Knife Lake Project
Apogee Minerals Ltd. has the sole and exclusive right and option to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Knife Lake Project from Trident Resources Corp. (TSX-V: ROCK), subject to underlying royalties. The Property consists of fifty-four (54) mineral claims covering approximately 35,255 hectares in northeastern Saskatchewan, approximately 130 kilometres north-northwest of Flin Flon, and hosts the Knife Lake Deposit — a near-surface, stratabound volcanogenic massive sulphide (“VMS”) style copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit. Saskatchewan is consistently ranked among the top mining jurisdictions in the world by the Fraser Institute.
Project Highlights
- Advanced-stage copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc VMS project hosting the near-surface Knife Lake Deposit
- Large land package comprising 54 mineral claims covering approximately 35,255 hectares
- Historical NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate with an effective date of June 12, 2019 (see disclosure below)
- Extensive exploration database containing more than 400 drill holes completed between 1968 and 2022
- Three modern Rockridge Resources (now Trident Resources) drill programs completed in 2019, 2021 and 2022, comprising 30 diamond drill holes totalling approximately 4,032 metres
- Standout drill results include:
- KF19003: 37.60 metres at 2.42% CuEq, including 13.15 metres at 5.05% CuEq
- KF21021: 14.02 metres at 2.34% CuEq, including 2.32 metres at 5.00% CuEq
- KF22030: 15.90 metres at 2.35% CuEq from 13.8 metres downhole
- 2021 VTEM airborne survey identified numerous conductive anomalies along the same prospective stratigraphy that hosts the Knife Lake Deposit
- Multiple regional exploration targets, including Redhill Lake, Scimitar Lake, Pistol Lake and Gilbert Lake
- Located in Saskatchewan, a leading global mining jurisdiction
Knife Lake Project Summary
The Knife Lake Project is an advanced-stage copper, silver, zinc, gold and cobalt exploration property, consisting of 54 mineral claims totalling over 35,000 hectares, located approximately 130 kilometres north-northwest of Flin Flon in northeastern Saskatchewan. The Property hosts the near-surface Knife Lake Deposit, a stratabound VMS-style system averaging approximately 15 metres in thickness and dipping 30° to 45° eastward. The deposit has been defined over an approximate four-kilometre strike length across the Central-South, Bay and North zones, with an average down-dip extension of approximately 300 metres. The Property benefits from an extensive database of more than 400 drill holes generated through historical and modern exploration completed between 1968 and 2022. Rockridge Resources Ltd., now Trident Resources Corp., completed three diamond drill programs in 2019, 2021 and 2022 comprising 30 holes totalling approximately 4,032 metres.
The 2019 program confirmed broad, shallow copper mineralization and provided modern data supporting the historical mineral resource estimate. Highlight hole KF19003 intersected 37.60 metres grading 2.42% CuEq, including 13.15 metres grading 5.05% CuEq.
The 2021 program tested both the Knife Lake Deposit and regional targets along the Gilbert trend. Highlight hole KF21021 returned 14.02 metres grading 2.34% CuEq, including 2.32 metres grading 5.00% CuEq. The program also confirmed prospective VMS-style geology beyond the known deposit.
A 2021 VTEM airborne geophysical survey also identified numerous conductive anomalies along the same prospective stratigraphy that hosts the Knife Lake Deposit. Additional regional targets include Redhill Lake, Scimitar Lake, Pistol Lake and Gilbert Lake, providing opportunities for further discovery across the broader Property.
The 2022 program included infill and expansion drilling at Knife Lake, as well as regional testing at Gilbert South and Gilbert West. Highlight hole KF22030 intersected 15.90 metres grading 1.93% Cu, 0.26 g/t Au, 7.50 g/t Ag, 0.17% Zn and 0.02% Co, equivalent to 2.35% CuEq, beginning at 13.8 metres downhole.
Option Agreement Terms:
Under an option agreement dated July 13, 2026 with Trident Resources Corp., Apogee may acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Property by paying Trident a total of $400,000 in cash, issuing 7,400,000 common shares of the Company plus common shares having an aggregate value of $700,000, and incurring a minimum of $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures on the Property, as follows:
| Date | Cash Payments | Share Issuances | Exploration Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| On the Closing Date | $100,000 | 7,400,000 Shares | — |
| On or before the first anniversary of the Closing Date | $150,000 | Shares having deemed value of $350,000⁽¹⁾ | $500,000 |
| On or before the second anniversary of the Closing Date | $150,000 | Shares having deemed value of $350,000⁽¹⁾ | $500,000 (additional) |
| Total | $400,000 | 7,400,000 Shares plus Shares having deemed value of $700,000⁽¹⁾ | $1,000,000 |
(1) Shares to be issued at the greater of (i) $0.09, and (ii) the ten (10) day volume weighted average closing price of the Company’s shares on the TSX Venture Exchange at the applicable time. All shares issued pursuant to the agreement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.
Apogee may accelerate the exercise of the Option at any time by completing the required payments and exploration expenditures, and may elect to satisfy any portion of the required exploration expenditures in cash. Apogee will act as operator on the Property during the option period. Upon exercise of the Option, Apogee will hold a 100% interest in the Property, subject to existing underlying royalties consisting of a 2.5% net smelter returns (“NSR”) royalty payable to Summit Royalties Ltd. and a 1.5% NSR royalty payable to a private individual on certain mineral claims comprising the Property.
Historical Mineral Resource Estimate:
The Knife Lake Project hosts a historical NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate with an effective date of June 12, 2019, prepared for Trident's predecessor company, Rockridge, by Moose Mountain Technical Services Inc. under the direction of Sue Bird, P.Eng., an independent qualified person. The estimate is documented in the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimation for the Knife Lake Property, Saskatchewan" (Kenwood, Bird & Meintjes), dated September 27, 2019, and filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under Rockridge's issuer profile. At a 0.4% CuEq cut-off, the estimate comprises an Indicated resource of 3.836 million tonnes grading 1.02% CuEq (0.83% Cu, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.097 g/t Au, 82.0 ppm Co and 1,740.7 ppm Zn) and an Inferred resource of 7.902 million tonnes grading 0.67% CuEq (0.53% Cu, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.084 g/t Au, 53.1 ppm Co and 1,454.9 ppm Zn), corresponding to approximately 86 Mlbs and 117 Mlbs of contained copper equivalent, respectively. Copper equivalent grades were calculated using 2019 metal price and recovery assumptions and a net smelter return cut-off of approximately C$30 per tonne; these assumptions do not reflect current metal prices, contained-metal figures are reported on a 100% basis, and mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
A separate, non-NI 43-101 compliant historical geological resource of 20.3 million tonnes grading 0.60% Cu, 0.10 g/t Au, 3.0 g/t Ag, 0.06% Co and 0.11% Zn — together with an open-pittable historical geological resource of 11.0 million tonnes grading 0.75% Cu — was reported by Leader Mining International Inc. in 1998 and is described in the Technical Report as a historical estimate.
Apogee acquired its interest in the Project after the 2019 estimate was prepared, and accordingly both estimates are historical estimates for the purposes of NI 43-101. The Qualified Persons have not done sufficient work to classify either historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and the Company is not treating either as a current mineral resource. To advance the 2019 historical estimate to a current mineral resource estimate, the Qualified Persons have recommended verification of the historical drill hole database, twinning of representative drill holes, confirmation sampling of any accessible core, and updated resource modelling incorporating the 2021 and 2022 infill drilling. Readers are cautioned that the 2019–2022 drill core stored on the Property was destroyed in a forest fire and is no longer available for re-sampling. The Company is not aware of any more recent mineral resource estimate for the Property and considers the historical estimates relevant and reliable as an indication of the exploration potential of the Project, although historical information may not be representative of expected results.
The Technical Report also incorporates results from the 2021 and 2022 diamond drilling programs. The 2021 program comprised 12 holes totalling 2,043 metres across the Gilbert Lake area and the main Knife Lake Deposit; the two deposit holes correlated closely with modelled VTEM conductor plates, with the stronger hole (KF21021) returning 14.02 metres grading 1.95% Cu, 7.41 g/t Ag, 0.11 g/t Au, 0.53% Zn and 0.02% Co. The 2022 program comprised six holes totalling 939 metres, including four infill holes at the deposit, all of which intersected significant copper mineralization — highlighted by hole KF22030 (15.90 metres grading 1.93% Cu, 0.26 g/t Au, 7.50 g/t Ag, 0.17% Zn and 0.02% Co from 13.80 metres, including 9.00 metres of 2.18% Cu) and hole KF22029 (15.75 metres grading 1.91% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au, 7.79 g/t Ag, 0.30% Zn and 0.01% Co from 13.00 metres, including 0.75 metres of 3.80% Cu). The Qualified Persons note these results support the continuity of mineralization and indicate that additional drilling may expand the historical resource. Reported intervals are drilled core lengths and true thicknesses are undetermined.
Qualified Person:
The scientific and technical information contained on this page has been reviewed and approved by John Shmyr, P.Geo., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a registered member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. Mr. Shmyr is a “Qualified Person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.