Phase 2 Drilling Underway at Knockeen Prospect; Company Engages European Critical Raw Materials & Sustainability Expert to Steward Social License Activity

2023-08-14 07:32 ET – News Release

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 14, 2023) – Global Battery Metals Ltd. (TSXV: GBML) (OTCQB: REZZF) (FSE: REZ) (the “Company” or “GBML” or “Global Battery Metals“), an international critical mineral exploration company focused on growth-oriented lithium and battery metal projects, is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing drilling campaign at the Leinster Lithium Project in Ireland.

Key Highlights: Drilling confirms Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatite dike swarm at Knockeen Prospect.

Phase 1 drill holes (DDH-23-1597-01 – DDH-23-1597-04) completed for a total of 656m. Visual analysis of core suggests intervals of lithium mineralization among pegmatite intersections from all four drill holes sent to ALS Laboratories for assaying.

Drilling of Hole Five (DDH-23-1597-05) is currently underway, with GBML announcing its intent to pursue drilling at all 10 permitted drill sites for a total of approximately 2,000m.

Sustainability consultant and critical raw materials policy expert to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, Niall McManus, has been engaged to help steward Social License program development and stakeholder relations.

Commencement of ‘district scale’expanded exploration and prospecting activity across Northern Block licenses at key primary target areas, including Aghavannagh, Sorrel, Tonygarrow, Scurlocks and Knocknaboley.

Drilling Confirms LCT Pegmatite Swarm at Knockeen Prospect GBML has completed four drill holes (DDH-23-1597-01 – DDH-23-1597-04) for a total of 656m, with drilling now underway at DDH-23-1597-05. Further to the Company’s June 7, 2023 Program Update, several drilling adjustments have been applied based on the measured pegmatite dike geometries and orientations which were intersected in the first hole. GBML has succeeded in intersecting multiple dikes within the host granites to reveal a structurally controlled LCT pegmatite system, which importantly includes spodumene pegmatite that continue to be logged, sampled and subsequently dispatched for analysis at ALS Laboratories. See Images 1-2 below.

Michael Murphy, CEO of Global Battery Metals, stated, “We’re taking the measured first step to confirm lithium mineralization in Phase 1 completed drill hole intersections with pending assays. Drilling activity, core sampling and subsequent lab analysis will continue for the full ten drill holes as we gain a better understanding for main target zones and depths with every new hole. We will continue to take a disciplined approach – investing in teams, drilling with confidence and securing the results that will allow us to properly assess the full economic potential of Leinster in all its entirety. While we’re all excited by our first-mover status and the possibility of supporting district-scale expansion efforts, we’re still just scratching the surface of what’s possible at Leinster.”

The drill program has been approved under the government’s detailed “appropriate assessment screening” process for up to 10 drill holes for a total of approximately 2,000m. No drilling has ever been carried out at the Knockeen Prospect previously, and intersecting potential lithium bearing pegmatites among the first four holes drilled would be considered a major technical success for the Company. Prior surface exploration activities identified and confirmed expansive surface boulder trains of lithium pegmatite lithologies in a number of areas across the Company’s property, with recent assay results of 66 rock samples analyzed by ALS Laboratories earlier this year returning Li O% lithium contents ranging up to 3.75 % Li O / 17,410 ppm Li. The project is being managed on the ground by a technical team experienced in LCT pegmatite systems from exploration contracting company Aurum Global Exploration Services Limited.

Image 1: Spodumene pegmatite in drill core DDH 23-1597-01 Image 2: Spodumene pegmatite in drill core DDH 23-1597-02 Leading CRM Sustainability Consultant Engaged for Social License Development

Niall McManus, a sustainability consultant with EarthRoute and critical raw materials policy expert to the European Commission, has been engaged by GBML to help steward stakeholder relations and Social License development efforts related to the Company’s advancing interests in the Leinster Lithium Project, global CRM supply chain needs and rising resource nationalism. Located in nearby Kilkenny and listed on Enterprise Ireland Directory of Green Service Providers, Niall brings 25 years of global raw materials value chain and sustainability experience in southern and East Africa, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe. Specialty areas include everything from natural resources, exploration and the circular economy, to sustainable development, senior stakeholder management, EU funding and program evaluation.

GBML recognizes that Social License – typically the acceptance of a forward-thinking minerals exploration company by community stakeholders and the general public to explore for critical raw materials for everyday use in electric vehicles, household appliances and mobile telephones – also extends to earning the respect of additional groups that are demanding stronger engagement and transparency, including ethical investors, international financial institutions and local and national governments. GBML’s Directors understand that social license is key to unlocking positive exploration outcomes by following low impact / low sound / low disturbance exploration program best practice for environmental sensitivity.

All mineral exploration activities in Ireland take place under the auspices of the GSRO, a division within the Government Department of the Environment, Communications & Climate Change. Exploration is governed under the framework of both Irish and EU legislation that has been implemented to ensure that the environment is protected during exploratory work. Prospecting license holders must comply with all of the relevant legislation. The Company is pleased to confirm that it adheres to the highest standards of good practice in relation to its ongoing exploration activities having completed a detailed GSRO “Appropriate Assessment” process prior to commencement and which was reviewed, approved and signed off by the appropriate oversight authorities.

District-Scale Exploration & Prospecting Set to Commence Across Key Northern Targets

Located south of Dublin in the counties of Wicklow and South Carlow, the Leinster Lithium Project consists of 16 prospecting license areas situated along strike to the joint Ganfeng Lithium / International Lithium Corporation Blackstairs Lithium Project. The total license holding covers approximately 525 km² along and adjacent to the East Carlow Deformation Zone (ECDZ) and associated splay structures which are now recognized as the major controlling structures to pegmatite emplacement across the region. In addition to the Company’s ongoing drill program at Knockeen, a new and focused phase of associated exploration activities is in the advanced stage of planning and due to commence soon. These programs will take place across GBML’s Northern License Block will include detailed prospecting and mapping programs that will initially target the five known occurrences of lithium pegmatites discovered by the Company during previous phases of exploration (see Table 1 and Image 3) and will extend out along interpreted structural corridors within the granite and at granite pluton margins with the Lower Paleozoic metasediments and metavolcanics.

Source: https://www.stockwatch.com/News/Item/U-176704-U!REZZF-20230814/U/REZZF