Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – January 29, 2024) – Moon River Capital Ltd. (TSXV: MOO) (“Moon River” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that assays from 41 samples of mineralization from the Davidson Molybdenum Deposit (“Davidson Project”), near Smithers, B.C., contain significant amounts of Rare Earth Elements (“REEs”), tungsten and gallium. To the Company’s knowledge, assays for REEs and gallium have not been previously undertaken on this deposit, and tungsten was not included in the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Davidson Project Resources Update released on September 13, 2023. The samples were chosen to represent a composite cross-section of the deposit and were taken from drill core and pulps produced by past operators of the Davidson Project.
All 17 REEs were present in all 41 samples, with the following average grades:
Light Rare Earth Oxides: 93.57 grams/tonne
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides: 89.77 grams/tonne
Total Rare Earth Oxides: 183.34 grams/tonne
Tungsten: 0.084% WO3
Gallium: 19.7 grams/tonne
Light Rare Earth Oxides include Scandium, Yttrium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium and Lutetium. Heavy Rare Earth Oxides include Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium and Samarium.
The Company plans to undertake preliminary metallurgical studies and obtain fresh samples from drill core to begin detailed metallurgical testing when applicable First Nations consultations are undertaken and drill permits obtained. It is uncertain at this time whether the REEs, tungsten and gallium contained in the Davidson Project are economically recoverable.
Rare Earth Elements comprise 17 nearly indistinguishable silvery-white soft heavy metals. Compounds containing rare earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes. They are deemed important for the world energy transition, being used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells and fluorescent lighting. They are also used in LED lights, colour monitors and medical equipment. REEs were included on the Government of Canada’s Critical Mineral List released in 2021, and more recently were listed along with five other metals as potentially qualifying for the draft Critical Minerals Tax Credit for new mine construction. Several of the REEs are on the U.S. Department of Energy’s and European Union’s critical mineral lists. Most of the world’s REEs are produced in China, with the United States and Australia each supplying smaller amounts.
Tungsten has a wide variety of uses, mainly in the production of hard materials – namely tungsten carbide, in steel alloys and as a lubricant. Gallium is a key component of semi-conductors and LED lights. Both metals are on the critical mineral lists in the United States, Canada and the European Union.
As previously announced, Moon River has commenced a Preliminary Economic Analysis on the Davidson Molybdenum Deposit, undertaken by A-Z Mining Professionals Ltd. The study is expected to be completed in the current quarter and will not include estimates of REEs or tungsten grades.
About Moon River
Moon River is a Canadian-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral projects. Moon River is focused on the development of the Davidson Property which hosts a large molybdenum-tungsten deposit and is located near Smithers, British Columbia.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The news release has been reviewed and approved by Finley Bakker, P.Geo of A-Z Mining Professionals Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
For further information please contact:
Paul Parisotto, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, at (416) 800-1753 or info@moonrivermoly.com.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements“) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “will”, “estimates”, “believes”, “intends”, “expects” and similar expressions, which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding obtaining the consent of First Nations and permits to conduct drilling on the Davidson Project, of which there can be no assurances that these will be obtained. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that REEs, gallium and tungsten will be economically recoverable.
These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company, represent the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release, and are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in respect thereof as at the date of this press release.
Although the Company believes the expectations and material factors and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that these expectations, factors and assumptions will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including the ability of the Company to obtain all applicable regulatory approvals and risks detailed in the Company’s Filing Statement and continuous disclosure, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
These risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date of this document. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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