Sokoman Minerals (SIC) - Lithium Focus Turning Heads

Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a junior Canadian exploration and development company focused on gold and critical minerals in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The company’s flagship project, the Moosehead Gold project is located next to the Trans-Canada Highway and holds a land position of 2,450 hectares. The company also holds a strategic alliance with Benton Resources Inc. which includes the Grey River Gold project, the Kepenkeck Gold project and the Golden Hope project which is located in Southern Newfoundland, holding a land position of approximately 78,650 hectares and hosting gold, lithium and critical minerals. 

The company announced on the 17^th of November 2022 that it had discovered high-grade caesium-rich dyke mineralisation at its Kraken lithium prospect at the Golden Hope project. The grab samples show mineralisation of up to 1.56% caesium oxide, 0.4% lithium oxide, 0.022% tantalum oxide and 0.30% rubidium oxide. The caesium-rich dyke is approximately 5 m to 6 m wide and has been traced for approximately 100 m along strike. The company also announced that it had commenced a third phase drilling program at its Kraken lithium prospect at the end of November 2022. It also identified a new discovery, the Killick Zone, which has shown mineralisation of up to 1.12% lithium oxide through surface grab sampling initiatives.

Sokoman Minerals Corp. on the 24^th of November 2022, reported assay results from its ongoing phase 6 exploration drilling campaign at the Moosehead Gold project, which is envisioned to consist of 100,000 m of exploration drilling. The highlights of the exploration drilling results include a 39.6 m mineralisation interval at an average grade of 12.50 g/t which included a 10.25 m intercept at 41.97 g/t gold.   

Golden Hope project

Timothy Froude, the President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp. explains that the lithium industry of Canada is experiencing a rebirth of sorts thanks to the global push of electrification. The sector has in the past twice seen an increase due to various factors, but the mass adoption of electric vehicles has catalysed the global lithium industry.

“It's kind of a rebirth, I guess. A lot of these projects lived in the 50s and 60s when I guess the initial interest in Lithium first started and again briefly, I guess in the early 2000s. In fact, I was even involved with that quickly. We had a couple of projects in northern Ontario that if we had today, we might be a little different market cap. But at the time I think it was that first false start if you will with Lithium and fortunately, that was in the past” 

The Golden Hope project of the company is a 50% joint venture with Benton Resources Inc. The project holds a land position of approximately 78,650 hectares close to the Burgeo Highway in Southwestern Newfoundland. Froude explains that the project holds lithium mineralisation as well as caesium.

“We've stumbled upon some pretty intense-looking mineralization at Golden Hope with our joint venture partner Benton Resources Inc. And we recently started in fact, last week we had a spate of news. We had three news releases out in a week, two of them were on the lithium and caesium discoveries at Golden Hope. We just restarted a program, there are a couple 1000 metres basically to further what we know to be an expanding and growing, I guess, target base for potentially significant zones of Lithium at Golden Hope.”

The company announced on the 17^th of November 2022 that it had discovered high-grade caesium-rich dyke mineralisation at its Kraken lithium prospect of the Golden Hope project. The grab samples show mineralisation of up to 1.56% caesium oxide, 0.4% lithium oxide, 0.022% tantalum oxide and 0.30% rubidium oxide. The caesium-rich dyke is approximately 5 m to 6 m wide and has been traced for approximately 100 m along strike. Froude explains that Caesium is naturally found in lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) systems.

“If you look at the general geological model for Lithium, Caesium, and Tantalum dykes are called the LCT type. And because those three commodities generally hang out in this brand of pegmatite kind of closely. They are zoned, so the closer you are to your parent granite, you'll get more Beryllium and then you start moving outwards. And then you start seeing the Lithium creeping. And the furthest out the most highly evolved of the dike swarms will have the Caesium in it”

Froude explains that even though the Caesium found at the Golden Hope project will not be a sole product, it will however serve the operation as a value-adding by-product. The US market for lithium and caesium will also be sufficient for the Golden Hope project should it reach production, according to Froude.

“The Lithium market is too big, is the big whopper here, if you want to use a term and actually, it's the name of the project in northern Ontario. But, yeah, clearly, it's Lithium, the bigger market, much bigger market. But you know what, I kind of like the fact that caesium is on the critical minerals list as well. The US is obviously a large consumer of these products, they always will be. We don't need the Chinese; I don't think to have a market down the road. But be mindful that of course, it is a small market and that it won't be the focus of our exploration. It would be a very nice value-added sort of thing, if you can pay for all the nuts and bolts of an operation down the road, it's worth chasing for sure.” 

The company also recently announced that it had commenced a third phase drilling program at its Kraken lithium prospect at the end of November 2022. It also identified a new discovery, the Killick Zone, which has shown mineralisation of up to 1.12% lithium oxide through surface grab sampling initiatives.

Froude explains that the company will be able to add more value to the Golden Hope project through ongoing exploration initiatives than spinning the project out in the near future.

“As we move this thing forward, I think more value will be added. So, waiting a little longer, spending another couple million dollars will bring in many times the perceived value, at least a value as it certainly is right now to our shareholders. And instead of spinning out a company, I'm just throwing out numbers, for example, a property worth CAD$ 20 million, we could in six or eight months have a property that’s worth CAD$ 100 million. So, I think it's worth it to our shareholders to hang on, and do this couple million dollars’ worth of work next year and just flash this out. “

The Golden Hope project will however be monetised in the future according to Froude, with the company not interested in going into production. The project will garner the attention of major mining companies according to Froude, not only due to its location, being 30 km away from the North Atlantic Ocean, but also its mineralisation.

“If you're a major in this business, are you going to look at a project that needs a 500 km railway or road built or a 30 km side rail to do a deep-water port that's just waiting for business? So that sort of thing. No, we're not miners, whatever happens, happens. If we form a partnership along the way, it would have to be obvious for the benefit of both companies and shareholders. And yeah, well, the future is out there. But I really do believe that Golden Hope is a quality project that a lot of people will be looking at in the months to come.”

Moosehead project

The company’s flagship project, the Moosehead Gold project is located next to the Trans-Canada Highway and holds a land position of 2,450 hectares. The project has in historic samples shown up to 170 g/t of gold over 1.53 m. Sokoman Minerals Corp. is currently underway with its phase 6 drilling campaign at the project, which is set to total 100,000 m of exploration drilling.

Sokoman Minerals Corp. on the 24^th of November 2022, reported assay results from its ongoing phase 6 exploration drilling campaign at the Moosehead Gold project. The highlights of the exploration drilling results include a 39.6 m mineralisation interval at an average grade of 12.50 g/t which included a 10.25 m intercept at 41.97 g/t gold. Froude explains that the mineralisation intercepted by the company at the project is significant and may indicate either a fold in mineralisation or two mineral structures coming together.

“The hole 463 returned our thickest intersection, it was 39.6 m of 12.5 g within which there was a higher-grade section of 10 m of about 42 g. So, we typically don't see mineralized structures in Moosehead that are 39 m thick. So, there's something going on there, either we're looking at a fold or two structures coming together.”

Froude further explains that the company will focus on expanding the mineralisation at the zone, but that it may take more than one attempt for the company to fully delineate the mineralisation.

“We need to basically build outwards from 463 until we get more of a handle on it. And if indeed, how this zone is sitting because it can still have different orientations. We know it's dipping kind of this way but is it plunging this way or is it plunging that way, which is still in the same plain, you can still miss this thing. It may take a couple of holes and I want to prepare people for that.”

Future

Sokoman Minerals Corp. plans to continue the exploration of its Golden Hope project in 2023, with the exploration costs split between the company and Benton Resources Inc. The company will also look at advancing its Fleur De Lys project, a 480 km² land package in north-western Newfoundland.

“We're looking at probably a CAD$ 5 million to CAD$ 6 million program for Golden Hope for next year that's currently funded. So that's CAD$ 2.5 million to CAD$ 3 million each for us and Benton Resources Inc. I think, obviously, we've got to start moving Fleur de Lys up to the next level. I'm thinking of a larger budget for next year. It could include some drilling, depending on how things time out. So, a million there.”

The company will also look at advancing its Kepenkeck Gold project, another joint venture with Benton Resources Inc.

“I like where the project is, we just haven't gotten around to giving it that extra effort yet. In 2023, well, we'll have to be the year for that because if not, we are going to have to give the project back if we don't advance it quickly enough for the owners but that's in our hands and we can control that.”

The Moosehead project of the company will also be further advanced with another phase of exploration drilling planned upon completion of the phase 6 drilling program according to Froude. The company aims to spend between CAD$ 5 million and CAD$ 6 million at the project in 2023.

“We’re probably close to 80,000 m now through our 100,000 m program, but that's just a number, we're not stopping at 100,000 m and the job is done. We're going to keep going. So, we're on then to the next 100,000 m. And obviously, we're not going to raise money for the 100,000 m program all at once. We're basically going to move this thing along. I'm looking at maybe CAD$ 5 million to CAD$ 6 million budget alone for Moosehead so we're looking at total commitments next year CAD$ 10 million to CAD$ 12 million for Sokoman.”

To find out more, go to the Sokoman Minerals website