Grid Metals Corp. Signs Cesium Agreement with Tanco
Grid Metals Corp. Signs Cesium Agreement with Tanco
February 18, 2024 TORONTO -- Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV:GRDM; OTCQB:MSMGF) ("Grid" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a cesium supply agreement (the “Agreement”)
with the Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada Limited ("Tanco") . The Agreement provides
funding for Grid to drill for cesium at its Donner Property. If sufficient resources are delineated
by drilling , the Agreement provides access for 10,000 tonnes of Grid’s cesium material to be
processed at the Tanco Cesium Plant which is the only cesium processing plant in the western
world. The Agreement is a unique opportunity for Grid to kick start exploration and potentially
development for cesium - a rare critical metals.
The drill target at Donner is the High Grade (“HG”) Dyke which is a highly fractionated pegmatite
dyke with documented high grade cesium values in the mineral pollucite. The HG Dyke is located
approximately 35 km from the Tanco Cesium plant at Bernic Lake.
Key Terms of the Grid Metals / Tanco Agreement
• An i nitial prepayment advance of CAD$300,000 will be provided by Tanco to Grid for
drilling at Donner.
• If drilling is deemed successful (by the parties) , a follow up prepayment advance of
CAD$900,000 will be provided by Tanco to Grid for project development activities.
• In exchange, T anco will have the right to purchase 10,000 tonnes of cesium-bearing
material from Grid at a predetermined price.
• Pricing for cesium material grading at least 5% Cs2O will be US$1,500 per tonne (set price
of US$300/t per 1% Cs2O) with deductions applied for transport
• The prepayment advances are repayable from the proceeds of future cesium or lithium
sales to Tanco.
Benefits of Agreement to Grid Shareholders
• Collaborative agreement providing capital and technical processing expertise for one of
the world’s rarest critical metals.
• Immediate funding for first phase cesium drill program at Donner
• Committed development capital for resource development/permitting
• Access to Tanco technical expertise and toll milling access at favourable terms
• Potential for the Agreement to generate near-term cash flow
• Opportunity to leverage other cesium occurrences in Grid ’s property portfolio ,
particularly Falcon West
Robin Dunbar , Grid’s CEO & President , stated, "Consistent with our focus on our Bird River
property portfolio and partnering with industry leaders , we are excited to announce this
agreement with Tanco, the world’s leading producer of cesium products. This agreement
provides the foundation to kickstart cesium exploration with the objective of near-term cash flow
generation through toll milling. Our proximity to the only cesium operation in the western world
is a unique feature of the Tanco collaboration. We note that we have a second cesium property
(Falcon West) where we have obtained significant cesium results in drilling including 3.3 m at
10.3% Cs2O and 3.2 m at 4.6% Cs2O.”
Dr. Dave Peck, P. Geo., Grid’s Vice President of Exploration , stated " The high -value and
geological scarcity of primary cesium ores combined with the known surface exposure of
pollucite at the HG Dyke provides strong motivation for the proposed exploration drilling. The
partnership agreement with Tanco gives Grid direct access to the world's principal cesium
processing plant – eliminating most of the technical risk for future cesium development
project(s). The focus of the drill programs at Donner and eventually Falcon West will be to
adequately characterize the potential for meaningful tonnages of near surface pollucite-
dominant, high-grade cesium mineralization.”
Figure 1: Map of the Grid’s projects in southeastern Manitoba
Figure 2: Aerial view of Tanco mine site, including cesium chemical plant
High-Grade Dyke Overview
The High-Grade Dyke is locate d on the Donner lithium/cesium property, approximately 35 km
from the Tanco Mine site. The dyke has seen limited exploration with drilling completed in the
1980’s for tantalum . The HG Dyke contains the rare cesium mineral, pollucite - the preferred
feedstock for the nearby Tanco cesium plant. Pollucite is only formed in the most fractionated
LCT-type pegmatite bodies and is only known from a very small number of localities. A select
composite surface grab sample from the High -Grade Dyke taken in 2024 returned 17.5% Cs2O
associated with coarse-grained pollucite. The Company plans closely spaced drilling over a ~200
m strike length to test for any continuity of pollucite to a vertical extent of 30 -50 m. By nature
of its extremely fractionated nature , the HG Dyke has been t he subject of multiple academic
studies by world-renowned pegmatite researchers.
Figure 3: Map of the Donner project with location of HG Dyke
Cesium Overview
• Cesium is a rare earth metal that is defined as a critical mineral by the US and Canadian
governments.
• The largest application of cesium is as cesium formate for drilling fluids, but it is also used
in atomic clocks, photoelectric cells, glass production, vacuum tubes, and radiation
monitoring equipment amongst o ther uses. Next generation solar panels (Perovskite
solar cells) can use cesium to improve their efficiency, stability, and thermal properties.
• Only 3 mines globally have ever produced cesium including Tanco in Manitoba
(producing), Bikita in Zimbabwe (producing) and Sinclair in Western Australia ( formerly
producing).
• The price of cesium carbonate on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) is currently
US$120,000/t.
Qualified Persons Statements
Dr. Dave Peck, P.Geo., is the VP Exploration of Grid and is the Qualified Person for purposes of
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.
About Grid Metals Corp.
Grid Metals is focused on exploration and development in southeastern Manitoba with four key
projects in the Bird River area.
1) The Makwa Property (Ni-Cu-PGM-Co), which is subject to an Option and Joint Venture
Agreement with Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”). Teck can earn up to a 70% interest in
Makwa by incurring a total of CAD$17.3 million, comprising project expenditures
(CAD$15.7 million) and cash payments or equity participation (CAD$1.6 million) with Grid.
Makwa is located on the south arm of the Bird River Greenstone Belt.
2) The Mayville Property (Cu-Ni) is located on the north arm of the Bird River Greenstone
Belt. Grid owns 100% of the Mayville Property subject to a minority interest.
3) The Donner Property (Li-Cs) is adjacent to the Mayville Property , and Grid owns 75% of
the project. Grid expects to commence a cesium focused drill program in the next few
weeks.
4) The Falcon West Property (Li-Cs) is located 110 km east of Winnipeg along the Trans -
Canada highway and contains highly anomalous cesium values in a number of historical
drill holes including 3.3 m at 10.3% Cs2O and 3.2 m at 4.6% Cs2O.
All of the Company’s southeastern Manitoba projects are located on the ancestral lands of the
Sagkeeng First Nation with whom the Company maintains an Exploration Agreement.
On Behalf of the Board of Grid Metals Corp.
For more information about the Company, please see the Company website at
www.gridmetalscorp.com or contact:
Robin Dunbar - President, CEO & Director Telephone: 416-955-4773
Email: [email protected]
Brandon Smith – Chief Development Officer – [email protected]
David Black - Investor Relations Email: [email protected]
We seek safe harbour. This news release contains forward -looking statements within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the
meaning of the Securities Act (Ontario) (togethe r, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward -looking
statements include the Company’s closing of the proposed financial transactions, sale of royalty and
property interests. the overall economic potential of its properties, the availability of adequate f inancing
and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements to be materially
different. Such factors include, among o thers, risks and uncertainties relating to potential political risk,
uncertainty of production and capital costs estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses,
physical risks inherent in mining operations, metallurgical risk, currency fluctuations, fluctuations in the
price of nickel, cobalt, copper and other metals, completion of economic evaluations, changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be refined, the inability or failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely
basis, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Management
Discussion and Analysis for the most recent financial period and Material Change Reports fil ed with the
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