Q&A with Inomin Mines CEO John Gomez
Inomin Mines (hereinafter referred to as 'Inomin', or 'the Company') is a Canadian mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol 'MINE'. Inomin is focused on critical minerals and precious metals projects that display strong potential to host significant resources.
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Inomin's main focus at the moment is on Beaver-Lynx which has the potential to be among the largest discoveries in Canada of high-grade magnesium and sulphide nickel, both classified as critical minerals by the US Department of Energy.
Ideally located in South-Central, British Columbia, the all-season project benefits from excellent infrastructure including hydropower, good roads, and a railway.
Beaver-Lynx is located between two major mines. It lies East of the Gibraltar mine (2nd largest open-pit copper mine in Canada) and West of the Mt. Polley copper-gold mine. This underscores the fact that the district is geologically conducive for hosting substantial polymetallic mineral deposits.
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| Beaver-Lynx Project Location (Click to Enlarge) Source: Company Website |
Initial exploration and metallurgical studies by a previous operator at Beaver in 2013 – 2014, including geophysical surveys and diamond drilling programmes, demonstrated the property’s potential to host large volumes of near-surface, Class 1 sulphide nickel and cobalt, amenable to conventional extraction methods. The samples were re-assayed in 2022 and the Company identified previously unreported high grade magnesium.
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| Notable Mineralisation from Historic Drilling (Click to Enlarge) Source: Company News Release 11th April 2022 |
Inaugural drilling by Inomin in 2021 confirmed Beaver's potential for hosting, in addition to large volumes of nickel, extensive high-grade magnesium.
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| Summary - 2021 Drilling on Beaver Property (Click to Enlarge) Source: Company News Release 29th March 2022 |
Follow-on drilling completed in 2023, with the first holes ever drilled at the South Zone, intersected high-grade magnesium plus nickel and chromium over long intersections.
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| Summary - 2023 Spring Drilling Results - South and Ring Zones, Beaver (Click to Enlarge) Source: Company News Release 19th September 2023 |
"Inomin's spring drilling at Beaver has confirmed the discovery of a large magnesium-nickel mineralised body at the South Zone and achieved the best drilling result from the Ring Zone to date," said John Gomez, President and CEO of Inomin. "Our exploration has grown discoveries at Beaver to six potentially large deposits and confirms the project's excellent potential for hosting near-surface, bulk-tonnage deposits. We've also identified new prominent exploration targets to continue to increase Beaver's mineral footprint. Additionally, we have several compelling targets at the yet to be drilled Lynx area. If drilling at Lynx achieves results comparable to Beaver, we are looking at a district-scale critical minerals system."
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| 6 Potential Deposits at Beaver (Click to Enlarge) Source: September 2023 Company Presentation |
Indeed, potential drilling at Lynx is very exciting as the 13,610ha area is geologically similar to Beaver with even larger mineral targets as defined by magnetics data.
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| Lynx Mineralisation Greater than Beaver? (Click to Enlarge) Source: September 2023 Company Presentation |
Metallurgical tests for the extraction of magnesium from Beaver drill core samples achieved excellent recoveries of 99% using hydrochloric acid (HCI) leaching. HCl leaching also recovered up to 58% of the nickel. It is expected that optimisation of extraction techniques will increase recoveries.
Another positive attribute for the project is its potential to generate carbon credits. Initial test results demonstrate the potential for carbon capture and storage. The tests, carried out by researchers at the University of British Columbia ("UBC"), demonstrate that samples from the Company's 2021 critical mineral discovery, contain key minerals that sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
As per CEO John Gomez, "UBC's findings add to Beaver's positive attributes, in short, a green, district-scale, critical minerals project that is just emerging. The synergy between magnesium extraction and carbon sequestration is an opportunity to establish a sustainable magnesium value chain. We have the right metals at the right time."
On its Mexican project, Inomin continues to engage the local community with a view to conducting an exploration program. La Gitana provides Inomin the opportunity to build on a significant gold-silver discovery confirmed by drilling in 2005 – 2006 by past joint project owners – Chesapeake Gold and Goldcorp. This drilling demonstrated the property’s potential to host substantial, near-surface, gold-silver mineralisation.
Initial drilling of 38 holes defined a strong zone of gold and silver mineralisation up to 500 metres long, 300 metres wide and 300 metres deep. Drill results include 133.5 metres of 1.78 g/t Gold and 100.7 g/t Silver. The zone is open along strike and at depth, as well as laterally.
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| Oaxaca Gold-Silver-belt (Click to Enlarge) Source: September 2023 Company Presentation |
On the back of the most recent drill results at Beaver, I sought out Mr. Gomez to discuss the latest happenings on the Company. Please see the summary of our discussions below. The responses are dated 3rd October 2023.
With the release of all assays from your recent drilling
program, where does this now leave the Company?
Our successful drilling program confirmed Beaver hosts a substantial mineral system. Drilling and magnetic surveys have identified six mineral bodies which could host substantial near-surface magnesium and nickel deposits.
How many more metres/holes of drilling would be enough to delineate an initial resource at Beaver and how soon do you intend to do this?
The number of drill holes and metres needed to define a resource depends on the size of the zone and drilling depth. Our plans to date have been to test priority targets to get an idea on size potential, then drill best target(s) to delineate a resource.
Given the size of the project, is Inomin determined to go it alone on Beaver-Lynx or would you be looking for a Joint Venture?
We’re interested in finding a partner for the project to allow us to advance the project quicker and at less cost. This month we will be hosting a major mining company on site. We’re pleased they’ve reviewed Beaver-Lynx exploration data and want to take the next step.
Hole 1 in your 2021 drill program hit a high silver intercept as well as some copper. What is the potential for these 2 minerals in the project?
Intersecting high-grade silver and copper was a nice surprise. We don’t expect these metals will be the primary commodities found at Beaver-Lynx but the region is well-endowed with copper and silver, especially the nearby Gibraltar mine.
The Canadian government has been keen on providing funding to Critical Minerals projects. Has Inomin applied for Govt. Funding/Grants seeing as Beaver-Lynx meets the criteria?
We’ve been in contact with government officials about funding programs. To date federal government programs have only been largely for downstream and related projects like battery plants and recycling technologies instead of exploration. We hope the BC government’s next critical minerals strategy program will provide funding for exploration, similar to programs in some other provinces.
We have not heard news from your Mexican projects for quite a while. Have you made any headway on the community relations? When is a reasonable timeline to expect Inomin to drill at La Gitana?
We continue to engage with the community where La Gitana is located – we don’t have a timeline for drilling.
Do you intend to keep both the magnesium-nickel and gold projects under one roof or do you plan to spin out the gold company?
I expect we will eventually spin out the different assets. This is a way of creating shareholder value as Inomin shareholders would receive shares in a new company.
Inomin has mentioned that it is on the lookout for an additional project that would add value to shareholders. Are you open to moving into other critical minerals such as lithium?
We’re looking at other complementary projects including lithium and gold to create shareholder value.
What should investors expect from Inomin in the next 6-12 months?
In the next 6 – 12 months I expect we will be in a position to advance Beaver-Lynx further, perhaps with a partner. I also want to acquire another complementary project. Hopefully by then the resource market will be better and Inomin will be well positioned.
ALL THE BEST
Disclaimer: I have a position in Inomin Mines. I have not received any compensation for this article.
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