MONTREAL, Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brunswick Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: BRW, OTCQB: BRWXF; “BRW” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce inaugural drilling results from the Mirage Lithium Project, located in the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay region of Quebec. The initial 5,000 meters drilling campaign outlined four major spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes where significant intervals of continuous lithium mineralization were drilled. All pegmatite dykes drilled to date start at surface, are open in all directions, and are located within an area of approximately two by two kilometers. Several other outcropping dykes and promising targets have yet to be drilled, including the sizeable boulder train to the southwest of the dyke swarm.
Highlights include:
- Bonanza grades of 2.57% over 25.8 meters in drill hole MR-23-02, including 14.2 meters at 3.08% Li2O at a vertical depth of 28 meters from Dyke MR-1 in the North Zone.
- Thick intercept of 50.6 m at 1.06% Li2O in drill hole MR-23-07 from Dyke MR-3 in the Central Zone at a shallow vertical depth of 22 meters.
- Another bonanza intercept in drill hole MR-23-14: 16.2 m at 2.75% Li2O including 9.5 meters at 3.30% Li2O at a vertical depth of 40 meters in Dyke MR-4 from the South Zone.
- To date, spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes have been traced by drilling over a combined strike extent of at least 1,500 meters and remain open in all directions.
- Only 60% of the pegmatite outcrops have been drilled, presenting further drill targets which will be tested in winter 2024.
- Assays are pending for a further 23 drill holes completed during the fall 2023 program.
Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO of BRW, commented: “We are rapidly starting to outline a major discovery in the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay. This true grassroot discovery was first identified in August with drilling beginning less than six weeks later. Already several large mineralized dykes have been intercepted in shallow drilling with significant bonanza style grade reported in this first set of assays. Importantly, these pegmatite dykes remain open in all directions. With the recently completed $5.7M financing, we are well positioned to substantially expand the discovery at Mirage with a winter 2024 drill program.”
Mr. Robert Wares, Founder and Executive Chairman, also commented: “I am very pleased with these initial drill results. Mirage already demonstrates potential for a large lithium-rich dyke field with some of the highest-grade intercepts reported in Eeyou Istchee-James Bay. Furthermore, I believe the distribution of the first four mineralized dykes at Mirage does not explain the three-kilometer long trend of rich spodumene-bearing boulders that occurs to the southwest. With more outcropping spodumene-bearing dykes located another 3 kilometers to the northeast, we have considerable exploration work and drilling to do to unlock the full potential of this promising property”.
Table 1: Mineralized Intercepts from Inaugural Drilling Program at Mirage
| Hole ID | Zone | Dyke | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Li2O% | Ta2O5 (ppm) |
| MR-23-01 | North | MR-1 | 40.0 | 64.5 | 24.5 | 2.18 | 228 |
| incl. | MR-1 | 42.5 | 52.0 | 9.5 | 3.06 | 202 | |
| MR-23-02 | North | MR-1 | 8.8 | 34.6 | 25.8 | 2.57 | 239 |
| incl. | MR-1 | 8.8 | 23.0 | 14.2 | 3.08 | 268 | |
| MR-23-03 | North | MR-2 | 23.3 | 29.5 | 6.2 | 1.12 | 227 |
| MR-23-04 | North | MR-2 | 27.8 | 30.3 | 2.5 | 0.52 | 141 |
| MR-23-05 | Central | MR-3 | 5.5 | 45.8 | 40.3 | 0.86 | 87 |
| incl. | MR-3 | 5.5 | 15.5 | 10.0 | 1.48 | 99 | |
| Incl. | MR-3 | 39.5 | 45.8 | 6.3 | 1.16 | 148 | |
| MR-23-06 | Central | MR-3 | 17.7 | 55.1 | 37.4 | 1.02 | 93 |
| incl. | MR-3 | 42.6 | 48.1 | 5.5 | 2.23 | 135 | |
| MR-23-07 | Central | MR-3 | 22.0 | 72.5 | 50.6 | 1.06 | 105 |
| incl. | MR-3 | 30.7 | 43.2 | 12.5 | 1.76 | 192 | |
| MR-23-08 | Central | MR-3A | 10.6 | 12.7 | 2.1 | 0.33 | 112 |
| MR-23-09 | Central | MR-3 | 66.0 | 77.3 | 11.3 | 0.89 | 69 |
| MR-23-10 | Central | MR-3 | 39.4 | 87.2 | 47.8 | 0.99 | 80 |
| incl. | MR-3 | 39.4 | 52.4 | 13.0 | 1.29 | 81 | |
| Incl. | MR-3 | 79.4 | 87.2 | 7.8 | 1.55 | 73 | |
| MR-23-11 | Central | MR-3 | 83.8 | 118.6 | 34.9 | 1.01 | Assay pending |
| incl. | MR-3 | 98.7 | 106.0 | 7.3 | 1.75 | ||
| MR-23-12 | Central | MR-3 | 92.0 | 133.1 | 41.1 | 1.04 | 94 |
| incl. | MR-3 | 103.0 | 109.0 | 6.0 | 2.49 | 203 | |
| MR-23-14 | South | MR-4 | 46.5 | 62.7 | 16.2 | 2.75 | 98 |
| incl. | MR-4 | 52.5 | 62.0 | 9.5 | 3.30 | 113 |
Holes 13 and 15 through 36 are pending
Mirage Drilling Campaign Overview
The aim of the 2023 drilling campaign was to test at shallow depths (less than 150 meters vertical depth) the pegmatite dykes mapped from surface to determine their geometry and orientation. Thirty-six (36) diamond drill holes were completed (see Figure 1) for a total of 5,090 meters drilled to date. Thirty-three (33) of the 36 holes drilled during the 2023 campaign intercepted mineralized pegmatites.
The mineralized pegmatite dykes discovered at the Mirage Project are distributed along three major trends in a NE-SW axis, the North, Central and South Zones, within a two by two kilometers area (see Figure 1). The mineralized dykes are massive, very coarse-grained, with a mineralogy consisting of quartz, white feldspar, minor muscovite and black tourmaline, light grey spodumene and traces of beryl. The consistently decimetric spodumene mineralization often reaches up to 50% of the modal mineral content.
This inaugural drilling campaign has successfully extended the mineralized pegmatites over a combined distance of 1.5 km and demonstrates excellent continuity with several high-grade zones intersected to date. All pegmatite dykes remain open in all directions. In addition, several other outcropping spodumene-bearing pegmatites remain to be drill-tested.
Figure 1: Surface Map of the Mirage Project and Drill Holes Completed to Date
Central Zone
The MR-3 pegmatite dyke intercepted in the Central Zone show significant apparent thicknesses of up to 50.6 meters at 1.06% Li2O (MR-23-07) with a moderate dip at around 50 degrees towards the south with true thickness estimated at 95% in all reported holes (see Figure 2). The main dyke in the Central Zone is oriented NE and reaches the surface where it can be traced continuously for more than 400 meters with continuous thickness in excess of 40 meters and grade averaging approximately 1.00%. To date, the main dyke in the Central Zone is defined by six drill holes (MR-23-05 to 07 and MR-23-09 to 12) and remains open in all directions.
A second, unmapped dyke (MR-3A) was identified in drill hole MR-23-08, marking the first blind discovery of a pegmatite dyke at Mirage. The hole only partially intercepted the margin of the dyke and is not representative of the grade or width of the MR-3A Dyke. Drill hole MR-23-35 targeted this new dyke and assays are still pending.
Figure 2: Cross Section Along Central Zone
Figure 3: Cross Section Along North Zone
North Zone
Four shallow drill holes were carried out in the North Zone (MR-23-01 to MR-23-04). All holes intercepted two spodumene bearing pegmatite dykes, MR-1 and MR-2. Two holes MR-23-01 and MR-23-02 returned bonanza grade interval: 24.5 m at 2.18% Li2O and 25.8 m at 2.57% Li2O respectfully. The MR-1 dyke likely dips to the north, and the true thickness is estimated to be 90% of the core length (see Figure 3). Both dykes remain open in all directions. Furthermore, another three spodumene-pegmatite outcrops located up to 1 km further east remain undrilled in the North Zone..
South Zone
Preliminary results from the South Zone, all from pegmatite dyke MR-4, also show significant near-surface bonanza grade mineralization. The dyke has been continuously traced by drilling over more than 750 meters with a moderate dip of 45 degrees to the south (see Figure 4). Only one drill hole from the dyke in the South Zone is reported in this news release; MR-23-14 returned 16.2 m at 2.75% Li2O. Similar bonanza mineralization has been observed along the entire length of the dyke and remains open in all directions.
Figure 4: Cross Section Along South Zone
QAQC
All drill core samples were collected under the supervision of BRW employees and contractors. The drill core was transported by helicopter and by truck from the drill platform to the core logging facility in Val-d’Or. Each core was then logged, photographed, tagged, and split by diamond saw before being sampled. All pegmatite intervals were sampled at approximately 1m intervals to ensure representativity, and ¼ core splits were inserted regularly as duplicates. Samples were bagged, and blanks and certified reference materials for lithium were inserted at regular intervals. Groups of samples were placed in larger bags, sealed with numbered tags, in order to maintain a chain of custody. The sample bags were transported from BRW contractor facility to the ALS laboratory in Val-d’Or. All sample preparation and analytical work was performed by ALS. Samples were crushed in order for 70% of the material to pass through a 2mm screen (method CRU-31), a riffle split was made of a 1,000g sub-sample (SPL-21), and the split sample pulverized (PUL-31) to obtain more than 85% of the material inferior to 75µm. A 0.2g sub-sample of the pulverized fraction was dissolved in a sodium peroxide solution, prior to lithium analysis by ICP-AES according to the ALS method ME-ICP82b. All results passed the QA/QC screening at the lab and all inserted standard and blanks returned results that were within acceptable limits. All reported drill intersections are calculated on the basis of a lower cutoff grade of 0.10% Li2O, with maximum internal dilution of 1 metre. Host basalts adjacent to the dykes grade up to 0.3% Li2O but were excluded from the reported intersections.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. François Goulet, Manager Quebec. He is a Professional Geologist registered in Quebec and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Brunswick Exploration
Brunswick Exploration is a Montreal-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V under symbol BRW. The Company is focused on grassroots exploration for lithium in Canada, a critical metal necessary to global decarbonization and energy transition. The company is rapidly advancing the most extensive grassroots lithium property portfolio in Canada with holdings in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Investor Relations/information
Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO ([email protected])
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; and those risks set out in the Corporation’s public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. 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 news release.
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