Dr. Charles Fipke reports

CANTEX CONFIRMS ELEVATED GERMANIUM RESULTS ALONG ENTIRE MAIN ZONE STRIKE LENGTH ON ITS 100% OWNED NORTH RACKLA PROJECT, YUKON

Cantex Mine Development Corp. has provided an update on its 100-per-cent-owned 14,077-hectare North Rackla claim block in Yukon.

Main zone germanium results

The company has received 455 germanium results for drill core from 61 intercepts drilled from 31 pads spanning the entire 2.35-kilometre drill-confirmed strike length of the Main zone silver-lead-zinc-germanium mineralization at North Rackla.

These results are presented in the table entitled "Germanium results from the Main zone."

The average of these 61 intercepts is 663 grams per tonne (g/t) germanium in sphalerite. When combined with the previously analyzed 36 intercepts, the average is 654 grams per tonne germanium.

GZ zone germanium results

At the GZ zone, 57 analyses were received from nine intercepts which averaged 427 grams per tonne germanium in sphalerite. When combined with the previously received results from five intercepts, the average germanium content is 521 grams per tonne.

These results are presented in the table entitled "Germanium results from the GZ zone."

Germanium market

Germanium continues to be a metal of prime importance for the West. China, which currently supplies 83 per cent of the world's germanium, is now restricting exports to the United States and Western markets. Germanium is a valuable metal, currently selling for $1.32 (U.S.) per gram (Feb. 7, 2024, Trading Economics).

There are few Western sources of germanium, the most significant being ore from Teck's Red Dog mine in Alaska, which is processed at the Trail smelter in British Columbia. It is apparent that Western nations will need to find additional sources of germanium.

Summary

Cantex's directors are pleased that the massive sulphide project contains very high germanium values along the 2,350 metres of strike length tested to date. The average germanium content of sphalerite from the Main zone is 654 grams per tonne, while the average germanium content of the GZ zone is 521 grams per tonne. The project shows potential to be a much-needed Western source of the critical metal germanium.

Sample preparation

The drill holes reported in this press release were drilled using HQ (63.5-millimetre (mm)) diamond drill bits. The core was logged, marked up for sampling and then divided into equal halves using a diamond saw on site. One-half of the core was left in the original core box. The other half was sampled and placed into sealed bags. Core samples averaged over three kilograms (kg) in weight.

For germanium analyses, a piece of split core approximately 15 centimetres (cm) in length containing sphalerite was selected and submitted to CF Mineral Research Ltd. From the selected location, a piece of a thin slice of core was mounted in epoxy, polished, carbon-coated and mapped using a scanning electron microscope to select sphalerites for analysis. The samples were then sent to UBC Okanagan for germanium analysis using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICPMS). A 100-micron spot size was used, and NIST610 and 612 reference materials were used as standards.

The technical information and results reported here have been reviewed by Chad Ulansky, PGeol, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, who is responsible for the technical content of this release.

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