First Phosphate Corp. (CSE: PHOS) (OTC: FRSPF) (FSE: KD0) is pleased to announce a third set of assay results from its ongoing 25,000 m drill program at its Bégin-Lamarche project located in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec, Canada. Since the drill program began in February 2024, a total of 23,398 m of drilling has been completed and assay results have now been returned for a total of 9,155 m of drilling. A total of 4,691 samples are still at the laboratory and results will be released as they become available.
Highlights:
“Drill results in the Phosphate Mountain Zone revealed a thick layer of very high grade igneous phosphate starting right at surface. This layer geometry creates an ideal scenario for an eventual starting point for an open pit operation,” said First Phosphate CEO, John Passalacqua. “The drill program will be completed on time by end of May 2024 and a 43-101 resource estimate will begin immediately once all remaining assays have been received from the lab.”
Phosphate Mountain Zone
A total of 20 drill holes have been completed to date in the Phosphate Mountain Zone while results from only 5 drill holes have been received to date. Data received from these 5 drill holes shows grades of over 10% P2O5 over widths ranging from 7 m to 92 m. The Phosphate Mountain Zone has been drilled for a total length of 250 m to date. This zone is beginning to merge (from the southeast) with the Northern Zone where a 500 m thick phosphate mineralized envelope exists, one which has delineated up to 5 individual layers ranging from 60 m to 100 m in thickness starting at surface and continuing down to a depth of 300 m. The overall strike length of the Phosphate Mountain Zone and the Northern Zone is approximately 600 m.
Drill hole BL-24-56 intersected 11.82% P2O5 over 92.5 m from a starting depth of 6.5 m. Another high-grade intersection in hole BL-24-53 yielded 9.5% P2O5 over 62.3 m at a starting depth of 70.1 m (See Table 1).
Table 1 – Drill Results for the Phosphate Mountain Zone
Drill Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length1 (m) | P2O5 (%) | TiO2 (%) | Fe2O3T (%) |
BL-24-46 | 32.0 | 74.0 | 42.0 | 8.73 | 3.26 | 22.43 |
including | 32.0 | 49.5 | 17.5 | 10.31 | 4.15 | 27.30 |
including | 55.0 | 74.0 | 19.0 | 9.75 | 3.30 | 22.61 |
BL-24-46 | 111.0 | 135.0 | 24.0 | 12.47 | 4.63 | 30.05 |
BL-24-46 | 155.2 | 177.6 | 22.4 | 14.34 | 5.84 | 28.28 |
BL-24-46 | 225.0 | 252.0 | 27.0 | 11.15 | 3.85 | 19.81 |
BL-24-46 | 258.0 | 278.0 | 20.0 | 4.18 | 1.96 | 10.25 |
BL-24-51 | 70.0 | 111.0 | 41.0 | 7.72 | 1.88 | 16.09 |
BL-24-51 | 133.3 | 136.0 | 2.7 | 16.33 | 4.48 | 24.75 |
BL-24-51 | 152.5 | 157.5 | 5.0 | 11.85 | 4.54 | 23.67 |
BL-24-53 | 70.1 | 132.4 | 62.3 | 9.50 | 4.12 | 28.45 |
including | 70.1 | 114.8 | 44.7 | 10.91 | 4.88 | 34.23 |
BL-24-53 | 154.1 | 246.0 | 91.9 | 6.92 | 3.50 | 20.08 |
including | 192.0 | 220.5 | 28.5 | 10.98 | 5.35 | 27.27 |
BL-24-56 | 6.5 | 99.0 | 92.5 | 11.82 | 5.29 | 30.96 |
including | 6.5 | 84.0 | 77.5 | 12.96 | 5.77 | 33.31 |
BL-24-56 | 123.0 | 162.0 | 39.0 | 8.43 | 3.18 | 17.56 |
1 Lengths are measured along the core. True widths are estimated to be between 70 and 90% of the core interval.
Northern Zone
2024 drill results to date indicate 4 mineralized phosphate layers ranging from 60 m to 100 m in thickness within a 500 m thick mineralized envelope starting at surface and continuing to a depth of 300 m. Additional drill holes are being added to this zone to better define the layers.
Drill hole BL-24-40 intersected 7.76% P2O5 over 88.2 m from a depth of 186.0 m including 9.33% P2O5% over 61.2 m. (See Table 2).
Table 2 – Drill Results for the Northern Zone
Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length1 (m) | P2O5 (%) | TiO2 (%) | Fe2O3T (%) |
BL-24-40 | 21.0 | 60.0 | 39.0 | 5.78 | 3.91 | 24.55 |
including | 48.0 | 60.0 | 12.0 | 10.09 | 5.45 | 36.98 |
BL-24-40 | 186.0 | 274.2 | 88.2 | 7.76 | 2.86 | 21.87 |
including | 213.0 | 274.2 | 61.2 | 9.33 | 3.14 | 24.13 |
BL-24-422 | 6.6 | 188.7 | 182.1 | 5.04 | 3.09 | 17.77 |
including | 93.0 | 108.0 | 15.0 | 8.01 | 4.35 | 24.05 |
including | 120.0 | 159.4 | 39.4 | 8.00 | 4.38 | 28.57 |
1 Lengths are measured along the core. True widths are estimated to be between 70% and 90% of the core interval.
2 Drill hole has been interpreted as drilled parallel to the phosphate layer (potentially along dip)
Northwestern Zone (NW)
Drill hole BL-24-45 intersected 7.97% P2O5 over 38.0 m from a starting depth of 22.0 m and drill hole BL-24-54 intersected 9.18% P2O5 over 40.0 m starting at 61.1 m (See Table 3). The Northwestern Zone has been drilled over a strike of 300 m and has returned values of between 8% and 10% P2O5 over widths ranging from 30 m to 40 m. This zone is located northwest of the main magnetic trend and phosphate mineralization area.
Table 3 – Drill Results for the Northwestern Zone
Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length1 (m) | P2O5 (%) | TiO2 (%) | Fe2O3T (%) |
BL-24-45 | 22.0 | 60.0 | 38.0 | 7.97 | 3.15 | 20.54 |
BL-24-54 | 61.1 | 101.1 | 40.0 | 9.18 | 4.80 | 28.16 |
1 Lengths are measured along the core. True widths are estimated to be between 80% and 90% of the core interval.
Southern Zone
The Southern Zone has been drilled at 100 m spaced sections over a strike length of 1,000 m. Results to date from the Southern Zone show continuous widths of over 100 m of phosphate mineralization. Drill hole BL-24-55 indicates results of 4.60% P2O5 over 190.8 m starting at a surface depth of 4.0 m (See Table 4). The current results also confirm the presence of other higher grade phosphate layers as evidenced by drill hole BL-24-41 which returned 8.87% P2O5 over 12.6 m and drill hole BL-24-52 which returned 7.04% P2O5 over 43.7 m including a section of 12.28% P2O5 over 9.2 m.
Table 4 – Drill Results for the Southern Zone
Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length1 (m) | P2O5 (%) | TiO2 (%) | Fe2O3T (%) |
BL-24-41 | 6.9 | 19.5 | 12.6 | 8.87 | 6.21 | 31.05 |
BL-24-41 | 96.0 | 141.0 | 45.0 | 5.18 | 3.08 | 17.68 |
including | 96.0 | 126.0 | 30.0 | 6.14 | 3.75 | 20.04 |
including | 135.0 | 141.0 | 6.0 | 7.48 | 3.17 | 26.64 |
BL-24-50 | 4.2 | 93.0 | 88.8 | 5.90 | 4.14 | 23.62 |
BL-24-52 | 67.0 | 183.0 | 116.0 | 4.54 | 3.47 | 19.48 |
BL-24-52 | 204.0 | 273.0 | 69.0 | 5.49 | 2.93 | 19.84 |
BL-24-52 | 204.0 | 247.7 | 43.7 | 7.04 | 3.62 | 24.50 |
including | 204.0 | 228.0 | 24.0 | 7.77 | 4.14 | 29.02 |
including | 238.5 | 247.7 | 9.2 | 12.28 | 5.59 | 30.41 |
including | 258.0 | 273.0 | 15.0 | 4.33 | 2.50 | 15.79 |
BL-24-55 | 4.0 | 194.8 | 190.8 | 4.60 | 3.64 | 19.83 |
including | 4.0 | 132.0 | 128.0 | 5.08 | 3.90 | 20.92 |
including | 153.0 | 194.8 | 41.8 | 4.95 | 4.24 | 23.59 |
BL-24-57 | 3.5 | 81.4 | 77.9 | 4.71 | 3.17 | 19.33 |
including | 3.5 | 48.0 | 44.5 | 4.89 | 3.30 | 20.06 |
including | 63.0 | 81.4 | 18.4 | 7.85 | 5.10 | 28.82 |
BL-24-57 | 157.7 | 169.0 | 11.3 | 4.04 | 2.25 | 16.37 |
BL-24-57 | 183.9 | 194.0 | 10.1 | 6.58 | 3.86 | 22.58 |
BL-24-57 | 240.8 | 244.0 | 3.2 | 10.54 | 2.02 | 12.51 |
1 Lengths are measured along the core. True width is estimated to be between 60% and 90% of the core interval
The technical parameters of the drill holes being released in this press release are shown in Table 5 below and their location is shown in Figure 1 below. Previously released results for drill holes from the current 2024 drill program are presented in Table 6.
Table 5 – Parameters for the Current Drill Holes Being Released
Hole_ID | Easting | Northing | Azimuth | Dip | Depth | Zone |
BL-24-40 | 326585 | 5403279 | 330 | -45 | 282 | Northern |
BL-24-41 | 326011 | 5402284 | 125 | -45 | 150 | Southern |
BL-24-42 | 326568 | 5403312 | 150 | -45 | 201 | Northern |
BL-24-45 | 326253 | 5403348 | 305 | -45 | 204 | NW |
BL-24-46 | 326814 | 5403914 | 150 | -45 | 300 | Mountain |
BL-24-50 | 325795 | 5402184 | 125 | -45 | 276 | Southern |
BL-24-51 | 326814 | 5403914 | 150 | -60 | 244.7 | Mountain |
BL-24-52 | 325781 | 5402326 | 125 | -45 | 300 | Southern |
BL-24-53 | 326851 | 5403845 | 150 | -45 | 301 | Mountain |
BL-24-54 | 326348 | 5403342 | 350 | -45 | 225 | NW |
BL-24-55 | 325852 | 5402300 | 125 | -45 | 225 | Southern |
BL-24-56 | 326899 | 5403859 | 150 | -45 | 288 | Mountain |
BL-24-57 | 325897 | 5402245 | 125 | -45 | 300 | Southern |
Table 6 – Other Previously Released Results for the 2024 Drill Campaign
Hole_ID | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | P2O5 (%) | TiO2 (%) | Fe2O3T (%) |
BL-24-22 | 195.00 | 259.50 | 64.50 | 5.80 | 2.94 | 21.04 |
BL-24-23 | 21.00 | 175.10 | 154.10 | 7.02 | 4.40 | 27.34 |
BL-24-24 | 61.30 | 190.90 | 129.60 | 5.22 | 3.63 | 22.32 |
BL-24-25 | 74.20 | 117.00 | 42.80 | 9.89 | 3.54 | 28.65 |
BL-24-26 | 6.90 | 96.00 | 89.10 | 9.44 | 3.92 | 27.59 |
BL-24-27 | 138.00 | 189.00 | 51.00 | 4.41 | 3.05 | 20.62 |
BL-24-28 | 73.25 | 152.20 | 78.95 | 5.48 | 4.07 | 24.68 |
BL-24-29 | 99.00 | 276.00 | 177.00 | 4.46 | 3.63 | 22.85 |
BL-24-30 | 33.00 | 78.65 | 45.65 | 4.28 | 2.97 | 19.83 |
BL-24-31 | 119.85 | 213.80 | 93.95 | 7.16 | 3.49 | 18.76 |
BL-24-32 | 159.00 | 228.00 | 69.00 | 5.51 | 3.82 | 24.60 |
BL-24-33 | 3.80 | 110.00 | 106.20 | 5.00 | 3.70 | 21.19 |
BL-24-34 | 93.00 | 192.00 | 99.00 | 6.34 | 2.74 | 20.09 |
BL-24-35 | 212.50 | 253.70 | 41.20 | 6.25 | 3.44 | 19.55 |
BL-24-36 | 234.0 | 342.0 | 108.0 | 6.83 | 4.33 | 28.34 |
BL-24-37 | 84.0 | 126.0 | 42.0 | 6.03 | 4.47 | 28.57 |
BL-24-39 | 102.0 | 150.0 | 48.0 | 5.51 | 2.20 | 16.64 |
BL-24-43 | 111.0 | 369.0 | 258.0 | 5.41 | 4.33 | 22.19 |
BL-24-44 | 192.4 | 283.0 | 90.6 | 7.48 | 3.38 | 23.64 |
BL-24-47 | 153.0 | 304.0 | 151.0 | 3.89 | 3.36 | 19.51 |
BL-24-48 | 32.0 | 39.65 | 7.65 | 15.01 | 2.59 | 19.17 |
BL-24-49 | 72.5 | 105.5 | 33.0 | 8.65 | 3.77 | 24.05 |
Results from the earlier 2024 drill program are available at:
April 2, 2024: https://firstphosphate.com/drilling-2m-vein-of-massive-apatite
March 19, 2024: https://firstphosphate.com/initial-assay-results
Results from the earlier 4,274 m drill program conducted in 2023 can be found at:
June 5, 2023: https://firstphosphate.com/begin-lamarche-2023
Figure 1 – Drilling Progress at Bégin-Lamarche Property for the 2024 Drill Program
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
The sampling of, and assay data from, the drill core is monitored through the Company’s implementation of a quality assurance – quality control program designed to the CIM Mineral Exploration Best Practices Guidelines.
A formal chain-of-custody procedure was adopted for security of samples until their delivery at the laboratory. Drill core (NQ size) is logged and samples are selected by Laurentia Exploration Inc. geologists and sawn in half with a diamond saw at the project site. Half of the core is retained at the site for reference purposes. Sample intervals may vary from 0.5 to 3 metres in length depending on the geological observations. A blank and a standard are inserted at the beginning of each sample batch, usually one complete hole, and a blank and a standard are then inserted alternatively each 10 samples. Half-core samples are packaged and sent by ground transportation in sealed rice bags to an independent laboratory, Activation Laboratories Ltd. of Ancaster, Ontario (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 with CAN-P-1579). The core samples are crushed up to 80% passing 2mm (10 mesh), riffle split 250 g and pulverized (mild steel) to 95% passing -200 mesh. Each sample is analyzed for whole rock analysis (code 4B) for 10 major oxides and 7 trace elements by lithium metaborate/tetraborate fusion of 3g of material and analyze by ICP-OES. The laboratory has its own QA/QC protocols.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical disclosure for First Phosphate included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gilles Laverdière, P.Geo. Mr. Laverdière is Chief Geologist of First Phosphate and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects.
About First Phosphate Corp.
First Phosphate is a mineral development company fully dedicated to extracting and purifying phosphate for the production of cathode active material for the Lithium Iron Phosphate (“LFP”) battery industry. First Phosphate is committed to producing at high purity level, at full ESG standard and with low anticipated carbon footprint. First Phosphate plans to vertically integrate from mine source directly into the supply chains of major North American LFP battery producers that require battery grade LFP cathode active material emanating from a consistent and secure supply source. First Phosphate holds over 1,500 sq. km of royalty-free district-scale land claims in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Region of Quebec, Canada that it is actively developing. First Phosphate properties consist of rare anorthosite igneous phosphate rock that generally yields high purity phosphate material devoid of high concentrations of harmful elements.
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