September 2023: News and Company Updates

Exploration Target: The Vernon Hills Project is a cobalt exploration project located in Tooele County, central Utah, USA. Situated approximately 6 kilometers east of the town of Vernon and 84 kilometers south-southeast of Salt Lake City, the project spans an area of hydrothermal, strata-bound deposits in the southern end of Rush Valley.

Preliminary Results: At this time, exploration has been limited to surficial observations, aerial imaging, and sample collection. This exploration has been informed by historic maps, data, and reports. Aerial survey data including orthomosaic, digital terrain model, and digital elevation model have been useful. Preliminary geochemical assays show concentrations of cobalt ranging from 332 to 6060 ppm Co in a brecciated formation. The identified mineralized breccia contains cobaltiferous minerals within the matrix. Themineralogical assemblage includes cobalt psilomelane, quartz, rhodochrosite, and tephorite.

Historical production of cobalt, or cobalt-peripheral resources in the area immediately around the Vernon Hills project is nonexistent. However, the general region of the Oquirrh basin has produced significant precious metals, with many notable covered silver plays that historically produced 4.83 million short tons of silver and other metals in the Tintic Mining District to the east of the Vernon Hills Project (Morris and Lovering, 1979).

Geochemical results of the mineralized zone indicate significant cobaltiferous mineralization amongst the oxidized wad within the matrix of the brecciated bed of the Bingham Mine Formation. This combined with the stratigraphic and structural interpretation of this report provides a solid basis for further exploration of this project.

Regional Geology: The geology of the Vernon Hills Project area is exposed over a 6 km trend of structural deformation, oriented NW to SE. The Pennsylvanian-aged units of the Oquirrh Group were deposited in the rapidly subsiding Oquirrh Basin around three hundred million years ago (Ma).

Mineral Deposit: The Vernon Hills Project area has been preliminarily determined to be a hydrothermal stratabound cobaltiferous prospect. The mineral psilomelane was identified amongst the manganese wad within the breccia of the mineralized bed in the Bingham Mine Formation (Miranda, 2019). In areas with significant cobalt concentrations, the black sooty material has been identified as the hydrated oxide absolane. Most likely, these two minerals are the primary species contributing to the elevated cobalt concentrations.

The Demand for Cobalt is going to be enormous: Currently, the traditional areas of consumption and application of cobalt are mainly in the production of lithium battery materials, super heat-resistant alloys, tool steels, hard alloys, magnetic materials. As a result of the lack of availability and/or production of cobalt in the USA, there has been huge effort to not use cobalt in the manufacture of batteries in the USA. Cobalt is an amazing metal and also a favorite of recyclers, that is vital to the efficiency of supplying cobalt. This is why Blast is so interested in developing a cobalt mine in the USA.

Cobalt is also used in medical treatment for radiological examination and treatment. Due to its good high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and magnetic performance, cobalt is widely used in aerospace, machinery manufacturing, electrical and electronic, chemical, ceramic, and other industrial areas, and is one of the important raw materials for the production of high temperature alloys, hard alloys, ceramic pigments, catalysts, and batteries. (This reference came from Stanford Advanced Materials)

Cobalt Market Size is projected to reach USD 19.47 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.3%: Straits Research.