Nevada Sunrise Produces 3-D Model for the Gemini Lithium Project, Nevada
VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - Nevada Sunrise Metals Corp. ("Nevada Sunrise", or the "Company") (TSXV: NEV) (OTC: NVSGF) is pleased to announce the production of an animated 3-D geological and geophysical model for its 100%-owned Gemini Lithium Project ("Gemini", or the "Project"). Gemini is located in the Lida Valley basin in Esmeralda County, Nevada, where Nevada Sunrise made a significant lithium-in-sediment discovery by drilling in 2022 and 2023.
The 3-D model (the "Model") was produced by Walker Lane Research Partners, LLC ("Walker Lane, LLC") of Oak Harbour, WA, based upon the results of detailed gravity surveys performed in the Lida Valley in 2012-2013 by a team from the University of Texas Dallas ("UT Dallas"), led by Dr. John Oldow, Ph.D. Dr. Oldow, a technical advisor to Nevada Sunrise, retired from UT Dallas in 2018 and is a cofounder of Walker Lane, LLC. His proprietary gravity data and geological determinations were combined with the results of time-domain electromagnetic ("TDEM") surveys carried out by Nevada Sunrise in 2016 and 2022 to produce the Model. A still image taken from the Model is shown in Figure 1 below and the entire animated Model can be viewed here:
https://player.vimeo.com/video/892764870
"The 3-D model produced by Dr. Oldow and his team has exceeded expectations," said Warren Stanyer, President and CEO of Nevada Sunrise. "This dynamic view of the Gemini basin supports our belief in its potential to host a large lithium resource. The five holes drilled to date have only tested a portion of the deposit, and more drilling is required to determine the full extent of the lithium mineralization present at Gemini."
Dr. Oldow's recommendations for additional work include increasing the gravity data coverage for the Gemini basin to further improve understanding of the basin geometry and where to locate drill sites to optimize exploration for both lithium brine and lithium-in-sediments. Identification of internal basin faults will be an important part of the additional exploration work. As found in the only producing lithium mine in the United States located at Silver Peak, Nevada in the Clayton Valley to the northwest of Gemini, internal basin faults impart important control in fluid flow and localization of lithium brines, and also have critical control on lithium-in-sediments facies distribution. Combining a better overall basin geometry with the TDEM profiles together with the existing drill logs should allow better constraint of the internal geometry in the Gemini basin.
In July 2023, Nevada Sunrise commissioned ABH Engineering Inc. of Surrey, BC, Canada ("ABH") to calculate a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for Gemini (the "Estimate") with the further goal of generating a preliminary economic assessment in 2024. Since that time, ABH has engaged in a comprehensive review of the Gemini exploration data, including all drilling data, geophysical and geochemical results, and the outcomes of the Company's metallurgical testing. In mid-November 2023, ABH's qualified persons conducted a site visit to Gemini to fulfill a NI 43-101 requisite for authors of a compliant technical report. Nevada Sunrise anticipates receiving the Estimate late in the 4th Quarter of 2023 or early in the 1st Quarter of 2024.
The Lida Valley basin is bounded and crosscut by a rectilinear array of faults that emanate from the Sylvania Mountain fault system and transfer displacement to the Mount Jackson Ridge fault zone, which is part of the Palmetto Wash fault system. The Lida Valley is a pull-apart structural system with extension localized on north-northeast faults and transcurrent displacement on west-northwest faults. The combination of mapped faults and subsurface faults inferred by gravity data indicate an internal geometry that is substantially more complex than most pull-apart basin systems. The system of faults within the basin is composed of fault relays and transfer fault systems that segment the basin into three structural domains. Faults within each structural domain exhibit a tendency to curve along strike and to merge with other faults, resulting in an intricate array of kinematically linked structures that transfer displacement through the basin.
To describe the subsurface geometry of Lida Valley, gravity data were collected and a residual complete Bouguer anomaly was generated. Prior to this study, data coverage for Lida Valley and the surrounding region, provided by the Pan American Center for Earth Studies, consisted of 14 gravity stations within the Lida Valley basin and 60 measurements in the adjacent mountain ranges and intervening valleys. To improve spatial coverage approximately 500 gravity measurements were collected at 300 metres-spacing along seven transects crossing Lida Valley. Access was limited by dense sagebrush and, for the most part, the lines followed primary and secondary roads and in a few locations were acquired by tracking cross country. To ensure internal data consistency, a common station was reoccupied at all line intersections.
The data were collected using two Scintrex CG-5 gravimeters with station locations determined using dual-frequency Leica GS10 global navigation satellite system ("GNSS") receivers. All 500 station values were referenced to a common base station that was measured by both gravimeters at the beginning and the end of each day. A secondary base station, located at the GNSS base station, was also measured by both gravimeters daily. The gravity base station was referenced to an absolute gravity station, Las Vegas K 169, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1 Source:Late Cenozoic displacement transfer in the eastern Sylvania Mountain fault system and Lida Valley pull-apart basin, southwestern Nevada, based on three-dimensional gravity depth inversion and forward models (Sarah B. Dunn, John S. Oldow, and Nicholas J. Mueller, Department of Geosciences, University of Texas at Dallas) |
Gemini consists of 280 unpatented mineral claims located in the western Lida Valley, Esmeralda County, approximately 6 miles (10 kilometres) east of the town of Lida, Nevada. The Lida Valley is a flat, arid basin with a similar geological setting to the better-known Clayton Valley basin where Albemarle Corporation operates the Silver Peak lithium brine mine, which has operated continuously since 1966.
Gemini is situated adjacent to the Gold Point Solar Energy Zone, a Bureau of Land Management land reserve set aside for solar and wind power generation projects until 2033. Exploration at Gemini is complemented by the Company's 80.09 acre/feet/year water right, a pre-requisite for the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in Nevada.
In March and April 2022, Nevada Sunrise drilled two reverse circulation boreholes for a total of 2,020 feet (615.85 metres) in its maiden drilling program at Gemini. The drill sites were located within a defined gravity low that hosts conductive layers detected by historical ground electromagnetic surveys. The results from the first two holes at Gemini represented a new discovery of lithium mineralization in the western Lida Valley, which was not historically drill tested for lithium (see Nevada Sunrise news release dated May 18, 2022). Three additional boreholes totaling 5,310 feet (1,618.9 metres) were completed from October 2022 to April 2023, with each intersecting lithium mineralization (see Nevada Sunrise news release dated May 24, 2023). Metallurgical tests carried out on Gemini lithium-in-sediment mineralization in 2023 has achieved a 90.2% lithium extraction rate (see Nevada Sunrise news release dated June 5, 2023).
For further information on Gemini, including maps and photos click here
Sediment samples from the Gemini 2022-2023 drilling program were submitted to American Assay and ALS Global USA in Reno, NV and were analyzed utilizing a multi-element ICP-AES method. Specifically, the analytical method involves aqua regia digestion of the sample followed by the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique to ionize the sample, and atomic emission spectrometry (AES) to determine elemental concentrations. Duplicates, field blanks, and certified reference standards were inserted at regular intervals in the sample stream to ensure accuracy of the analytical method.
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert M. Allender, Jr., CPG, RG, SME, a Qualified Person for Nevada Sunrise as defined in NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Nevada Sunrise is a junior mineral exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in lithium, gold, and copper exploration projects located in the State of Nevada, USA.
Nevada Sunrise owns 100% interests in the Gemini, Jackson Wash and Badlands lithium projects, all of which are located in the Lida Valley in Esmeralda County, NV. The Company owns Nevada water right Permit 86863, also located in the Lida Valley basin, near Lida, NV.
The Company's key gold asset is at the Kinsley Mountain Gold Project near Wendover, NV, in a joint venture with CopAur Minerals Inc. Due to its focus on lithium exploration and development in Nevada, the Company elected not to contribute to the 2023 exploration program at Kinsley Mountain and will incur dilution of its participating interest in the joint venture from 20.01% to an approximate 19.0% interest.
Nevada Sunrise has the right to earn a 100% interest in the Coronado VMS Project, located approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Winnemucca, NV.
This release may contain forward–looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur and include disclosure of anticipated exploration activities. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward–looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward–looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward–looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Such factors include, among others, risks related to: the results and outcomes of the Company's 2022-2023 exploration activities and future plans at the Gemini Lithium Project; the calculation of a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Gemini Lithium Project; reliance on technical information provided by third parties on any of our exploration properties; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays due to pandemic; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Nine Months ending June 30, 2023, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or 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. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Nevada Sunrise Metals Corporation
Warren Stanyer, President and Chief Executive Officer, email: [email protected] Telephone: (604) 428-8028 or Jason Powell, Corporate Communications, email: [email protected] Telephone: (604) 779-6497, Website: www.nevadasunrise.ca
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