CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Allied Copper Corporation | November 25, 2022
Allied Copper Corp. is pleased to announce additional technical information and financial information regarding Volt Lithium Corp. As announced on October 31, 2022, Allied Copper has agreed to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of privately-held Volt, pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated October 31, 2022, among each of the shareholders of Volt. Through this Acquisition, Allied Copper is afforded a strategic opportunity to expand both its asset base and development focus to include a broader range of battery metals that represent key inputs supporting the global energy transition.
Rainbow Lake Property
Volt has acquired a 100% minerals interest in a lithium-brine project in northwest Alberta which is defined by nineteen contiguous Alberta Metallic and Industrial Mineral Permits. Details of the mineral permits are summarized in Schedule B of the Agreement, which has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Rainbow Lake Property is in northwest Alberta, approximately 80 kilometres west of the Town of High Level, Alberta. The west-central portion of the Property surrounds the Town of Rainbow Lake, Alberta, which region is historically famous for its substantial oil and gas reserves within the carbonate platform and reef complex portions of the Middle Devonian Elk Point Group. The Property can be accessed by Provincial Highway 58, and numerous secondary all weather and dry weather gravel roads and tracks that are serviced year-round due to oil and gas production operations in the area.
Upper Keg River Formation Aquifer Brine Evaluation
Volt’s initial exploration objective at the Rainbow Lake Property was to assess stratigraphically deep hypersaline formation water, or brine, from oil and gas reservoirs, or aquifers, within the porous portions of the Elk Point Group’s Upper Keg River Formations reef complexes for its lithium-brine potential.
As per Government of Alberta subsurface brine compilations, historical Upper Keg River Formation lithium-brine analytical results within the boundaries of the Rainbow Lake Property include nine historical lithium assays of Upper Keg River Formation and Elk Point Group brines (the latter at depths that are correlative with the Upper Keg River Formation). The assays yield lithium-brine values that range between 29 and 44 milligrams per litre (“mg/L”) lithium with an average concentration of 38.3 mg/L lithium.
To validate the historical lithium-brine assays, Volt commissioned a petro-company leasehold owner and active hydrocarbon producer from within a portion of the Property and Mr. Roy Eccles P. Geol. of APEX Geoscience Ltd. to complete two separate 2022 brine sampling programs at the Rainbow Lake Property. The Petro-Company collected two brine samples from two separate wells; one of which was not within the boundaries of the Property. The samples were analyzed by Sterling Chemical Inc.’s subsidiary lab, Camber Resource Services Ltd., who is not independent of Volt.
The QP collected 25 brine samples from three oil and gas facilities and four producing wells within the Rainbow Lake Property in conjunction with the Petro-Company that is actively producing hydrocarbons from Upper Keg River Formation reservoirs. Quality assessment-quality control samples included four duplicate samples, seven brine lab-prepared lithium-brine standards, two blank samples (containing no lithium), and two check lab samples. The QP brine samples were analyzed at independent, commercial laboratories who are accredited and experienced in analysing petro-fluids.
The QP assessed both the Petro-Company and QP-collected sample analyses, and concluded that the analytical results yield both ‘valid’ and ‘invalid’ Upper Keg River Formation brine geochemical results. The Petro-Company collected samples were removed because the samples were either from an off-property well or analyzed at a non-independent lab that returned lithium results that did not correlate well with the analytical results of the QP-collected samples. Four QP-collected sample analyses were also removed from the dataset because of suspected issues with contamination or the brine geochemical results were not compatible with representative Upper Keg River Formation aquifer brine. The contamination relates to high oil contents in the brine sample, or elevated iron and metal contents believed to be related to corrosiveness inhibitors used by the Petro-Company at a specific well that may have precipitated metals that are not representative of the true brine. With respect to the assessment of representative brine genuine Upper Keg River Formation samples in this dataset contain between 72,200 and 156,000 mg/L sodium; however, the QP-assessed invalid samples had very low sodium.
Once the invalid brine analyses were removed from the database (n=6 analyses), the QP had no further significant issues or inconsistencies that would cause one to question the validity of the data. Brine analytical results are presented in Table 1 and include lithium-brine values from the three facilities and two wells.
With respect to the QP-collected valid Upper Keg River Formation aquifer brine samples, brine from the wells yielded between 29.3 and 36.1 mg/L lithium with an average concentration of 33.0 mg/L lithium. Brine from the facilities yielded between 24.5 and 37.3 mg/L lithium with an average concentration of 33.6 mg/L lithium. Collectively, the brine analyses from Volt’s primary lab yielded between 30.6 mg/L and 37.3 mg/L lithium with an average concentration of 35.0 mg/L lithium.
The QP concluded that the Volt sampling program validated the historical lithium-brine analytical results: 38.3 mg/L lithium versus 35.0 mg/L lithium. The similar lithium concentrations potentially demonstrates the chemical homogeneity of the Upper Keg River Formation aquifer underlying the Rainbow Lake Property. The sample program results also show that Volt could utilize the facilities for any future demonstration, or pilot direct lithium extraction test work, which is beneficial because the facilities represent multi-well collection points with high brine volume.
Based on the results of the Rainbow Lake Property brine sampling program, Volt has commissioned APEX Geoscience Ltd. to prepare a technical report that will provide a geological introduction and exploration results of the Upper Keg River Formation aquifer brine assessment and include recommendations to advance the lithium-brine project. The technical report will be prepared in accordance with the Canadian Mining and Metallurgy Mineral Exploration Best Practice Guidelines (2018) and the disclosure requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
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CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Pipestone Energy Corp. | November 24, 2022
Pipestone Energy Corp. is pleased to announce the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted the notice filed by the Company to renew its normal course issuer bid. Pipestone’s inaugural NCIB was launched in November 2021 and has been fully executed with the purchase and cancellation of 9,598,347 common shares of the Company for an average price of $4.44 per share.
The NCIB allows Pipestone to purchase up to 13,936,907 Common Shares, representing 5% of its 278,738,148 outstanding Common Shares as at November 14, 2022. The renewed NCIB is scheduled to commence on November 25, 2022 and is due to expire no later than November 24, 2023. Under the NCIB, Common Shares may be repurchased in open market transactions on the TSX and other alternative trading platforms in Canada and in accordance with the rules of the TSX governing NCIB’s.
The total number of Common Shares Pipestone is permitted to purchase is subject to a daily purchase limit of 156,214 Common Shares, representing 25% of the average trading volume of 624,856 Common Shares on the TSX calculated for the six-month period ended October 31, 2022 excluding 5,107,800 Common Shares that the Company repurchased pursuant to its previous NCIB during this period; however, Pipestone may make one block purchase per calendar week which exceeds the daily repurchase restrictions. Any Common Shares that are purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled upon their purchase by the Company.
The Company intends to enter into an automatic securities purchase plan effective November 25, 2022, under which its broker may purchase Common Shares in connection with the NCIB. The plan will contain a prearranged set of criteria in accordance with which its broker may make Common Share purchases. These strict parameters enable the purchase of Common Shares during times when it would ordinarily not be permitted due to self-imposed blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. Such plan is adopted in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Outside of blackout periods, Common Shares may be purchased under the NCIB in accordance with management’s discretion.
As previously announced, Pipestone is committed to a multi-faceted approach to shareholder returns as part of its allocation of free cash flow strategy. In addition to the renewal of the NCIB, Pipestone has implemented a quarterly base dividend of $0.030 per Common Share, commencing in Q1 2023. The Company also has previously announced its intention to launch a Substantial Issuer Bid for up to $50 million in Q1 2023.
Pipestone Energy Corp.
Pipestone is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on moderately growing its condensate-rich Montney asset base, while delivering meaningful shareholder returns. Pipestone expects to grow its production to 32 Mboe/d (midpoint) in 2022 and to approximately 45 Mboe/d by exit 2025, while generating significant free cash flow. Pipestone is committed to building long term value for our shareholders while maintaining the highest possible environmental and operating standards, as well as being an active and contributing member to the communities in which it operates. Pipestone has achieved certification of all its production from its Montney asset under the Equitable Origin EO100TM Standard for Responsible Energy Development.
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PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES, MARKET OUTLOOK
SINOPEC | November 28, 2022
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation's has announced that the first phase of the Qijiang shale gas field has uncovered a major discovery in Sichuan Basin with a proven geological reserve of 145.968 billion cubic meters. The discovery, delivered by Sinopec Exploration Company and Sinopec Southwest Oil & Gas Company, is a major breakthrough in Sinopec's "Project Deep Earth – Natural Gas Base in Sichuan and Chongqing."
The Qijiang shale gas field is the first shale gas field discovered in medium-deep and deep strata in a complex tectonic zone on the margin of the basin. Shale gas buried at the depth of over 3,500 meters is defined as deep shale, and the burial depth of Qijiang's shale formations ranges from 1,900 to 4,500 meters, with the majority being deep shale. With complex overlying strata, the project faced great challenges such as a significantly greater depth and variable ground stress.
To tackle the question of how a shale gas reservoir was formed in the basin margin with such complex surface and underground conditions, Sinopec's team conducted more than 10,000 lab analysis tests on the core at the depth of 1,320 meters. This revealed the development and maintenance mechanism of deep shelf shale pores and identified the deep shale can develop vast reservoirs with high porosity, and also revealed the "sweet spots" of projecting the deep shale targets.
The team collected high-precision 3D seismic data of deep shale gas covering an area of 3,662 square kilometers in the complex zone of the southeastern margin of the Sichuan Basin as well as drilling data of existing wells in southern Sichuan. After repeated discussion and screening, Sinopec has innovated a deep shale gas seismic prediction technology with pressure coefficient and gas content, fracture prediction and horizontal ground stress difference as the core – the equivalent of performing a CT scan of the strata to achieve the breakthrough in predicting the "sweet spots" of deep shale gas.
Sinopec also developed a three-dimensional fracturing technology with "precision cutting, pressurization and expansion, balanced expansion and guaranteed filling" for deep shale, which has improved the daily shale gas production of a single well to break the 300,000, 400,000 and 500,000 cubic meters marks in succession.
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