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First Cobalt (TSXV: FCC) announced on Tuesday that it has more than doubled the size of its land position surrounding the Iron Creek project in Idaho.
Located in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, the Iron Creek project is one of the few primary cobalt deposits in the world. The resource remains open westward along strike and downdip, and to date cobalt-copper mineralization has been defined over a 900-metre strike extent.
According to the US Geological Survey, these resources found in Idaho are deemed to be strategically important as a domestic supply of cobalt.
Iron Creek currently has indicated resources of 2.2 mt at 0.32% cobalt equivalent (0.26% Co and 0.61% Cu) for 12.3 mlb of contained cobalt and 29 mlb of contained copper. It also has inferred resources of 2.7 mt at 0.28% cobalt equivalent (0.22% Co and 0.68% Cu) for an additional 12.7 mlb of contained cobalt and 40 mlb of contained copper.
Resources found in Idaho are deemed to be strategically important as a domestic supply of cobalt
By acquiring mining claims to the west of the existing cobalt-copper project, the company has now expanded its land package to over 1,600 hectares. The property now spans approximately 10 km following the Iron Creek host rock horizon, where First Cobalt believes the potential to find additional cobalt and copper resources is high.
Drilling by the company at the western portion of the Iron Creek resource has intersected higher-grade copper mineralization along with typical cobalt mineralization at depth.
Geophysical signature of cobalt-copper mineralization at Iron Creek has been traced west toward First Cobalt’s West Fork property, where drilling identified some of the highest-grade copper mineralization, including 2.22% Cu over 13.4m.
First Cobalt intends to conduct further geophysical surveys on the West Fork property to test for strike extensions to the cobalt and copper mineralization.
“We believe that the Idaho Cobalt Belt is America’s best opportunity to develop a domestic supply of this critical mineral, which is essential to national and economic security,” First Cobalt president and CEO Trent Mell said in a press release.
“As we developed our plans for summer exploration and drilling at Iron Creek, the newly acquired property was deemed strategic to our quest to materially increase the size of the Iron Creek project, both through extensions along strike and the potential for new deposits in a favourable geologic setting,” he added.
