Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE, FSE: D7H) (the “Company”) is pleased to provide an overview of the work completed to date on its Niobium Claim Group (the “Property”) located in northern Quebec, approximately 130 km south of Kuujjuaq. 

The Company has provided Saville Resources with all of the results collected on these claims since 2007, and Saville is currently delineating targets for their upcoming drill program at the Property. Saville is acquiring the Property based on the strong niobium-tantalum potential demonstrated from the considerable amount of exploration work completed to date (surface sampling, geophysics, and drilling). 

This work includes numerous surface samples grading >1% Nb2O5 and >1,000 ppm Ta2O5 to a peak assay of 16.1% Nb2O5 and 7,540 ppm Ta2O5 returned from the same boulder sample. This boulder sample assayed the highest Nb-Ta grade ever returned from the Eldor Carbonatite Complex and highlights the strong potential for high-grade discovery on the Property. 

Company President Chris Grove states “I continue to be excited by these excellent grades of niobium and by the prospect of further work being done on these areas by Saville Resources.” 

In addition to surface sampling, high-grade drill intersections have also been returned from the Property including 0.85% Nb2O5 over 19.54 m (EC10-033 – Southeast Area), with individual core samples up to 1.85% Nb2O5, as well as 329 ppm Ta2O5 over 33.93 m (EC10-040 – Southeast Area). 

In addition, further surface sampling work was completed throughout the Miranna Area in the fall of 2017, and includes those claims that comprise the Property. Assay results from this work are pending. 

Mineralogical analysis indicates pyrochlore as the primary host mineral for the niobium-tantalum, which is also the dominant source mineral for niobium and tantalum processing globally. In addition, the mineralization is often associated with strong phosphate mineralization, primarily hosted by apatite, making it an additional commodity of interest. 

Collectively, the work has outlined three primary areas of interest at various stages of exploration; the Miranna Area, Southeast Area, and the Northwest Area. The Company believes that these numerous, high-grade, niobium-tantalum occurrences demonstrate the prospective nature of the Property and indicate a strong potential for a deposit of significance to be present. 

The Niobium Claim Group consists of 21 contiguous claims within the Eldor Property.  Saville Resources Inc. recently signed an Earn-In Agreement (subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval) providing the Saville with the exclusive right to earn up to a 75% interest in the Property (see news release dated January 11, 2018). The agreement is conditionally approved by the TSX Venture Exchange, pending receipt of an acceptable NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Property. 

Miranna Area 

The Miranna Area is characterized by a strongly mineralized (Nb-Ta-Phosphate), glacially dispersed, boulder train with a distinct geophysical anomaly at its apex. Very high-grade niobium and tantalum has been sampled from these boulders, with select highlights noted in Table 1 below. 

Table 1 – Select Mineralized Boulder Sample Results from the Miranna Area

The geophysical anomaly at the apex of the boulder train, known as the Miranna Target, is interpreted to be the source of the mineralization and has yet to be drill tested. With the boulder train now well delineated and found to contain some of the highest Nb-Ta-Phosphate grades on the Property to date, the Miranna Target is high priority for drill testing. 

Southeast and Northwest Areas 

The Southeast and Northwest areas are where Nb-Ta mineralization was first discovered in the Eldor Carbonatite Complex, and therefore, have seen the majority of the exploration focus. A total of 37 holes for approximately 7,512 m over several drill campaigns have been completed by Commerce Resources Corp. on the Property, of which, 28 holes for 6,495 m have been completed on Nb-Ta targets. Select drill intersections from the Northwest and Southeast areas are presented in Table 2. 

Table 2 – Select Mineralized Drill Hole Intersections from the Southeast and Northwest Areas

Both the Southeast and Northwest areas remain underexplored with the last niobium-tantalum focused work in these areas completed in 2008 and 2010 respectively. The drill intersections to date are highly encouraging, with the results of the 2010 drilling in the Southeast Area exceeding that of 2008. This area in particular requires additional infill and step-out drilling to further delineate the mineralization discovered to date, and to evaluate the merits of completing an initial mineral resource estimate. 

Further, the numerous mineralized boulders in the area, as well as the shallow nature of several drill intersections, indicate the mineralization extends to surface where it is being obscured by only a thin veil of overburden. The highest-grade Nb-Ta boulder (16.1% Nb2O5 and 7,540 ppm Ta2O5) was collected along the western edge of the Northwest Area, from within the Property, with glacial ice direction indicating a source further south within the complex and potentially within the Niobium Claim Group. 

Geophysical surveys have identified numerous targets throughout the Southeast and Northwest Areas to further guide drilling with many remaining to be drill tested, providing additional upside to those zones already discovered. Collectively, the data supports a strong potential for a Nb-Ta-Phosphate mineralized body of significant grade and size to be present on the Property. 

NI 43-101 Disclosure 

Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol., Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. 

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on deposits of rare metals and rare earth elements. The Company is focused on the development of its Ashram Rare Earth Element Deposit in Quebec and the Upper Fir Tantalum-Niobium Deposit in British Columbia. 

For more information, please visit the corporate website at http://www.commerceresources.com or email info@commerceresources.com. 

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP. 

“Chris Grove”

Chris Grove
President and Director
Tel: 604.484.2700
Email: cgrove@commerceresources.com
Web:    http://www.commerceresources.com 

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  Forward looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to TSXv approval for the Earn-In Agreement with Saville Resources Inc. relating to the sale of up to a 75% interest in niobium claims in Quebec; any intended work on the project; and the potential for these claims to have high-grade or commercially viable resources. These are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information.  Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include that we may not get TSXv approval for our intended Earn-In Agreement; changing costs for mining and processing; increased capital costs; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; we, or our earn-in partner Saville Resources Inc., may not be able to raise sufficient financing to carry out our business plans; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumption based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that with further test work may not be comparable; the availability of labour, equipment and markets for the products produced; and despite the current expected potential of the project, conditions changing such that the minerals on our property cannot be economically mined, or that the required permits to build and operate the envisaged mine can be obtained. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Source: https://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=8236255817767435&qm_symbol=CCE