
Drillhole ends in mineralization with 1.78% TREO
HIGHLIGHTS
Volta Metals Ltd. (CSE: VLTA) (FSE: D0W) (OTC Pink: VOLMF) announces assay results from the second borehole drilled at its Springer Rare Earth Deposit, located outside of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada (Figure 1). Drill results exceed the Company’s expectations and continue to expand known mineralization that remains open at depth in all drillholes to date.
Borehole SL25-24 was drilled sub-vertical (at -85 degrees), to test the mineralization at depth below the historic resource estimate (Figure 2 and Figure 3). The drillhole returned significant mineralization, 0.95% TREO, over the entire sampled interval, to end-of-hole at 465m (Table 1).
Planned as a 400m hole, drilling was extended to 465m after visual core inspection confirmed strong, continuous mineralization beyond the initial target depth. This marks the deepest borehole completed on the project to date (Figure 4). The results exceeded expectations and are anticipated to enhance the Company’s understanding of the extensive, still-open mineralized system while supporting potential resource expansion.
Table 1. Select Assay Results from Borehole SL25-24
| TREO % |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Width (m) * |
Premium Magnet Heavy Rare Earth Elements g/t |
Premium Magnet Light Rare Earth Elements g/t |
||||||
| Terbium (Tb) |
Dysprosium (Dy) |
Yttrium (Y) |
Neodymium (Nd) |
Praseodymium (Pr) |
Lanthanum (La) |
Gadolinium (Gd) |
Cerium (Ce) |
||||
| 0.95 | 26.1 | 465.0 | 438.9 | 8.6 | 41.0 | 170.9 | 1,236.1 | 362.7 | 1,936.2 | 73.0 | 3,494.4 |
| 1.06 | 106.4 | 457.5 | 358.6 | 9.3 | 44.7 | 189.5 | 1,311.9 | 393.0 | 2,182.6 | 77.0 | 3,860.2 |
| 1.42 | 106.4 | 214.5 | 108.1 | 14.3 | 77.6 | 363.1 | 1,718.1 | 524.0 | 2,988.7 | 104.5 | 5,257.7 |
| 2.19 | 155.5 | 175.5 | 20.0 | 10.6 | 50.2 | 215.7 | 2,606.2 | 825.3 | 4,959.4 | 97.4 | 8,495.8 |
* Drill intercept, not true width. True width will be determined once the geological modelling to define the ore controls is completed.

Figure 1. Location of the Springer Rare Earth Element Deposit
The Company expects to receive assay results from the third borehole and gallium assays from the first two boreholes in the coming weeks.
“This second borehole, the deepest completed to date, successfully tested the footwall beneath the historical resource and returned continuous, high-grade TREO mineralization throughout its entire length,” said Kerem Usenmez, President and CEO of Volta Metals. “The consistency and scale of mineralization we’re seeing, suggest a robust and extensive rare earth system-geologically more comparable to large bulk-tonnage base metal deposits than to the narrow zones typically associated with rare earths. These results reinforce our confidence that Springer hosts a much larger mineralized system than previously understood, which will be reflected in the upcoming mineral resource update.”
DETAILS
Borehole SL25-24 was designed to test the presence of high-grade rare earth elements at depth (Figure 3). All drill holes were collared within the currently defined Springer Deposit.

Figure 2. High-grade carbonatite mineralization with grades up to 5.21% TREO over 2.5m in borehole SL25-24 (155.5 – 158.0m).
The assay results verify and extend the host carbonatite complex at depth and will be incorporated in the planned update to the historic NI 43-101 resource estimate (indicated 4.167 million tonnes at 1.073% TREO and inferred 12.73Mt at 1.119% TREO at a cut-off grade of 0.9% TREO – Daigle P., May 4, 2012, Technical Report and Resource Estimate of the Lavergne-Springer REE Project, Ontario, Canada, Tetra Tech Wardrop).
Table 2. Borehole Collar Information
| Project | Hole ID | Azimuth (°) |
Dip (°) |
End of Hole (m) |
| LavergneSpringer25 | SL25-23 | 270 | -45 | 453 |
| LavergneSpringer25 | SL25-24 | 270 | -85 | 465 |
| LavergneSpringer25 | SL25-25 | 268 | -80 | 423 |
| LavergneSpringer25 | SL25-26 | 290 | -70 | 297 |

Figure 3. Cross-section highlighting REE Intercepts in borehole SL25-24

Figure 4. Drillhole Collars with the Historic Resource outlined.
About the Springer Rare Earth Deposit
The 2012 resource estimate presented for the Springer Rare Earth Project is historic in nature. Volta’s qualified person has not completed sufficient work to confirm the results of the historical resource. Volta does not treat this as a current mineral resource but considers it relevant as a guide to future exploration and includes it for reference purposes only. The historic resource was estimated by Tetra Tech Wardrop in 2012.
The block model and mineral resource for the Springer Rare Earth Project is classified as having both Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources based on the number of drillholes, drillhole spacing and sample data populations used in the estimation of the blocks. The mineral resource estimate for the deposit, at a 0.9% TREO cut-off, is an Indicated Resource of 4.2 Mt at 1.14% TREO, 0.02% ThO2, with approximately 6% of the TREO being made up of heavy rare earth oxides; and an Inferred Resource of 12.7 Mt at 1.17% TREO, 0.01% ThO2, with approximately 4% of the TREO being made up of HREOs.
The 2012 mineral resource, based on 22 diamond drillholes, was estimated by Ordinary Kriging interpolation on uncapped grades for all 15 REOs and thorium dioxide. The TREO% is a sum of the 15 individual interpolations of the REOs. No recoveries have been applied to the interpolated estimates.
The 2012 resource estimate categories are not compliant with the current CIM Definition Standards. No other resource estimates have been undertaken since the 2012 Tetra Tech Wardrop report. Further drilling will be required by Volta to verify the historic estimate as a current mineral resource.
QA/QC Protocol
All drilling was completed by a diamond drill rig producing NQ-size core. Volta implemented a strict QA/QC protocol in processing all rock samples collected from the diamond core samples obtained from the Springer REE property. The protocol included inserting reference materials, in this case, high-concentration and low-concentration certified rare earth elements standards, blanks, and drill core duplicates, to validate the accuracy and precision of the assay results. All collected rock core samples were cut in half by a rock saw, placed in sturdy plastic bags and zip-tied shut while under the supervision of a professional geologist. The remaining half core was returned to the core box, which is stored on the property. Sample bags were then put in rice bags and kept secure before being sent by road transport to Activation Laboratories Ltd.’s preparation facility in North Bay, Ontario. Sample preparation (code RX1) consists of drying and crush (< 7 kg) up to 80% passing 2 mm, riffle split (250 g), and pulverize (mild steel) to 95% passing 105 µm. The samples are subsequently analyzed at Activation Laboratories’ Ancaster, Ontario, site using Code 8-REE Assay (lithium metaborate/tetraborate fusion with subsequent analysis by ICP and ICP/MS).
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Tims, P.Geo., who is an independent Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The QP and the Company have not completed sufficient work to verify the historical information on the Springer Deposit and it is considered as “historic”, particularly regarding historical exploration and government geological work.
For more information about the Company, view Volta’s website at www.voltametals.ca.
ABOUT VOLTA METALS LTD.
Volta Metals Ltd. is a mineral exploration company based in Toronto, Ontario, focused on rare earths, gallium, lithium, cesium, and tantalum. It owns, has optioned and is currently exploring a critical minerals portfolio of rare earths, gallium, lithium, cesium, and tantalum projects in Ontario, one of the world’s most prolific and emerging hard-rock critical mineral districts.
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