18 February 2025
Katoro Gold
PLC
('Katoro' or the 'Company')
Update on 31 Explore Ltd
Portfolio
Pearl
Lithium Project claims expanded to encompass
multiple
prospective targets interpreted through LiDAR
Katoro Gold PLC (AIM: KAT),
the strategic energy and precious minerals
exploration and development company, is
pleased to share an update relating to the Company's recently
proposed 100% acquisition of 31 Explore Ltd ("31 Explore") and its
entire critical minerals claims portfolio in Ontario, Canada
following the Conditional Equity Financing and Strategic Expansion
announcement of 10 February 20251. The announced placing
is conditional on approval on various resolutions to be put to
Shareholders at a Katoro General Meeting to be 28 February
20252.
31 Explore has, in consultation with
Katoro, staked additional claims contiguous to the Pearl Lithium
Project ('Pearl' or the 'Project') resulting in an expansion to the
west to encompass recently interpreted geological features which
are prospective for mineralisation of critical minerals. The
existing heads of terms agreement between the parties is unaffected
by this additional staking.
HIGHLIGHTS
·
Expansion of the Pearl Lithium Project from 880
hectares (8.8km2) to 1,475 hectares;
·
New interpretation over unmapped areas reveals
exploration opportunity;
·
Follows technical and strategic collaboration
between Katoro and 31 Explore; and
·
No change to acquisition consideration.
Patrick Cullen, Chief Executive Officer of Katoro,
commented:
"The claim package expansion at Pearl is the result of the
ongoing technical and strategic collaboration between Katoro and 31
Explore. The heads of terms of
agreement between the parties remains unchanged and there will be
no impact on the previously announced
consideration.
31
Explore have completed this staking in consultation with Katoro to
maximise the exploration opportunity at Pearl rather than wait and
risk these claims being staked by others.
Mapping of the district by the Ontario Geological Survey in
the 1960s shows pegmatites are present, but the mapping only
extended as far as the northern margin of the Project; more
recently acquired geochemical and remotely sensed data underscores
the technical merits of the initial staking and further
investigation and interpretation supports this
expansion.
I
look forward to communicating further detailed information relating
to Pearl and the other projects in the portfolio as we proceed past
the upcoming General Meeting and into the Spring field
season."
PEARL LITHIUM PROJECT
The original Pearl Lithium Project
was made up of 43 Single Cell Mining Claims ("claims") covering a
total area of 880 hectares. This has now been expanded to the west
for a total of 72 claims with an area of 1,475 hectares. The claim
boundaries and expanded area are shown below in Figure 1. along
with other information supporting the exploration opportunity,
namely mapped pegmatites, anomalous lithium values in lake sediment
samples and inferred pegmatites following interpretation of
available LiDAR data3.
Figure 1. Claim boundaries,
background data and interpretation
The Project is situated on the north
of the large (60km2) Bluffy Lake batholith, where
partial mapping by the Ontario Geological Survey identified five
pegmatite outcrops in 19674. The majority of the Project
area remains unmapped and no sampling of the pegmatites was
reported.
The regional location of Pearl is a
noted lithium district, within the English River Sub-province, and
around 6km south of the boundary with the Uchi sub-province. Such
major terrane boundaries are controlled by deep seated structures
that divide pieces of Archean crust and can focus the locations of
fertile peraluminous granites; these granites are amicable to the
generation of lithium-caesium-tantalum ("LCT") pegmatites, such as
present at Green Technology Metal's Root Project5 which
hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate
of 14.6Mt @ 1.21% Li2O, 74km to the east of Pearl along
the sub-province boundary trend.
The Ontario Geological Survey has
sampled and assayed lake sediments in and around the Pearl
area4 for a suite of elements. Three lakes in the centre
and east of Pearl were identified by 31 Explore as being anomalous
and highly anomalous for elements associated with LCT pegmatites,
in comparison to over 3,000 lake sediment samples across the wider
region6. The recently expanded portion of the Project
does not host any lakes and thus contains no lake sediment
data.
A recent technical review by Katoro
and 31 Explore of LiDAR data3 available through the
Ontario GeoHub indicates geological features which are consistent
with pegmatites which are prospective for lithium-bearing
mineralisation.
REFERENCES
1: Katoro Gold PLC, 10 February
2025, RNS: Conditional Equity
Financing and Strategic Expansion,
<https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/katoro_gold/news/rns/story/w97o21x>.
2: Katoro Gold PLC, 11 February
2025, RNS: Notice of GM,
<https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/katoro_gold/news/rns/story/w18pl3x>.
3: Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources and Forestry, accessed 14 February 2025, Forest Resources Inventory leaf-on
LiDAR, Ontario GeoHub
<https://geohub.lio.gov.on.ca/>.
4: Fenwick,
K.G., 1967, Whitemud Lake area (Fredart-Whitemud lakes area),
District of Kenora (Patricia Portion), Ontario Geological
Survey, NTS Number: 52K15.
5: Green Technology Minerals, 2025,
Root Project, accessed 14
February 2025 <https://www.greentm.com.au/root-project/>.
6: Ontario
Geological Survey, 2001, Lake Sediment Analytical Data for the
Sioux Lookout-Bamaji Lake Area: Operation Treasure Hunt, MRD088;
Ontario Geological Survey, 2002, Lake Sediment Geochemical Data
from the Perrault Falls Survey Area, Northwestern Ontario:
Operation Treasure Hunt, MRD106.
QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained
in this disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Mr Nick
O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM QMR, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a
qualified geologist and acts as the Qualified Person under the AIM
Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr
O'Reilly is a principal consultant working for Mining
Analyst Consulting Ltd which is providing independent
technical review to Katoro Gold PLC.
GLOSSARY
Pegmatite -
igneous rock with a very coarse, irregular
texture that forms during the final stage of a magma's
crystallisation.
LiDAR - Light Detection and Ranging is a remote sensing method that uses
light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable
distances) commonly used to generate precise, three-dimensional
information of the elevation of the Earth's surface.
Batholith - a type of igneous rock
that forms when magma rises into the earth's crust but does not
erupt onto the surface.
Terrane boundary - is a geologic
fault or suture zone that separates distinct crustal blocks or
terranes with different geologic histories, often marking past
tectonic collisions and ancient mountain belts. They act as major
weaknesses in the earth's crust which allows for the movement of
magma from deep within the earth.
Fertile peraluminous granite - is a
silica-rich, aluminium-saturated intrusive rock with more aluminium
than other granites, and often enriched and associated with
mineralisation that includes rare-metal, tin-tungsten deposits and
lithium-bearing pegmatites
This announcement contains inside information as stipulated
under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) no.
596/2014.
**ENDS**
Enquiries:
|
Patrick Cullen
|
info@katorogold.com
|
Katoro Gold PLC
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
|
James Biddle
Roland Cornish
|
+44 (0) 207 628 3396
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited
|
Nominated Adviser
|
|
Nick Emerson
Sam Lomanto
|
+44 (0) 1483 413 500
|
SI Capital Ltd
|
Corporate Broker
|
|
Jason Robertson
|
+44 (0) 207 374 2212
|
First Equity Limited
|
Joint Corporate Broker
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's
Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA.
Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated
Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company
on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM
Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock
Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be
responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded
to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation
to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any
matter referred to in it.
