International Cobalt Acquires Right to Almost Triple Idaho Cobalt Belt Position
Vancouver, August 22, 2018 - International Cobalt Corp. (CSE: CO), the "Company" or "International Cobalt") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a Right of First Refusal Agreement ("ROFR)" with Idaho Champion Gold Mines Ltd. ("ICGM" or "Idaho Champion") over four distinct and separate mining projects comprising up to 822 Claims (up to 6,871 hectares) in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, collectively known as the "Champion Projects." (See Figure 1 below for an Idaho Cobalt Belt map with individual project locations).
As part of the terms of the agreement, the Company has agreed to invest US$250,000 in the common shares of ICGM at US$0.20 per share as part of an anticipated September 2018 public listing in connection with the proposed Reverse Take Over (RTO) with GoldTrain Resources Inc. ("GoldTrain"), pursuant to which GoldTrain will acquire all of the shares of ICGM and the shareholders of ICGM will acquire control of GoldTrain.
The acquisition of the four Champion Projects represents a possible transformative acquisition for the Company. The acquisition would increase International Cobalt's presence and land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt by 295%, making International Cobalt potentially the largest holder of prospective Cobalt assets in Idaho and one of the largest in North America.
The Company believes that the Idaho Cobalt Belt represents the premier district for primary Cobalt discoveries in North America. The region hosts a rich endowment of mineral resources only beginning to be unlocked due to recent exploration activity driven by the price of Cobalt. Modern exploration techniques have proven fruitful in expanding historic resources and making new discoveries.
Tim Johnson, President and CEO stated: "We are delighted to be investors in ICGM and wish them all the best in their gold-focused endeavors in Idaho. The ROFR gives us a huge opportunity to significantly add to our existing premier land position and become the preeminent player in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, which in our opinion is the most prospective region for Cobalt discoveries in North America."
Jonathan Buick, President of ICGM noted: "We are delighted to have International Cobalt as cornerstone investors, with the possibility to partner with them on our Cobalt Portfolio. The team at International Cobalt is excellent, they are well capitalized, and we support their strategy of unlocking value in the state of Idaho, which we feel to be among the very best jurisdictions in the world for exploration and development with strong support from all levels of Government."
Figure 1 Champion Properties
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: [http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5958/38217_a1534917624375_72.jpg]
The four projects are summarized as follows:
Dupuis Project — (Dup Claims) 201 claims totaling 1627 Hectares
The DUP Claims, located 6 km south of the Blackbird Mine, sit adjacent to, on-trend and immediately south of International Cobalt's Blackbird Creek Project. Underlain by favorable Yellowjacket Formation geology and potential extensions of mineralized trends seen on the Company's Blackbird Creek Project, these claims would significantly increase the discovery potential at Blackbird. Three copper-cobalt occurrences exist on the project; the French Gulch Mine, Victory, and Dupuis.
Blackpine North Project (SC Claims) 144 Claims totaling 1165 Hectares
The SC Claims are located one km north of eCobalt's Blackpine copper-cobalt Project. The Blackpine Project is host to stratiform sulphide mineralization found in massive sections which typically contain pyrite and chalcopyrite. Aside from the copper rich strata, there are several narrower cobalt-gold rich arsenopyrite-bearing beds present in the copper mineralized section. A non-43-101 compliant historical reserve of 340,000 tons grading 3.5% copper was delineated in the 1960's. The SC Claims are underlain by similar geology to that of the Black Pine Project.
Twin Peaks Project — (TP and Badger Claims) 377 Claims totaling 2600 Hectares
The TP claims are host to the Twin Peaks Copper mine and are surrounded by the Badger claims located in Badger Basin. The historical Twin Peaks mine has been described having broad shear zones of modest grade copper mineralization. In 1996 Formation Capital reported copper results of 2% over a 50-foot width on the Badger Claims. The TP and Badger claims lie approximately 3km east of US Cobalt's Iron Creek Project, recently acquired by First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC) for a total implied equity value of approximately $149.9 million on a fully-diluted in-the-money basis at the time of entering the agreement.
Ulysses Cobalt Project — (IP and GS Claims) 100 Claims totaling 809.4 Hectares
The IP and GS Claims are 2 km north of the Ulysses Mine, a historical gold/silver producer located in the Yellowjacket Formation which is associated with Cobalt mineralization in the Region. Two Cobalt occurrences have already been identified south of the Ulysses Project, which attest to the prospective nature of this area. The Yellowjacket Formation in this area is located outside of the prolific "Idaho Cobalt Belt" but is interpreted to have similar geological potential to host cobalt-copper-gold mineralization. *these properties can be seen on the regional Idaho Cobalt Map here
NI 43-101 DISCLOSURE
Neil McCallum, P.Geol, of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COBALT
International Cobalt Corp. (CSE: CO) is a Canadian based mineral exploration and development business focusing on the burgeoning cobalt sector. The Company seeks to add shareholder value by sourcing and developing projects in safe, progressive jurisdictions adhering to strict environmental and social standards. The company has projects in the Idaho Cobalt belt, one of the premier locations to explore for primary cobalt deposits and in Atlantic Canada with a rich history of mine development and operation. International Cobalt is well funded to pursue its objectives and currently holds in excess of $9 million in treasury at the time of this publication.
ABOUT IDAHO CHAMPION
Idaho Champion, through its United States subsidiaries, has acquired 11 mining claims in north central Idaho and has staked claims covering more than 1,700 hectares of adjoining exploration ground. It has recently raised more than US$2,000,000 of cash in a Private Placement and is seeking to raise additional cash through the remainder of the Private Placement. Idaho Champion has also entered into an agreement with an arms' length vendor for Idaho Champion to acquire in tranches up to 822 mining claims in northern Idaho covering approximately 6,871 hectares.
ABOUT GOLDTRAIN
GoldTrain's strategy is to enhance shareholder value through the acquisition, exploration and development of high potential mineral deposits. Headquartered in Toronto, GoldTrain's shares trade on the CSE under the trading symbol "GT".
For further information, please visit GoldTrain's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or its corporate website at www.goldtrain.ca.
ABOUT THE COBALT MARKET
Cobalt prices recently reached a 10 year high of $42.75 US per pound and have shown a steady increase since the mid-point of 2015. As a vital component of many of the lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications from cell phones to electric vehicles (EV), demand for Cobalt is anticipated to remain strong.
For more information on the Champion Projects or International Cobalt Corp. please contact:
Tyler Lowes
tlowes@internationalcobalt,com
or 604-329-5097.
For more information on Idaho Champion Gold Mines, please contact:
Jonathan Buick
jbuick@idahochamp.com
416-477-7771 x.206
For more information on GoldTrain and the Reverse Take Over with ICGM, please contact:
Frank Smeenk
fcs@primus.ca
416-642-3575
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future acquisitions, production, reserve potential, exploration and development activities and events or developments that the Company, ICGM or GoldTrain expects, are forward‑looking statements. Although management of those companies 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 or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the Company's and GoldTrain's public filings at www.sedar.com for further information.