Harfang Resumes Its Summer Field Program in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Québec


MONTREAL, July 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harfang Exploration Inc. (“Harfang” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: HAR) is pleased to announce its field crew began exploration work on its Lemare lithium property in the central part of Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Québec (Figure 1). The property is located to the southeast of the Whabouchi lithium deposit and is accessible by the Route du Nord. With recent lithium discoveries, new advances in already existing resources and the Québec strategy on Critical and Strategic Minerals (CSM), this region has taken centre stage for lithium exploration in Canada.

Commented Ian Campbell, President and CEO, “We are pleased to report that the recent restrictions imposed by the Québec government as a result of the regional forest fire situation have been lifted in most of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region and our field crew has been mobilized to resume the exploration program. This program is a “boots on the ground” approach including both a prospecting and geological evaluation. Access to our properties in the northwest of the region (Lake Menarik, Serpent-Radisson, Ewart, Sakami, Taiga, La Passe and Menarik East) is not yet authorized, but we are hopeful this situation will be resolved in the near future. We wish to acknowledge the continuing efforts to suppress forest fires and express our gratitude to those involved for their hard work under difficult conditions.”

Lithium Exploration Program

Harfang intends to conduct a first-phase surface exploration program (prospecting, mapping, rock sampling) on its assets favourable for the discovery of spodumene bearing pegmatites. This program includes prospecting on the Serpent-Radisson, La Passe, Lemare, Ewart, Sakami, Ross and Conviac claims. The main objective of this program is to find Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Pegmatite (“LCT Pegmatite”) warranting more advanced exploration, including drilling.

The Company acquired Lemare claims by map designation as a result of geological assessment combined with a statistical processing of more than 13,400 analyses of lake bottom sediments extracted from the Québec government digital database (SIGÉOM) (see news releases dated on January 19 and February 8, 2023). Ewart, Sakami, Conviac and Ross claims were staked following the same evaluation.

The Lemare Property consists of 269 claims located approximately 22 kilometres southeast of the Whabouchi lithium deposit owned by Nemaska Lithium (“Nemaska”). Nemaska recently signed a long-term agreement with the Ford Motor Company for the supply of lithium products, including lithium hydroxide, as North American automakers race to secure supplies of battery materials to meet the electric vehicle output. The Lemare Property contains several strong calculated lake bottom sediment lithium residual anomalies of which four are ≥99.5th percentile of the entire SIGÉOM database (Figure 2). Some of these anomalies form a tight cluster in an area dominated by granite and pegmatite of the Opatica Subprovince.

Once the restrictions are lifted in the northwestern part of Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Harfang will resume its exploration program on its gold and lithium projects in this region.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release was prepared and approved by François Huot, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration of Harfang, who is a non-independent qualified person for the technical disclosure as defined by the National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI43-101”).

About Harfang Exploration Inc.

Harfang Exploration Inc. is well financed with approximately $6.7 M in the treasury as of April 30, 2023 and is a technically driven mineral exploration company with the primary mission to discover ore deposits in Québec and Ontario. The Company is managed by an experienced team of industry professionals with a proven track record of success, controls a portfolio of highly prospective projects and has a strong financial position. Harfang is dedicated to best practices through engagement with all stakeholders and commitment to the environment.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and for further information, please contact:

Ian Campbell
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 647-680-3820
Email: icampbell@harfangexploration.com
Web: www.harfangexploration.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management’s view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although Harfang believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, Harfang disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.