Appia Provides a Summary of the Alces Lake Project and Presents at the John Tumazos Virtual Conference, August 10, 2020
Toronto, August 10, 2020 - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to provide a summary on the Company's high-grade rare earth element ("REE") and uranium ("U") Alces Lake property (the "Property"), northern Saskatchewan.
Since detailed exploration began at Alces Lake in 2017, a total of seventy-four (74) REE and uranium-bearing surface zones* and occurrences* of the REE and U minerals system(s) (the "Minerals System") have been discovered on the Property (Figure 1). To date, less than 15% of the Property surface has been explored on the ground. The zones all share numerous similarities with each other; high REE grades (>2 wt% total rare earth oxides, "TREO") are hosted within both biotite-rich quartzo-feldspathic pegmatites and/or thick biotite-rich pods ("cores"), and low-grade REE mineralization (<2 wt% TREO) are hosted within quartzo-feldspathic pegmatites with very little biotite present ("halos"). Appia uses the geological information from the low-grade halos to target the high-grade cores.
Surface channel and diamond drill samples from within six zones (Bell, Charles, Dante, Dylan, Ivan, Wilson) return an average composite grade of 16.65 wt% TREO (see Table 1). The Ivan zone, in particular, hosts some of the highest grades observed on the Property. Surface mineralization from the Ivan zone returned up to 53.01 wt% TREO over 1.97 m, or ~85% monazite, i.e., the mineral hosting the REEs. Diamond drill hole IV-19-012 intersected 16.06 wt% TREO over 15.55 m, including 49.17 wt% TREO over 3.70 m. Critical elements required for rare earth magnets (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium) account for between 23% and 25% of the TREO. Rare earth magnets are used in a wide range of modern technological applications. Hence, the rare earth magnet industry is projected to grow rapidly over the next 30 years in-line with the adoption of electric vehicles and wind turbines, in particular.
The Minerals System has been discovered as far as 12 km away from the Company's previous areas of diamond drilling, and the cumulative showings represent approximately 10 km of a 45 km-long regional strike length. The scale and high-number of surface discoveries suggests the Minerals System is widespread at surface, but it is not readily detectable by eye or other surface geophysical methods due to overburden cover. The Company believes that the Minerals System is even more connected, widespread, and voluminous beneath the surface.
Appia has started mobilizing for Phase 2 exploration on the Alces Lake property, which will include diamond drilling geological and geophysical targets, additional AMT geophysical survey coverage, excavated overburden removal and outcrop washing in areas of interest. The exploration permits are in-hand to begin this work.
John Tumazos Virtual Conference
Appia would also like to invite the general public to view a live public webcast presentation on Monday August 10, 2020, from 11:00 AM - 11:55 AM (EDT) as part of the John Tumazos Very Independent Research, LLC, Virtual Conference.
The audience registration link is https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DY9ra1PGTFakcuxVIeWUFw.
We sincerely hope you can attend.
The Alces Lake Property encompasses some of the highest-grade total REE mineralization in the world, hosted within a number of surface and near surface occurrences that remain open at depth and along strike. The United States government is actively pursuing REE resources to ensure a domestic REE supply chain becomes established within North America. The Alces Lake property covers 17,577 hectares (43,435 acres) in size and is 100% owned by Appia. The project is located close to an old mining camp with existing support services, such as transportation (i.e., 15 km from the nearest trail), energy infrastructure (hydroelectric power), a 1,200 m airstrip that receives daily scheduled services, and access to heavy equipment.
The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, P.Geo, Advisor to the Board of Directors of Appia, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Appia
Appia is a Canadian publicly-traded company in the uranium and rare earth element sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements ("REE") and uranium on the Alces Lake property, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 65,601 hectares (162,104 acres) in Saskatchewan.
The Company also has a 100% interest (subject to a 1% Uranium Production Payment Royalty and a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty on any precious or base metals payable, provided that the price of uranium is greater than US$130 per pound) in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. The Camp historically produced over 300 million pounds of U3O8 and is the only Canadian camp that has had significant rare earth element (yttrium) production. The deposits are largely unconstrained along strike and down dip.
Appia's technical team is directed by James Sykes, who has had direct and indirect involvement with over 550 million lbs. U3O8 being discovered in five deposits in the Athabasca Basin.
Appia has 73.9 million common shares outstanding, 90.3 million shares fully diluted.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information, please contact:
Tom Drivas, President, CEO and Director: (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiaenergy.ca
James Sykes, VP Exploration & Development, (tel) 306-221-8717, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) jsykes@uraniumgeologist.com
Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com
FIGURE 1: REGIONAL PROSPECT MAP (2017 - 2020)
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TABLE 1 - INDIVIDUAL AND TOTAL RARE EARTH OXIDE RESULTS
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*Note: >1.897 wt% TREO represents >75th percentile for global REO deposit grades of advanced stage-projects (excluding Gakara, Steenkampskraal and Mount Weld CLD deposits). The global REO deposit information was derived from publicly available information as of January 31, 2018, from individual company websites, SEDAR technical report filings, and the Technology Metals Research Advanced Rare Earth Projects Index (http://www.techmetalsresearch.com/metrics-indices/tmr-advanced-rare-earth-projects-index/)
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