Azimut Exploration Inc. (“Azimut” or the
“Company”) (
TSXV: AZM)
(
OTCQX: AZMTF) is pleased to announce the
discovery of a high-grade antimony corridor (the
“
Fortin Zone”) on its
wholly-owned Wabamisk Property
(the “Property”) in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay (“James Bay”)
region of Quebec.
In 2022, Azimut regained a 100% interest in the
Property after Newmont withdrew from its 51% interest in the joint
venture project (see press releases of August 8 and September 9,
2022). Azimut staked the Property in 2003 and optioned it to Placer
Dome in 2005 before the option was transferred to Goldcorp and then
Newmont. Since regaining full control of the Property, Azimut
reprocessed the property’s large database to rank exploration
targets. Substantial underexplored gold targets have been
prioritized, particularly the Fortin Zone, for which results are
reported today.
The 2024 prospecting program has revealed an
antimony-rich system demonstrated by channel
samples (3.92% Sb over 14.0 m) and numerous
high-grade grab samples (up to 24.8%
Sb) collected along a 1.2-kilometre-long strike within the
Fortin Zone. Gold (up to
7.27 g/t Au in grabs) commonly accompanies antimony.
Note that grab samples are selective by nature and unlikely to
represent average grades. Geoscientific data (prospecting, induced
polarization and magnetism, lake sediment, till and soil
geochemistry) support a
minimum 3.5-kilometre length for the
antimony-gold exploration corridor. Significant additional
work is needed to appraise its full potential.
Azimut is proceeding with a
5,000-metre diamond drilling program to assess the
corridor’s strike and grade continuity. An initial 2,000-metre
phase will be completed before the end of the year. Contingent on
positive results, the remaining 3,000 metres will be drilled in
early 2025. With approximately $9 million in its treasury, the
Company is fully funded for this drill program.
Discovering a high-grade antimony system in
Quebec presents a rare opportunity, given the commodity's status as
a critical mineral and the current risk of
a supply shortage (see below). Based on public data,
Wabamisk’s antimony results are among the best in Quebec. Wabamisk
could become a key driver in Azimut’s exploration initiatives for
2025.
HIGHLIGHTS (see Figures 1 to
10, Photos 1 to 6)
- The 2024 summer prospecting program
yielded 311 grabs and 28 channel samples. One of the objectives was
to reassess a previously identified target area with known
gold-antimony mineralization.
- 87 samples (21 from channels, 30
grabs and 36 sawed) were collected from the 1.0 by 3.5-kilometre
target area. The results, which reveal significantly higher grades
and better continuity than previously recognized, include 52
samples returning grades higher than 0.5% Sb:- 29
samples grading 1.0% to 5.0% Sb;
and- 13 samples grading higher
than 5.0% Sb, up to a maximum of 24.8%
Sb.The best channel (channel #1) returned:- 3.92%
Sb and 0.3 g/t Au over 14.0 m, including 11.84% Sb
and 1.18 g/t Au over 3.0 m
Oriented ~N180° and cut perpendicularly to the
strike of the mineralized zone, channel #1 is 14.0 metres
long, comprising fourteen (14) samples of 1 metre each, including
four (4) offset samples collected 1.80 metres west of the main
cut. The mineralized interval remains open in all directions.
Channel #1 (see Figure 10)
Sample ID |
Sb(%) |
Au(g/t) |
Weight(kg) |
From(m) |
To(m) |
Length(m) |
E6320501 |
13.75 |
1.71 |
4.89 |
0 |
1 |
1.0 |
E6320502 |
12.45 |
0.42 |
5.77 |
1 |
2 |
1.0 |
E6320503 |
9.31 |
1.42 |
4.78 |
2 |
3 |
1.0 |
E6320504 |
0.62 |
0.08 |
5.34 |
3 |
4 |
1.0 |
E6320505 |
1.11 |
0.07 |
6.29 |
4 |
5 |
1.0 |
E6320506 |
3.56 |
0.03 |
5.14 |
5 |
6 |
1.0 |
E6320507 |
2.50 |
0.04 |
3.70 |
6 |
7 |
1.0 |
E6320508 |
1.16 |
0.04 |
3.46 |
7 |
8 |
1.0 |
E6320509 |
1.26 |
0.04 |
3.73 |
8 |
9 |
1.0 |
E6320510 |
0.47 |
0.02 |
4.09 |
9 |
10 |
1.0 |
E6320511 |
1.81 |
0.03 |
4.46 |
10 |
11 |
1.0 |
E6320512 |
2.66 |
0.05 |
4.46 |
11 |
12 |
1.0 |
E6320513 |
3.74 |
0.14 |
3.79 |
12 |
13 |
1.0 |
E6320514 |
0.44 |
0.02 |
3.72 |
13 |
14 |
1.0 |
Other channel and rock grab samples
(grades higher than 1.0% Sb)
Sample ID |
Sb(%) |
Au(g/t) |
Weight(kg) |
Sample Type |
E6320459 |
24.80 |
1.35 |
3.18 |
Sawed |
E6320458 |
19.65 |
0.05 |
4.22 |
Sawed |
E6320453 |
18.15 |
0.01 |
2.26 |
Sawed |
G353682 |
17.65 |
2.48 |
1.68 |
Sawed |
G353751 |
17.10 |
1.22 |
1.51 |
Grab |
G353752 |
14.95 |
0.82 |
1.72 |
Grab |
G353753 |
12.50 |
3.47 |
2.38 |
Sawed |
G353527 |
8.04 |
0.59 |
1.02 |
Sawed |
E6320452 |
7.85 |
0.00 |
2.25 |
Sawed |
E6320451 |
6.83 |
0.07 |
1.89 |
Sawed |
E6320455 |
4.69 |
7.27 |
2.01 |
Grab |
G353533 |
4.64 |
0.14 |
1.28 |
Sawed |
E6320515 |
4.00 |
0.02 |
4.30 |
Channel |
G353537 |
3.52 |
0.05 |
1.20 |
Sawed |
G353526 |
3.28 |
0.13 |
1.75 |
Sawed |
G353683 |
3.16 |
0.00 |
1.05 |
Sawed |
G353535 |
2.22 |
0.12 |
1.07 |
Grab |
G353542 |
2.19 |
0.06 |
1.67 |
Sawed |
G353534 |
2.12 |
0.12 |
1.16 |
Sawed |
Sample ID |
Sb(%) |
Au(g/t) |
Weight(kg) |
Sample Type |
E6320454 |
1.81 |
0.33 |
2.74 |
Sawed |
G353532 |
1.59 |
0.00 |
1.18 |
Sawed |
G353528 |
1.51 |
0.15 |
1.52 |
Sawed |
G353684 |
1.44 |
5.76 |
1.55 |
Sawed |
G353529 |
1.41 |
0.22 |
1.26 |
Sawed |
G353539 |
1.36 |
0.30 |
1.21 |
Grab |
E6320460 |
1.31 |
0.03 |
1.93 |
Grab |
G353538 |
1.18 |
0.05 |
1.19 |
Grab |
G353756 |
1.11 |
0.10 |
1.59 |
Sawed |
G353760 |
1.08 |
1.00 |
1.36 |
Sawed |
G353754 |
1.07 |
0.15 |
1.73 |
Grab |
- Antimony mineralization appears as
semi-massive to disseminated stibnite (Sb2S3) within a
multi-metre-thick envelope of intense quartz veining, mostly
subparallel to the east-west schistosity, generally dipping steeply
to the south. North-south multi-centimetre-thick quartz-stibnite
veins also crosscut the schistosity. Arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite
are also present (1% to 3%). Stockwork and brecciated facies
contain the highest antimony grades. Mineralized outcrops display a
dark reddish mineral named kermesite, the product of partial
oxidation of stibnite.
- At the outcrop scale, the
mineralized zone overlaps a contact between felsic tuffs and/or a
porphyritic quartz diorite sill and sheared metasediments
(siltstone). The highest-grade antimony samples (above 10% Sb) seem
preferentially hosted in metasediments.
- The antimony-gold corridor is
associated with an extensive shear zone between a wide
metasedimentary unit to the north (the Auclair Formation) and a
mafic volcanic package to the south (the Natel Formation). It is
marked by a strong, roughly coincident antimony footprint in lake
sediments, till and soil, delineating a
3.5-kilometre-long favourable trend. The antimony
showings (grades higher than 0.2% Sb) correlate well with induced
polarization chargeability anomalies and an axis of moderate
magnetic intensity. The spatial distribution of the showings
(including data from historical drilling) suggests a minimum
30-metre-wide envelope for the mineralized zone.
About Antimony
Supply shortage riskAntimony
(chemical symbol: Sb) is listed as a critical mineral by the
Canadian and United States governments and the European Commission.
Five countries account for about 91% of the world's production,
estimated to be 83,000 tonnes in 2023, including China (48.2%) and
Tajikistan (25.3%). Antimony is not currently mined in Canada or
the United States. In August 2024, China imposed restrictions
on the export of antimony, significantly increasing the risk of
supply disruptions. Prices have doubled since the start of the
year, reaching an all-time high of ~US$25,000 per tonne for
antimony metal on the international market in October. For
comparative purposes, copper averaged about US$9,500 per tonne in
October.
Mineral deposit types and
gradesMost antimony deposits occur in clastic siliceous
sedimentary rocks with significant fault and fracture systems.
Stibnite is the most common ore mineral. The main deposit types
correspond to hydrothermal systems with antimony as the primary
commodity or as a byproduct in gold deposits. Quartz-stibnite and
replacement deposits account for most of the current mining
production. These deposits typically form the peripheral parts of
orogenic and intrusion-related gold deposits. Representative
examples include Xikuangshan in China (mining reserves of
11.5 Mt at 3.5% Sb in 1980) and Sarylakh in Russia (resources
of 2.17 Mt at 6% Sb and 6 g/t Au). Canadian examples include Beaver
Brook in Newfoundland and Lake George in New Brunswick. The classic
example of an Archean deposit is the past-producing Consolidated
Murchison mine in South Africa. The above tonnage and grade
references are historical and do not correspond to National
Instrument 43-101 standards. The main source of information in this
section is USGS Professional Paper 1802-C (2017).
About the Wabamisk Property
Wabamisk is a wholly-owned project (39.5 km
by 9.2 km) comprising 522 claims covering 276.3 km2. It lies
13 km east of the Clearwater Property (Fury Gold Mines),
42 km northeast of the Whabouchi lithium deposit (Nemaska
Lithium), and 70 km south of the Eleonore gold mine (Newmont).
Major powerlines pass through or close to the property’s eastern
end, and the North Road highway passes 37 km to the south. The
nearest town is Nemaska, a Cree village municipality 55 km to
the southeast.
The Property is situated in the La Grande
volcano-plutonic Archean Subprovince, close to the boundary with
the Opinaca metasedimentary Subprovince. Wabamisk covers
volcano-sedimentary units of the Eastmain greenstone belt,
surrounded by intrusive rocks (tonalite, granodiorite). Several
extensive east-west shear zones mark the main lithological
boundaries. Wabamisk covers one of the strongest and most extensive
antimony-arsenic lake sediment anomalies at the scale of the James
Bay region (176,300 km2).
Main target sectors (previously
reported significant historical results)
Fortin Zone* – 3.5 km by 0.5 km
corridor |
• 2.7% Sb |
Grab |
• 8.26 g/t Au over 1.0 m |
Channel |
• 0.7 g/t Au, 0.39% Sb over 19 m, incl. 2.27 g/t Au over 4.3 m |
Hole W-10-01 |
• 0.68% Sb over 9 m and 2.24 g/t Au over 1.0 m |
Hole W-10-03 |
• 0.2 g/t Au, 0.34% Sb over 11.15 m, incl. 1.47 g/t Au over 1.0
m |
Hole W-10-04 |
• 0.5 g/t Au over 17.8 m, incl. 1.28 g/t Au over 3.4 m, 1.12 g/t Au
over 4.45 m |
Hole W-10-05 |
These drill holes may have partly missed the
target zone as currently defined.
* The name “Fortin Zone”
(formerly the GH Zone) honours Jean Fortin's contribution to the
discovery of this high-grade antimony system. Mr. Fortin is a
veteran prospector with a long history of significant achievements
with Azimut.
Dome – 2.6 km by 1.7 km target area |
• Multiple gold showings hosted in sheared gabbro with
quartz-arsenopyrite veins |
|
• 1.30 g/t Au over 7.50 m |
Hole E-96-27 |
• 80.71 g/t Au; 52.45 g/t Au, 20.98 g/t Au, 19.37 g/t Au |
Grabs |
Duchably |
• Low-sulphide quartz veins related to brittle structures in
tonalite |
|
• 27.1 g/t Au, 4.98 g/t Au |
Grabs |
Latour |
|
• Mineralization associated with metasediments in contact with
mafic volcanics |
|
• 2.52 g/t Au |
Grab |
BB |
|
• Semi-massive to massive sulphide layers associated with
silicified metasediments |
|
• 0.6% Cu, 0.5% Zn, 6 g/t Ag over 1.4 m |
Hole W-09-08 |
• 0.4% Zn, 0.16% Pb, 18 g/t Ag over 7.0 m |
Hole W-09-07 |
• 2.44 g/t Au |
Grab |
Wabamisk also displays well-identified
lithium targets related to LCT pegmatites and
nickel targets related to ultramafic intrusions.
The lithium prospecting results, which are still pending, will be
reported when available.
Drilling, Analytical Protocols and
Management
Contractor selection for this drilling phase is
underway and will be finalized soon.
Samples are sent to ALS Laboratories in Val-d’Or
(Quebec), where gold is analyzed by fire assay with atomic
absorption and gravimetric finishes for grades above 3.0 g/t Au.
Samples are also analyzed for a 48-element suite using ICP.
Overlimit antimony assays (1%) are reanalyzed using four-acid
digestion and ICP-AES. Azimut applies industry-standard QA/QC
procedures to its drilling programs. All batches sent for analysis
include certified reference materials, blanks and field
duplicates.
The project is under the direction of Alain
Cayer (P.Geo.), Project Manager.
Qualified Person
Dr. Jean-Marc Lulin (P.Geo.), Azimut’s President
and CEO, has prepared this press release and approved the
scientific and technical information disclosed herein, acting as
the Company’s qualified person within the meaning of National
Instrument 43-101.
About Azimut
Azimut is a leading mineral exploration company
with a solid reputation for target generation and partnership
development. The Company holds the largest mineral exploration
portfolio in Quebec, controlling strategic land positions for
copper-gold, nickel and lithium. Its wholly owned flagship project,
the Elmer Gold Project, is at the resource stage
(311,200 oz Indicated; 513,900 oz
Inferred*) and has a strong exploration upside. Azimut is
also advancing the Galinée lithium discovery with
its joint venture partner SOQUEM Inc.
Azimut uses a pioneering approach to big data
analytics (the proprietary AZtechMine™ expert
system) enhanced by extensive exploration know-how. The Company’s
competitive edge is based on systematic regional-scale data
analysis. Azimut maintains rigorous financial discipline and a
strong balance sheet, with 85.6 million shares issued and
outstanding.
Contact and Information
Jean-Marc Lulin, President and
CEOTel.: (450) 646-3015 – Fax: (450) 646-3045
Jonathan Rosset, Vice President Corporate
DevelopmentTel.: (604)
202-7531info@azimut-exploration.com
www.azimut-exploration.com
_____________________________________________________________________________________
* “Technical Report and Initial Mineral
Resource Estimate for the Patwon Deposit, Elmer Property, Quebec,
Canada”, prepared by: Martin Perron, P.Eng., Chafana Hamed Sako,
P.Geo., Vincent Nadeau-Benoit, P.Geo. and Simon Boudreau, P.Eng. of
InnovExplo Inc., dated January 4, 2024.
Cautionary note regarding
forward-looking statements
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking
statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements,
which reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future
events related to the drilling results from the Wabamisk Property.
To the extent that any statements in this press release contain
information that is not historical, the statements are essentially
forward-looking and are often identified by words such as
“consider”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”,
“project”, “plan”, “potential”, “suggest” and “believe”. The
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many
factors could cause such differences, particularly volatility and
sensitivity to market metal prices, the impact of changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, imprecision in
reserve estimates, recoveries of gold and other metals,
environmental risks including increased regulatory burdens,
unexpected geological conditions, adverse mining conditions,
community and non-governmental organization actions, changes in
government regulations and policies, including laws and policies,
global outbreaks of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and
failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government
authorities, as well as other development and operating risks.
Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should
not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date
of this document. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than
as required to do so by applicable securities laws. The reader is
directed to carefully review the detailed risk discussion in our
most recent Annual Report filed on SEDAR+ for a fuller
understanding of the risks and uncertainties that affect the
Company’s business. Neither 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.
Neither 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.
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