VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Patriot") (CSE: PMET) (OTCQB: RGDCF) (FSE: R9GA) is pleased to announce the assay results from the first hole of its inaugural drill program at the Company's Corvette-FCI Property (the "Property"), located in the James Bay Region of Quebec. The first drill hole (CF21-001) targeted the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite, which is part of the more than 25 km long CV Lithium Trend. Core sample assay highlights are outlined in Table 1 and include:

• 0.93% Li₂O and 114 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 146.8 m (from 26.0 to 172.8 m), including
  • 1.09% Li₂O and 108 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 73.0 m, and
  • 1.04% Li₂O and 145 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 54.6 m
• 1.39% Li₂O and 107 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 11.5 m (from 202.0 to 213.4 m)

Blair Way, Company President and Director, comments: "We are thrilled by these assay results from our first drill hole at the CV5 Pegmatite. The results have greatly exceeded our expectations and confirm we have identified a lithium pegmatite of considerable size and grade potential. We are very excited for the pending assays of the remaining two (2) drill holes completed at CV5 as well as the single drill hole completed at CV6, located approximately 500 m along strike, each of which intersected significant widths of spodumene mineralization."    

The first drill hole of the program (CF21-001) was collared approximately 30 m back from CV5 and returned a 146.8 m interval of near continuous pegmatite, assaying 0.93% Li₂O and 114 ppm Ta₂O₅, including 1.09% Li₂O and 108 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 73.0 m, and 1.04% Li₂O and 145 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 54.6 m. This interval returned numerous samples over 2.0% Li₂O, including a peak assay of 4.16% Li₂O and 233 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 1.01 m. Additional assay highlights are presented below in Table 1, as well as Figure 1.

Table 1: Core sample assay highlights from drill hole CF21-001 at the CV5 Pegmatite

The outcrop exposure of the CV5 Pegmatite trends for approximately 220 m and varies between 20-40 m in width; however, its orientation is not well constrained. Based on the recent drilling, the CV5 Pegmatite does not appear to conform to the dip of the regional geology as measured at surface, and thus additional drilling is required to constrain the contact of the pegmatite with the host rock. Therefore, at this time, true thickness of the pegmatite body is not known.

The assay results from drill hole CF21-001 are consistent with surface sampling results completed in 2019 and confirm the lithium mineralization extends from surface to significant depth. In addition to the primary mineralized quartz-feldspar pegmatite intersection at CV5, a second interval of pegmatite at depth returned 1.39% Li₂O and 107 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 11.5 m, including 3.11% Li₂O and 125 ppm Ta₂O₅ over 4.1 m and a peak sample assay of 5.43% Li₂O (over 1.0 m). Further, drill holes CF21-002, 003, and 004 each intersected wide intervals of pegmatite containing varying amounts of spodumene mineralization (assays pending), ranging from 59.1 m to 126.5 m core length. Collectively, the grades returned to date at surface and from CF21-001, coupled with the wide widths of spodumene pegmatite observed in core over several drill holes along strike, emphasize the size of the mineralizing system and indicate the Company has tapped into a mineralized body of potentially considerable significance.

The lithium mineralization is also accompanied by moderate to strong tantalum mineralization and includes wide intervals over 100 ppm Ta₂O₅ (Table 1). Depending on the mineralizing system, tantalum may or may not be present in addition to lithium. However, where present it may be recoverable as a by-product using common 'off the shelf' mineral processing techniques such as magnetic separation.

The CV Lithium Trend is an emerging spodumene pegmatite district discovered by the Company in 2017 and spans the FCI West, FCI East, and Corvette claim blocks. The core area includes an approximate 2 km long corridor, which is part of the more than 25-km long CV lithium trend. It consists of numerous spodumene pegmatite occurrences, which include the CV1, CV2, CV3, CV5, CV6, and CV7 pegmatites, highlighted by the CV5 Pegmatite – a large (~220 m long and 20-40 m wide), well-mineralized outcrop with a drill intercept of 146.8 m at 0.93% Li₂O and 114 ppm Ta₂O₅ returned from the first drill hole to test the target. The high number of well-mineralized pegmatites in this core area of the trend indicates a strong potential for a series of relatively closely spaced/stacked, sub-parallel, and sizable spodumene-bearing pegmatite bodies, with significant lateral and depth extent, to be present.

The 2021 drill program, completed in September-October, included fifteen (15) holes totalling 2,048 m spread over two prospective trends – the CV Lithium Trend (872 m over 5 holes) and the Maven Copper-Gold-Silver Trend (1,177 m over 10 holes). Assays for the remaining drill holes have not yet been received, with all core samples in process at the analytical lab.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QAQC)

A Quality Assurance / Quality Control protocol following industry best practices was incorporated into the program and included systematic insertion of quartz blanks and certified reference materials into sample batches, as well as collection of quarter-core duplicates, at a rate of approximately 5%. The Company also intends to submit approximately 5% of the core samples for check analysis at a secondary lab. A total of 1,766 samples, including QAQC, have been submitted for geochemical analysis to the primary lab.

Drill hole CF21-001 was sampled from top to bottom (2.28 m to 229.14 m), for a total of 261 samples including QAQC, and were shipped to Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, ON for analysis. Core samples collected were submitted for multi-element analysis (including lithium) by four-acid digestion with ICP-OES finish (package 1F2) and tantalum by INAA (code 5B), with any samples returning >8,000 ppm lithium by 1F2 reanalysed for lithium by code 8-4 Acid ICP Assay. Industry standard drill core sample preparation was completed and was comprised of crushing to 80% passing 10 mesh, followed by a 250 g riffle split and pulverizing to 95% passing 105 µ (package RX1).

The Company notes that it carried out its field programs while adhering to all federal, provincial, and regional restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and successfully navigated the process to enter the James Bay Region to complete its planned field activities. Mineral exploration has been recognized as an essential service in Canada and the Province of Quebec. The Company is also pleased to report that no cases of COVID-19 were documented with respect to the 2021 exploration program.

Figure 1: Drill hole locations – CV5-6 pegmatites

Qualified Person

Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration of the Company, a registered permit holder with the Ordre des Géologues du Québec and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical information in this news release.

About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral projects containing battery, base and precious metals.

The Company's flagship assets are the wholly owned Corvette Property and the FCI Property (held under Option from O3 Mining Inc.) located in the James Bay Region of Québec, and the 100% owned Freeman Creek Gold Property, located in Idaho, USA.

The Corvette-FCI Property includes the wholly owned Corvette claim block, and the FCI East and West claim blocks held under Option from O3 Mining Inc. The claim blocks are contiguous, and host significant gold-silver-copper-PGE-lithium potential highlighted by the Golden Gap Prospect with grab samples of 3.1 to 108.9 g/t Au from outcrop and 10.5 g/t Au over 7 m in drill hole, the Elsass and Lorraine prospects with 8.15% Cu, 1.33 g/t Au, and 171 g/t Ag in outcrop, and the CV1 Pegmatite Prospect with 2.28% Li₂O over 6 m in channel.

The 100% owned Freeman Creek Gold Property hosts two major advanced targets - the Gold Dyke Prospect with a 2020 drill hole intersection of 4.11 g/t Au and 33.0 g/t Ag over 12 m, and the Carmen Creek Prospect with surface sample results including 25.5 g/t Au, 159 g/t Ag, and 9.75% Cu.

In addition, the Company holds the Pontax Lithium-Gold Property, QC; the Golden Silica Property, BC; and the Hidden Lake Lithium Property, NWT, where the Company maintains a 40% interest, as well as several other assets in Canada.

For further information, please contact us at info@patriotbatterymetals.com, Tel: +1 (778) 945-2950, or visit www.patriotbatterymetals.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions, and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release