As cobalt prices soar, King’s Bay expands prospects with Newfoundland acquisition
by Greg Klein | February 16, 2017
A name and a commodity that are both objects of feverish attention seem to meet up in Newfoundland, where King’s Bay Gold TSXV:KBG has acquired the Trump Island copper-cobalt property. A 100{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} option announced February 16 expands the company’s cobalt prospects in Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec.
Back in 1863 a Cornish miner sunk a six-metre shaft to follow a zone of massive chalcopyrite. He reportedly sent a shipment of high-grade copper-cobalt ore to Wales.
Grab samples collected nearby in 1999 brought historic, non-43-101 results up to 3.8{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} copper, 0.3{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} cobalt, 2.9 g/t gold and 10.9 g/t silver.
The initial King’s Bay agenda would call for additional sampling, along with mapping and a local-scale electromagnetic survey on the 200-hectare property. Successful results could bring a summer drill campaign.
Subject to approvals, King’s Bay gets Trump Island for 200,000 shares at a deemed value of $0.195 and a 2{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} NSR.
The boat-accessible property sits seven kilometres south of Twillingate, a town immortalized in Newfoundland’s unofficial national anthem.
In Labrador, meanwhile, King’s Bay has airborne EM planned for its Lynx Lake copper-cobalt project, where grab samples have shown non-43-101 results up to 1.39{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} copper, 0.94{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} cobalt and 0.21{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} nickel, as well as chromium, molybdenum and vanadium values. Last month the company expanded Lynx Lake from about 2,000 hectares to approximately 24,000 hectares.
Earlier this month King’s Bay picked up three cobalt projects in Quebec. The company closed a $938,752 private placement in January.
The acquisitions come as cobalt prices continue their meteoric rise, hitting six-year highs up to $20 a pound, reported MetalBulletin.com. That represents an approximately 50{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} increase since September, according to Reuters. Stating that many traders are hoarding the metal, Reuters predicted a supply deficit this year “exacerbated by an insecure supply chain. Almost 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of the world’s cobalt lies in politically risky Democratic Republic of Congo.”