The following is a transcription of the above video, and The Market Online has edited it for clarity.
Grid Battery Metals (TSX:CELL) has built a diverse portfolio of battery metal exploration targets, including three lithium properties in Nevada. Grid also has a copper project in central British Columbia.
Joining us today is Tim Fernback, Grid Battery Metals CEO.
TMO: Well to get started, you recently provided an update on the Clayton Valley Lithium Project. Can you get us some details regarding the latest developments?
Fernback: We’ve been on the Clayton Valley property now for several years. We’ve had this property in our portfolio. What we’re doing right now is we’re drilling, we’re testing the depth of the lithium brine and clay deposit that we have there. So our project is really well-situated near the Silver Peak mine. So it’s a perfect area for exploration and finding a new Clayton Valley lithium deposit.
TMO: We see Grid recently also announced the acquisition of a new copper project. Can you tell us more about this property and its prospects?
Fernback: So the copper project is in British Columbia, so north-central British Columbia in an area called the Omineca Mining District, and it’s a very prolific copper, gold mining region in B.C. A lot of deposits have been made there and mines have flourished.
So we have a large land position, 27,500 hectares. That’s five distinct claim blocks in just outside Smithers. So it’s in a really good area to explore and develop a project, and we’re kind of equidistant from the Mount Milligan mine and the Centerra Gold’s Kemess deposit. And there’s been about 740 million pounds of copper taken out of the Mount Milligan mine and 1.8 million ounces of gold also out of that same mine.
So it’s a very prolific area. Northwest Copper is another explorer in the region and they have three different copper gold deposits right beside our project.
TMO: Can you explain how the addition of this copper project to your portfolio of lithium assets, benefits Grid shareholders?
Fernback: So the benefit to the Grid shareholders is it takes advantage of our expertise in British Columbia and Nevada. So we have a team of exploration geologists out of Smithers, B.C., which I said is right near our deposit and we’ve been mining and looking for exploration targets in the nickel space for close to about five years now in B.C. So we have a depth of experience in B.C., we have a depth of experience in Nevada, we’ve been there for 10 years looking for lithium.
So it’s not only leveraging our experience but also diversifying the portfolio of products. So when copper and lithium are both electrification metals, we have two bags for your buck I guess for a shareholder.
TMO: Given Nevada’s central role in lithium mining, can you prioritize the focus on Grid’s upcoming exploration plans at your other lithium properties?
Fernback: We have three projects on the go right now in Nevada. In north Central Nevada, we have our Texas Spring property that is directly south and adjacent to the Surge Nevada North Lithium deposit, which we know has got a lot of attention right now because it is the highest grade lithium clay deposit in North America.
Another project we talked about with Clayton Valley, we’re currently drilling there, we should be drilling for the remainder of October and we should have results in November. There we’re testing the depth of our clay deposit, so we’re going down 1,500 feet. So we should have good results from both the brine and the clay stones that are in that area.
And the other approach we have is called Volt Canyon, it’s in Monitor Valley. It is a very highly prospective region. Our geological team, the same team that found the Nevada North Project for Surge, we have now seen that there’s signatures there for great clay stone lithium deposit. So we’re excited about doing exploration there and we’re excited about proving out what could be underground.
TMO: Now let’s assess a little bit about Surge Battery Metals most recent reporting on the Nevada North Lithium project and what that means to Grid’s Texas Spring property.
Fernback: Texas Spring is directly south of the Nevada North project. They’ve been drilling on the project now for about a year and a half, and the trend for their deposit is trending south towards our lands.
So what we’re planning on doing is we’ve done all the base geology for that and now we’re going to be proposing a drill program.
So once we get underground, we’ll see how their deposit continues onto our property and that’s going to be our number one target for Texas Spring.
And I mentioned earlier that we are the founding shareholders and management team behind Surge Battery Metals. So we know the area quite well and I’m still a shareholder so I’m happy for that company to do well as well.
TMO: Let’s talk about some cash. Can you provide us an update on Grid’s current cash position?
Fernback: So we have five and a half million dollars in our bank, so we’re well financed for the remainder of this 2024 exploration season and into the 2025 exploration season.
We have a significant budget that we’ve put together for marketing and investor relations, so we’ll be getting more commentary out, more information out to the shareholders so they understand what great projects we have in these areas.
TMO: Now with interest rates declining in Canada and globally, how do you anticipate this will affect junior exploration companies like Grid?
Fernback: When interest rates decline, economic activity goes up. There’s more investment in different projects and capital, commodity prices go up because there’s a certain increase in demand for things like electric vehicles and every other device that is for part of the electric revolution that we’re experiencing right now.
So there’ll be demand increases and commodity price increases, which bode well for Grid and its shareholders.
TMO: Now along that note, how do the current and projected EV projections and sales, how do they affect Grid in terms of copper and lithium?
Fernback: So there is a huge supply imbalance that’s projected for both lithium and copper starting in 2025. So there will be a need for more supply to come on. So for a commodity-based company like Grid Battery Metals, it’s really important that we get our projects fast forward and moved along because the metal that’s actually there will eventually be part of what comes out and goes into electric vehicle.
So with all of these big projections on electric vehicles being forecasted, it’s really important to make sure that the supply matches up with the demand.
TMO: You just mentioned that time crunch, what does that look like?
Fernback: So there is quite a bit, starting in 2025, there’s going to be a huge imbalance for the copper market. So research analysts are talking about right now saying that there’s going to be a huge demand for more copper.
So commodity price will probably increase based on the fact that there’s limited supply and this demand exists and as we go forward to 2030, 2035, there’s only going to be more demand for electrification, EV cars on the market. So that will lead to more need for commodities like lithium and copper.
You can find Grid Battery Metals Inc. on the TSXV under the symbol CELL, or head to its website at gridbatterymetals.com or at Stockhouse.com.
Company shares were last trading at $0.04.
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