VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ValOre Metals Corp. (“ValOre”; TSX-V: VO, OTCQB: KVLQF, Frankfurt: KEQ0; “the Company”) today provided an update on recent exploration activities at its 100%-owned Pedra Branca Platinum Group Elements (“PGE”, “2PGE+Au”) Project (“Pedra Branca”) in northeastern Brazil, and reinforced its focus on advancing the Company’s broader strategic growth initiatives in Brazil.
Jim Paterson, ValOre’s Chairman and CEO stated: “We continue to pursue acquisitions of high-quality gold exploration and development projects in Brazil. At the same time, the development of our flagship Pedra Branca platinum and palladium (“PGE”) project remains a top priority, as demonstrated by the multiple high-grade platinum and palladium assays released today from the 87 hole Trado® auger drilling program recently completed at the Esbarro deposit. Trado® hole AD25ES99 delivered a standout assay result of 10.0 m, starting from surface, grading 12.95 g/t 2PGE+Au, including 4.0 m grading 29.57 g/t 2PGE+Au starting from 1.0 m.”
Pedra Branca PGE Project - Exploration Highlights
Trado® Auger Drilling – Esbarro Deposit
- 87 hole drill program was completed to collect additional weathered material for ongoing metallurgical test work, improve grade control and enhance geological understanding of the deposit;
- Assay results confirm continuity of high-grade PGE mineralization starting from surface to depths reaching 20 metres (maximum vertical reach of the auger drill), extending over 1 kilometre along strike, with widths up to 300 metres;
- PGE assay results from 613 Trado® auger samples are disclosed in full in this release.
Regulatory Advancements
- Brazil’s National Mining Agency (Agencia Nacional de Mineração, “ANM”) has formally approved the Final Exploration Reports for key mineral claims within the Pedra Branca PGM Project, including those claims hosting the Esbarro, Cedro, Curiu, and Cana Brava deposits;
- With ANM’s approval, these claims have entered the Mining Concession application phase, marking a major advancement in regulatory status and development readiness.
Metallurgy/Engineering
- Metallurgical testwork is underway in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, evaluating both conventional flotation and leaching processing routes to optimize PGE recoveries from weathered, fresh and chromitite rock domains. Initial preliminary results expected by the end of July;
- Preliminary water supply studies are scheduled to commence in H2 2025, as part of preparation for a future Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
Thiago Diniz, ValOre’s VP of Exploration commented: “The results from this Trado® auger drilling infill campaign have enhanced grade control and confirmed consistent, near-surface high-grade PGE mineralization over more than a kilometre and will be key for future modeling and updated resource estimates. Additionally, positive assays from Esbarro East extend mineralization beyond current resource boundaries and highlight an opportunity to add shallow ounces and grow the overall resource base at Esbarro. With key regulatory milestones achieved and metallurgical results expected soon, the team remains focused on advancing the Pedra Branca PGE Project toward development.”
Trado® Auger Drilling – Esbarro Deposit
ValOre’s technical team recently completed a targeted Trado® auger drilling program at the Esbarro deposit, with 87 holes drilled and over 560 metres of ultramafic, PGE-bearing rock intercepted. Of the 87 holes, 74 returned PGE mineralization, including 28 with grade-thickness values exceeding 10 gram-metres (grade x interval). The primary objective of the program was to generate additional weathered material for ongoing metallurgical testwork, while also providing a valuable opportunity to refine grade control and enhance geological interpretation of the deposit’s near-surface horizons. Highlight results include:
- 10.0 metres (“m”) grading 12.95 grams per tonne palladium + platinum + gold (“g/t 2PGE+Au”) from surface, including 4.0 m grading 29.57 g/t 2PGE+Au from 1.0 m – Trado® hole AD25ES99;
- 10.0 m at 1.94 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 5.0 m grading 2.95 g/t 2PGE+Au from 5.0 m – Trado® hole AD25ES101;
- 9.0 m at 2.13 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 3.0 m grading 5.95 g/t 2PGE+Au from 6 m – Trado® hole AD25ES63;
- 8.0 m at 2.72 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface – Trado® hole AD25ES77;
- 5.0 m at 3.78 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 3.0 m grading 5.51 g/t 2PGE+Au from 0 m – Trado® hole AD25ES73.
In addition, drilling at the Esbarro East Zone, located within the 2022 NI 43-101 Inferred Resource* area, has extended mineralization beyond current pit-constrained limits, adding further value to the high-grade near-surface intercepts defined in the main Esbarro zone. Recent drilling has outlined high-grade PGE mineralization at surface for over 400 metres along strike. Highlight results include:
- 9.5 m at 5.62 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 2.0 m grading 18.41 g/t 2PGE+Au from 2.0 m – Trado® hole AD25ES39;
- 8.5 m at 2.42 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 4.0 m grading 4.55 g/t 2PGE+Au from 0 m – Trado® hole AD24ES23;
- 9.5 m at 1.97 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface, including 2.0 m grading 4.09 g/t 2PGE+Au from 4.0 m – Trado® hole AD24ES32;
- 20.0 m at 0.94 g/t 2PGE+Au from surface – Trado® hole AD25ES30.
Prior to the Trado® drilling at Esbarro East, a total of 233 soil samples were collected over a strike length of more than 800 metres, delineating the continuity of mineralization from the main Esbarro deposit. Assay highlights include soil values of up to 3,000 ppb 2PGE+Au.
CLICK HERE for Table 1, which shows Trado® auger assay results for all mineralized Trado® holes drilled at Esbarro’s Main (“Esbarro”) and East (“Esbarro East”) zones.
Figure 1: Location map of the Esbarro Deposit – Main and East Zones
Regulatory Advancements – Core Deposits Enter Mining Concession Phase
Brazil’s National Mining Agency (Agencia Nacional de Mineração, “ANM”) has formally approved the Final Exploration Reports for key mineral claims within the Pedra Branca Project, including the tenements that host the four core deposits: Esbarro, Cedro, Curiu, and Cana Brava, which together account for approximately 1 million ounces (“Moz”) of the total 2.2 Moz 2PGE+Au outlined in the 2022 NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate*.
The approved claims have now progressed into the Mining Concession application phase, representing a key step forward in advancing Pedra Branca along the regulatory pathway toward potential development.
This milestone enables the Company to intensify technical de-risking and project development work on these deposits, including ongoing metallurgical testwork and preliminary engineering studies addressing water supply, in preparation for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
Figure 2: Location map of the mineral claims that have had their Final Exploration Reports approved by ANM.
Trado® Auger Drilling QA/QC Procedures
As part of ValOre’s Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) protocol for Trado® auger drilling programs, a total of three quality control sample types were included in each analytical batch, which consists of 40 to 60 Trado® samples plus one certified standard, one coarse blank and one pulp duplicate sample resulting in a QA/QC insertion rate of 5 to 7.5%. Control samples were inserted in a logical sequence, defined by the geologist based on detailed logging of Trado® chips.
Trado® samples are collected at one-metre intervals. The number of auger runs required to complete each metre depends on the nature of the rock being drilled. Material from each run is deposited directly into a clean plastic tray and a representative chip sample is selected and stored in a plastic chip case for geological logging and future reference.
Once a full metre is completed, the total recovered material (approximately 15 kg, with 90-100% recovery) is homogenized using a plastic tarp and subsequently quartered. A representative sample of approximately 2 kg is then collected and identified for geochemical analysis. The remaining material is labeled by metre and stored at ValOre’s core shack for future analyses. For every metre, the plastic tray is cleaned, and a new plastic tarp is used to ensure sample integrity during homogenization and quartering.
All samples are sent to SGS Laboratory and assayed by Fire Assay for Pd, Pt, Au and by ICP for multielement analysis. Upon receipt of assay results, data are systematically reviewed, and QA/QC control charts are generated and evaluated.
Qualified Person (“QP”)
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Thiago Diniz, P.Geo., ValOre’s QP and Vice President of Exploration.
About ValOre Metals Corp.
ValOre Metals Corp. (TSX-V: VO, OTCQB: KVLQF, Frankfurt: KEQ0) is a Canadian company with a team aiming to deploy capital and knowledge on projects which benefit from substantial prior investment by previous owners, existence of high-value mineralization on a large scale, and the possibility of adding tangible value through exploration and innovation.
ValOre’s Pedra Branca Platinum Group Elements Project comprises 45 exploration licenses covering a total area of 51,096 hectares (126,260 acres) in northeastern Brazil. At Pedra Branca, 7 distinct PGE+Au deposit areas host, in aggregate, a 2022 NI 43-101 inferred resource of 2.198 Moz 2PGE+Au contained in 63.6 Mt grading 1.08 g/t 2PGE+Au. ValOre’s team believes the Pedra Branca project has significant exploration discovery and resource expansion potential. (CLICK HERE to download 2022 technical report* and CLICK HERE for news release dated March 24, 2022).
*The 2022 Technical Report is entitled “Independent Technical Report – Mineral Resource Update on the Pedra Branca PGE Project, Ceará State, Brazil” was prepared as a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on behalf of ValOre Metals Corp. with an effective date of March 08, 2022. The 2022 Technical Report by Independent qualified persons, Fábio Valério (P.Geo.) and Porfirio Cabaleiro (P.Eng.), of GE21, commissioned to complete the mineral resource estimate while Chris Kaye of Mine and Quarry Engineering Services Inc. (MQes), was commissioned to review the metallurgical information. The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the CIM Standards, and the CIM Guidelines, using geostatistical, plus economic and mining parameters appropriate to the deposit. Mineral Resources, which are not mineral reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability, and may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing, and other relevant issues. Mineral Resources are based upon a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t PGE+Au, correlated to Pd_eq grade of 0.35 g/t, and were limited by an economic pit built in Geovia Whittle 4.3 software and following the geometric and economic parameters as disclosed in the 2022 NI 43-101 Technical Report,
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Jim Paterson”
James R. Paterson, Chairman and CEO
ValOre Metals Corp.
For further information about ValOre Metals Corp., or this news release, please visit our website at www.valoremetals.com or contact Investor Relations at 778-819-4484, or by email at contact@valoremetals.com.
ValOre Metals Corp. is a proud member of Discovery Group. For more information please visit: http://www.discoverygroup.ca/
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although ValOre believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements have been based on factors and assumptions concerning future events that may prove to be inaccurate. These factors and assumptions are based upon currently available information to ValOre. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results or events and cause actual results or events to differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. A number of important factors including those set forth in other public filings could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the future operations of ValOre and economic factors. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and, except as required by applicable law, ValOre does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. ValOre undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of ValOre, or its financial or operating results or (as applicable), their securities.
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Figure 1
Trado® auger assay results for all mineralized Trado® holes drilled at Esbarro’s Main (“Esbarro”) and East (“Esbarro East”) zones
Figure 2
