Solar Metals Co. Launches Drilling Program, IP Survey in BC

First Tellurium Corp. (FTEL:CSE; FSTTF:OTCQB) announced that it is launching a new drilling program and induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey at its Deer Horn property in British Columbia.

Drilling will focus on the Pond zone copper-porphyry target, with the objective of helping to locate the main mineral zone in the subsurface.

The company will use this information and work from the previous two years to formulate a much larger drilling program next year.

"Our prospecting, mapping, and sampling over the past two years has given us an extensive base of information to support the drilling and IP survey," President and Chief Executive Officer Tyrone Docherty said. "What we have learned is that both the copper-gold porphyry target and gold-silver-tellurium vein system extend much farther than we first understood. Even more important is the discovery last month that the two mineralized systems are connected, supporting the premise that the property could support a large copper-gold porphyry across ground that has never been explored."

Last month, Technical Analyst Clive Maund named First Tellurium as a part of his 8 Stocks that are Rated Immediate Buys list.

For the IP survey, First Tellurium has hired Dias Geophysical of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It's following up on successful rock and channel sampling in 2022 and and mapping and rock sampling from this summer.

All of this extended the copper-gold porphyry target to 5 kilometers, including a possible 1.1-kilometer extension of an existing 2.4-kilometer gold-silver-tellurium vein system that now extends 3.5 kilometers.

Deer Horn is known to have the only positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for a tellurium project in North America and was named a world-class project by solar panel maker First Solar Inc. (FSLR:NYSE)

In addition, the company's Klondike tellurium project in Colorado is considered America's top tellurium exploration project and was previously owned by First Solar as a potential source of raw tellurium for its solar panels.

Last month, Technical Analyst Clive Maund named First Tellurium as a part of his 8 Stocks that are Rated Immediate Buys list.

"First Tellurium has been bumping along the bottom in recent months with heavy buying late in May and again late last month, that drove the Accumulation line sharply higher, suggesting that it is readying to advance," Maund wrote. "Longer-term charts show big support in the (CA$0.10) area, from which it has repeatedly rallied, underpinning the price, and with it still only at 12 cents, it looks like a Strong Speculative Buy here. Even if it only makes it up to the top of the trading range of the past 18 months, it will double from here."

The Catalyst: 8 Times Less Abundant Than Gold

Tellurium is one of the least common elements on Earth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Most rocks contain an average of about three parts per billion, making them eight times less abundant than gold.

However, its use as a semiconductor in solar photovoltaic (solar PV) panels has increased, making it indispensable for the green energy revolution. It is also used in thermoelectric applications, lithium batteries, vulcanizing rubber, tinting glass, and manufacturing rewritable CDs and DVDs.

The solar market is expected to triple in size over the next five years, bringing the total installed solar capacity to 378 GW by 2028

The U.S. solar industry had its best first quarter in history this year, installing 6.1 gigawatts (GW), according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie.

The solar market is expected to triple in size over the next five years, bringing the total installed solar capacity to 378 GW by 2028, the report said.

The market for tellurium is expected to grow by about 60 metric tons from 2020 to 2024, according to research by Technavio.

"Factors such as increasing urban population, rise in disposable income, strong supply chain, and high internet penetration are driving the growth of the global consumer electronics market," the research firm said in a release. "The increase in demand for consumer electronics will, in turn, drive the demand for tellurium over the forecast period." 

Co. Announces Private Placement

The company also announced a non-brokered private placement to raise up to CA$600,000 through the sale of up to 5 million flow-through shares at CA$0.12 and up to CA$400,000 through the sale of up to 4 million units at CA$0.10. Each unit will consist of one non-flow-through common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at CA$0.15 per share for a period of two years.

Docherty said he would participate by purchasing 1 million flow-through shares for gross proceeds of CA$120,000.

"I continue to be a major investor and big believer in the future of the Deer Horn property, especially with the results of the past two years," said Mr. Docherty. "We've kept this financing deliberately small, believing that the upcoming drilling and IP will allow us to conduct subsequent financings on better terms."

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, 11% of First Tellurium is owned by management and insiders.

Docherty owns 10.6% or 7.7 million shares, Director Josef Anthony Steve Fogarassy has 1.38% or 1 million shares, and Director Lyle Allen Schwabe has 0.73% or 0.53 million shares. There are no institutional investors, and the rest is retail.

The company has a market cap of CA$9.53 million, with about 73 million shares outstanding and 63.4 million free-floating. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.245 and CA$0.10.

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Important Disclosures:

1. First Tellurium Corp. has a consulting relationship with an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, and pays a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of First Tellurium Corp.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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