans, where 500m of strike remains lightly
tested.
Other drilling targets exist at Karlsbrunn Main
to the northeast, where higher-grade lithium was recently
identified in a root feeder zone in holes OMR045-046.
Bergers SW is a prospective target, but hilly
terrain needs an alternative drilling solution (light RAB).
Similarly, Petalite SW was also identified as a target by soil
sampling but is yet to be drilled.
The main objective of the Phase 2 exploration
program is to continue proving up strike extensions of existing or
new, coherent indications of lithium-enriched LCT pegmatite
deposits, with a focus on targeting higher grades and potential
delineable Mineral Resources across the district within EPL
5533.
Earn-in Agreement Terms
Under the Agreement, Prospect has earned a 40%
interest in the Project with a US$1M investment (“Phase 1”) and can
earn a further 11% interest through a US$560,000 investment (“Phase
2”), totalling a 51% ownership in the Project.
Upon the completion of Phase 2 and having earned
51%, development funds are to be contributed on a pro-rata basis.
If one party fails to contribute their pro rata share, their
shareholding will be diluted. The minority shareholder will be
diluted down to 15%, at which point their interest shall be free
carried until the completion of the DFS.
During phase 3 of the Agreement (“Phase 3"), if
Prospect’s spending does not reach a minimum of US$500,000 within
the 12-month period following Phase 2, either party will have the
option to purchase the other party’s interest for an agreed
sum.
Qualified Person’s
Statement
David Underwood, BSc. (Hons) is Vice President
Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved
the scientific and technical information in this news release and
is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South
African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat.
No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI
43-101
About Prospect Resources
Prospect is an ASX listed company focused on the
exploration and development of opportunities in battery and
electrification metals in the sub-Saharan African region. The team
at Prospect has a proven track record of value creation and
systematic de-risking of early-stage projects. Prospect
successfully advanced its flagship Arcadia Lithium Mine Project in
Zimbabwe from exploration through to resource definition,
early-stage economic valuation, definitive studies, offtake
agreements and strategic project financing process. Arcadia was
discovered by Prospect in 2016 and was ultimately sold to Zhejiang
Huayou Cobalt in early 2022, for approximately US$378M in cash.
About Osino Resources
Osino is a Canadian gold exploration and
development company focused on the fast-tracked development of our
wholly owned, Twin Hills Gold Project in central Namibia. Since its
grassroots discovery by Osino in August 2019 the Company has
completed more than 225,000m of drilling and has completed a suite
of specialist technical studies culminating in the recently
published Twin Hills Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") dated
effective June 12, 2023. The DFS describes a technically simple and
economically robust open-pit gold operation with a 13-year mine
life and average annual gold production of over 169koz per
annum.
Osino has a commanding ground position of
approximately 8,000km2 located within Namibia's prospective Damara
sedimentary mineral belt, mostly in proximity to and along strike
of the producing Navachab and Otjikoto Gold Mines. The Company is
actively exploring a range of gold prospects and targets along the
belt by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery,
targeting gold mineralization that fits the broad orogenic gold
model.
Our core projects are favourably located north
and north-west of Namibia's capital city Windhoek. By virtue of
their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibia's
well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power
and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded
as one of the continent's most politically and socially stable
jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view
to expanding our Namibian portfolio.
Further details are available on the Company's
website at https://osinoresources.com/ and under the Company's
profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
On Behalf of The Board of DirectorsHeye Daun,
President & CEO
CONTACT INFORMATIONOsino Resources Corp.Yaron
Conforti, Corporate
Developmentyconforti@osinoresources.com+1-604-687-2038
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Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without
limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the
Company's future plans or prospects of the Company, including
prospects for economic recoverability of mineral resources.
Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does
not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
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certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might"
or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking
statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that,
while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject
to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and
contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can
be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors
which could materially affect such forward-looking information are
described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual
management's discussion and analysis which is available on the
Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not
undertake to update any forward- looking information, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
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