Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 21, 2025) - Aquitaine Metals Corp. (the "Company" or "Aquitaine") is pleased to announce that Chris Taylor has been appointed to the role of CEO of the Company. Chris has been a board member of Aquitaine since May 2024 and will also remain in that role.
Aquitaine Metals' Limousin project is located in the prolific Limousin Mining District in the Region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwest France, 40 kilometres south of the city of Limoges. The project consists of 40 km2 of exploration licenses with exclusivity granted over a total of 330 km2. An application for expanding the exploration license over the full 330 km2 area of exclusivity has been submitted and drill permission is expected later this year. A Phase 1, 8,800 metre diamond drill program will begin in February 2025.
Chris Taylor, CEO of Aquitaine, said, "The potential of Aquitaine's Limousin project to host a Tier 1 gold asset is the best I've seen since Great Bear's sale in 2022. The French government has recently advanced serious initiatives to revive domestic mining and secure economic benefits and reliable mineral supplies for its citizens and industries. In addition to the district-scale gold system, significant critical metal mineralization also positions Aquitaine to potentially help satisfy EU domestic production mandates for key commodities like antimony and copper. We look forward to building on the excellent relationships our French team at Compagnie des Mines Arédiennes has built with local people and all levels of government to revive this historical mining district with the highest environmental and social standards."
Yves Guise, President of Compagnie des Mines Arédiennes, said, "We first identified the enormous opportunity of this project over five years ago, and began the process of finding the best partners to help us revive mining in this area. We are very pleased to have Aquitaine Metals and now Chris involved as partners as we look forward to benefitting from their broad exploration and corporate experience. The Limousin's deep mining history has benefited generations of its people extending back to ancient times, and its potential revival comes at a critical time for France as it aims to rebuild this industry."
John Robins, Chairman of the Board of Aquitaine, said, "Our vision for Aquitaine Metals is to combine the very best of Canadian mineral exploration expertise with French talent and experience. The gold system at our project has comparable potential to major gold districts like the Abitibi or the Red Lake camp, so we needed a CEO with the ability to manage something of this scale. Chris' success at Great Bear complements the in-country talents of our CMA team, with their deep understanding of French mining culture and local economic and social priorities. We aim to be the best partners for the Limousin people, and the opportunity to bring modern exploration and mining technologies and techniques to this district could provide significant benefits to the region and the French State, while minimizing environmental impacts."
Service Providers
Aquitaine has selected Gexplore (www.gexplore.fr), a French exploration service company based in Nancy, to provide services for drill core logging, sampling and other logistical and staffing support. Gexplore has extensive gold and critical metals exploration experience in Europe, South America and Africa where they have various international mineral exploration companies as clients. Gexplore is composed of a professional EurGeol team who have participated in numerous compliant data collection and reporting programs. Diamond drilling will be conducted by French drill service provider FORACO, who have nearby offices in Lunel and Marseille.
Figure 1: CMA and Aquitaine Metals team members in December 2024, celebrating the feast of Saint Barabara, patron Saint of miners in the village of Le Chalard, France, with local representatives and community members. From left to right: Yves Guise, President of CMA, Annick Huchet, Mayor of Le Chalard, Chris Taylor, CEO of Aquitaine Metals, Thomas Poitrenaud, Exploration manager of CMA, Michèle Morillon, Corporate Secretary of CMA, and Pierre-Christian Guiollard, author and past COGEMA archivist and manager.
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About the Limousin Project
40 km2 of exploration licenses with exclusivity granted over a total of 330 km2. The area of exclusivity includes 23 past producing gold mines which operated during the 20th to 21st century and over 900 ancient high-grade gold mining sites along over 200 kilometres aggregate strike length of gold-bearing structures
Recent production by French mining company COGEMA from 1988 - 2002 of approximately one million ounces of gold with average underground production grades of 12.5 g/t gold with a 10 g/t gold cutoff and mining widths of 3 - 10 m. Average open pit production grades of 7 - 8 g/t gold with a cutoff grade of 6 g/t gold
Production and exploration records with an estimated replacement value of $430 million
Critical metal potential including a district-scale antimony exploration target as the accessory mineral stibnite within the high-grade gold system, and precious-metal rich polymetallic massive sulphides as lenses locally within and adjacent to the gold system.
About Aquitaine Metals Corp.
Aquitaine Metals Corp. is a Vancouver-based gold and strategic metals exploration company focused on advancing its 100% owned Limousin project in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. A significant exploration Phase 1 diamond drill program has been authorized and is currently planned to begin in February. This work program will confirm historical datasets, and test extensions of the Pierrepinet and Douillac high-grade gold ore zones at the Laurieras and Moulin de Cheni mines.
Aquitaine Metals Corp. is a committed partner to all stakeholders, with a long-term vision of sustainable exploration to advance the Limousin project in a manner that demonstrates good stewardship of land, operational excellence and accountability.
Records of work activities, permitting timelines and environmental monitoring progress are available at Compagnie des Mines Arédiennes' website at: https://www.minesarediennes.fr/
Investor Inquiries
| Chris Taylor CEO and Director Tel. (604) 646-8354 Email. ctaylor@aquitainemetals.com | John Robins Chair of the Board Tel. (604) 646-4537 Email. jrobins@discoverygroup.ca |
Note on Historical Data
All information related to COGEMA's mining and exploration activities is believed to be accurate, but has not yet been verified by a Qualified Person according to the standards of National Instrument 43-101. Verification sampling is being undertaken at historical mine sites where exposures are available, and verification drilling will be included in the Phase 1 drill program beginning in February. Other historical production data is taken from public records, publications such as Bouchot et al., 2005, and past verification work by COGEMA. It is considered generally reliable for exploration purposes but cannot be verified. Information related to ancient gold production including estimates of historical production grades and total gold produced is taken from archaeological publications, particularly Cauuet et al., 2018, and Baron et al., 2019. Gallic gold mining sites are readily apparent on airborne LIDAR data, from which Aquitaine and CMA's geologists have reproduced locations and outlines of sites verified and interpreted by archaeologists, and by Aquitaine's field crews and past explorers at COGEMA.
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