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Canstar's High-Grade Antimony Showings, Including 74% Sb, at Golden Baie Highlight Potential Critical Minerals Upside as Price Rises on China's Export Restrictions
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 5, 2024) - CANSTAR RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: ROX) (OTC Pink: CSRNF) Canstar's Golden Baie Project is located 89 km southwest of the past-producing Chinese-owned Beaver Brook Antimony ("Sb") Mine, which hosted a 2.2-million-tonne deposit grading 3.99% Sb at 1.5% cutoff (Sandeman et. al., 2018). In addition to Golden Baie's extensive gold anomalies—including over 315 bedrock samples with more than 1 g/t gold, and till samples with up to 1,049 gold grains—it also features multiple high-grade* antimony anomalies at the Swanger's Cove and Le Pouvoir prospects with bedrock and channel samples assaying between 20.4% and 74.4% Sb (shown on map in Figure 1).
With Chinese export restrictions of antimony set to take effect September 15, 2024 the high-grade occurrences of the critical mineral on the Company's Golden Baie Project take on new significance.
High grade antimony discoveries at the Le Pouvoir Prospect include a bedrock vein with assays up to 74.4% Sb and 24.1 g/t gold, channel samples assaying between 20.4% Sb and 58.8% Sb, and a historical drill intercept assaying 30.6% Sb over 1 m. In 2024, Canstar staked an additional 1,100 hectares of prospective mineral claims surrounding the Le Pouvoir gold-antimony prospect. At the Swangers Cove Prospect, a historical bedrock sample taken by a local prospector from one of the semi-massive to massive veins assayed 30.1% Sb.
Highlights
Antimony can be a pathfinder to gold and is targeted as part of the gold-focused exploration at Golden Baie
Canstar's gold-antimony exploration targets at Golden Baie exhibited assays of 74.4% Sb and 24.1 g/t gold in bedrock vein within 90 km of the past-producing Chinese-owned Beaver Brook Antimony Mine
China's announced antimony export restrictions take effect September 15, increasing risk of supply shocks, given the West's high net import reliance on China and few Western sources
Antimony prices have already doubled this year, with some experts forecasting a rise to over USD$30,000 per tonne
Additional details on the antimony showings, including photographs, maps and sampling information, are included below
*High-grade being defined as greater than 20% Sb metal content.
Figure 1: Le Pouvoir and Swangers Cove Sb-Au Prospects at Golden Baie
Canstar's President & CEO, Juan Carlos Giron Jr., said, "In sufficiently high grades and quantities, antimony can create enhanced economic potential for a mine. We think the Project already displays geological and structural similarities to significant gold producers such as the Fosterville Mine in the Bendigo Zone of Australia's Victorian Goldfields, which hosts multiple gold deposits greater than 5 Moz and is analogous to Golden Baie's geological setting. These antimony showings add to our excitement about the Prospect's potential.
"As critical minerals are increasingly used as a source of geopolitical leverage—exemplified in China's impending restrictions on antimony exports—the discovery of new sources in the West is a national security imperative. I believe the junior exploration sector will continue to play a vital role in identifying new mineral resources which enhance national security and competitiveness."
Antimony's Significance to National Security
Antimony is a Critical Mineral for US and Canadian national security with special importance for the defense industry, particularly for armour-piercing ammunition and other projectiles, night vision goggles, infrared sensors, and precision optics. It is also used to produce flame-retardant materials, semiconductors, cables, and batteries.
Gracelin Baskaran, Phd, Director of the think tank's Project on Critical Minerals Security wrote, "Antimony prices are expected to rise sharply following China's announcement of export restrictions. Prices have already doubled since the start of the year, reaching an all-time high of $22,000 per metric ton. Some experts predict that prices could reach as high as $30,000 per metric ton as buyers stockpile and secure supply for future production."
High-Grade Antimony Potential at Golden Baie
In 2023, Canstar geologists removed thin overburden from a portion of the semi-massive to massive stibnite vein (the host mineral for antimony and gold) at the Le Pouvoir target at Golden Baie, exposing it over approximately 25 metres of its length (Figure 2), and collected five channel samples across its width, ranging from 12 cm to 40 cm. These assayed between 20.4% Sb and 58.8% Sb. Historical rock grab samples of the Le Pouvoir stibnite vein collected by a local prospector assayed up to 74.4% Sb (sample # CC-18-03 collected in 2018).
Grab (rock) and soil samples are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades on the property. These results are preliminary and not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of the occurrence of a mineral deposit. However, these samples indicate that there is significant antimony mineralization potential on portions of the Golden Baie Project.
The nearby Chinese-owned Beaver Brook Mine—89 km to the northeast, on care and maintenance since January 2023—processed up to 160,000 tonnes of antimony ore per year with an average grade of 3.5% Sb (according to data available from 2008-2012), and was considered one of the world's largest antimony deposits outside of China (Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2018).
An earlier sample of the Le Pouvoir vein, taken by Mountain Lake Resources Inc. in 2010, returned values of 34.9% Sb and 24.1 g/t Au. In 2010, Mountain Lake Resources Inc. also intersected the vein in a diamond drill hole (LR-10-16) at a depth of 24.3 m containing 30.6% Sb over a 1 m interval. Other samples of the Le Pouvoir bedrock vein have assayed more than 20% Sb.
In 2022, Canstar also dug a series of trenches on its Swangers Cove Prospect, exposing semi-massive to massive stibnite veining in three trenches. Five bedrock grab samples from these trenches assayed more than 1% Sb (the maximum detection limit for the analysis), as did several other float rock samples found at Swangers Cove, the bedrock source of which remains unknown. A historical bedrock sample taken by a local prospector from one of the semi-massive to massive veins assayed 30.1% Sb. An example of the antimony veining found at Swangers Cove is shown in Figure 3.
Canstar has also encountered anomalous antimony assays in samples from its Hermitage prospect in the far western part of Golden Baie and plans to continue to test for antimony and other critical minerals, in addition to gold, during its next phase of exploration and drilling.
Figure 3: Example of the stibnite veining found at the Swangers Cove prospect
Paul Ténière, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Vice President of Exploration for Canstar and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, has prepared and approved all scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release.
Acknowledgement
Canstar acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology, which has been a valuable contribution to the exploration programs on the Company's Buchans-Mary March and Golden Baie projects.
About Canstar Resources Inc.
Canstar Resources Inc. (TSXV: ROX) is a mineral exploration company unlocking immense potential for gold and critical minerals in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our 100%-owned Golden Baie Project (548.75 km2) hosts 93 km of a structure similar to New Found Gold's Queensway Gold Project. Our Buchans-Mary March projects (65.75 km2), which include a Glencore joint venture, are located within the world-class, past producing, VMS zinc-copper-silver rich Buchans Mining Camp and boast high-grade zinc and copper discoveries.
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This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including but not limited to the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
