First Tellurium Receives Five-Year Exploration Permit for Polymetallic Deer Horn Property
VANCOUVER, Nov. 08, 2021 - First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (the "Company" or "First Tellurium"), reports that it has received a five-year exploration work permit from the BC Ministry of Mines and Energy to conduct exploration on First Tellurium's polymetallic Deer Horn Property in west-central British Columbia.
A polymetallic ore (or polymetal ore) is an ore that is the source of more than one metal suitable for recovery. The Company expects to resume work at Deer Horn in the summer of 2022. The permit will be used for drilling and other exploration to expand the property's current NI 43-101 resource
As one of the world's few silver-gold-tellurium properties with an NI 43-101 compliant tellurium resource, Deer Horn represents a unique mineral asset. Exploration to date has outlined several key mineral zones across a 2.4-kilometer (1.5 miles) strike length that remain open for expansion in three directions. The property contains significant mineral occurrences of tellurium, gold, silver, copper, tungsten and zinc as well as bismuth and molybdenum. Tellurium, tungsten and bismuth are considered "Critical Minerals" under the U.S. Geological Survey's Executive Order 13817 published in 2018.
In June of 2018, First Tellurium reported positive results from an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")* at the Deer Horn Property. The full PEA, which was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 regulations, is available for viewing here and in its disclosure record can be found at www.SEDAR.com.
Tellurium represents one of earth's rarest elements and, along with silver, is a key constituent in the manufacture of thin-film solar panels. Tellurium is also essential for the performance of next-generation lithium-tellurium batteries and a wide range of advanced electronics products including phase change memory chips. Produced generally as a by-product of copper refining, tellurium's increasing demand worldwide means that new sources must be developed.
Besides the gold, silver and tellurium identified in the PEA, the most abundant metals identified to date are tungsten and copper. Prospecting at Deer Horn in 2012 identified new showings indicative of a buried copper porphyry system. Samples collected from this zone produced results as high as 4240 ppm Cu and 6.6 g/t Ag. This new copper porphyry potential adds further exploration value to the property.
The next phases of exploration are expected to focus on expanding the resources identified in the PEA as well as further prospecting on the two primary copper porphyry targets. This new copper porphyry potential adds further exploration value to the property.
Following recent financings, First Tellurium's near-term exploration will focus on the Company's Klondike tellurium-silver-gold property in Sagauche County, Colorado. Previous exploration at Klondike identified surface & mine dump samples grading up to 3.3% Te (33,000 ppm), 33.7 g/t Au, 364.8 g/t Ag**
| * | PEA figures were calculated using metals prices of US$1,300 per ounce for gold, US$17 per ounce for silver, US$100 per kilogram for tellurium, US$3.00 per pound for copper and US$1.00 per pound for zinc. The PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Preliminary Economic Assessment will be realized. |
| ** | Surface samples such as these are preliminary in nature and not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit. |
About First Tellurium Corp.
First Tellurium's unique business model is to generate revenue and value through mineral discovery, project development, project generation and cooperative access to untapped mineral regions in Indigenous territory with sustainable exploration.
Our polymetallic (tellurium, gold, silver copper, tungsten) Deer Horn Project in British Columbia and Klondike tellurium-gold property in Colorado anchor a diversified search for metals, working in alliance with Indigenous peoples, NGOs, governments and leading metals buyers. This is the future of mineral exploration: generating revenue by exploring responsibly and leveraging diverse partnerships.
First Tellurium proudly adheres to and supports the principles and rights set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in particular the fundamental proposition of free, prior and informed consent.
| On behalf of the board of directors of First Tellurium Corp. "Tyrone Docherty" Tyrone Docherty President and CEO | For further information please contact: Tyrone Docherty 604.789.5653 tyrone@firsttellurium.com |
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Forward-looking information
All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated event.