Metals Co. Expands Into Geological Hydrogen Sector With Department of Energy Grant

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Granite Creek Copper Ltd. (GCX:TSX.V; GCXXF:OTCQB) is mid-acquisition of two projects that are prospective for a clean energy source, geologic hydrogen. In collaboration with Cornell University under a grant from the US Department of Energy, the company is studying the occurrences and the best way to extract it, a news release noted.

"We have begun putting the pieces in place, both in terms of projects and global expertise, to position ourselves among the select few first movers in this important new space," President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Johnson said in the release.

Geologic hydrogen is a naturally occurring hydrogen gas found beneath the earth's surface, trapped in geological formations. Also called white, gold, or natural hydrogen, this gas is thought to be produced by high-temperature reactions between water and iron-rich rocks or by radioactive elements in rocks splitting water, CNBC explained.

Granite Creek Copper acquired, via staking, the Union Bay platinum group metals-nickel project, consisting of 20 unpatented claims located on southeastern Alaska's Cleveland Peninsula, 35 miles northwest of Ketchikan. This mining junior also signed a letter of intent to acquire a second project in the northern state. In addition to geologic hydrogen, both projects are also prospective for carbon sequestration and critical minerals.

Under the guidance of Dr. Greeshma Gadikota, an associate professor who directs the Sustainable Energy and Resource Recovery Group at Cornell University in New York, Granite Creek will investigate ways to stimulate geologic hydrogen production, specifically in ultramafic resources in Alaska. "Stimulated geological hydrogen leverages catalysts found naturally in the ground to speed up Earth's ability to naturally produce hydrogen," explained Medical Tech News. The Cornell team recently was awarded an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to study domestic geologic hydrogen.

Gadikota said in the release, "Stimulated geologic hydrogen can decarbonize the supply chain of fuels and can play a major role in the energy transition. We see the potential for multi-use approach to these types of projects including critical metal recovery, durable carbon storage and geologic hydrogen production."

The collaboration with Cornell is Granite Creek's second partnership in this regard. Last month the metals explorer joined forces with New England Research Inc. in Vermont to study the potential to produce geologic hydrogen at Granite Creek's Star project in British Columbia (B.C.), Streetwise Reports noted. This 2,500-hectare property is underlain by ultramafic rocks that are prospective for copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum group metals (PGMs), and gold.

At the end of October, Johnson and Gadikota gave presentations at the Geologic Hydrogen Workshop 2024 in Fairbanks, Ala., at which overall topics included research on geologic hydrogen and Alaska's geological hydrogen potential. Along with international experts on geologic hydrogen and Alaska geology, representatives from private industry, Alaska Native organizations, governmental regulatory and resource management agencies, and legislators participated.

Primary Focus is Critical Minerals

While Granite Creek Copper is investigating the potential to expand its area of focus beyond critical metals exploration and development in North America to include geologic hydrogen, it concurrently is advancing its flagship Carmacks polymetallic project in Canada's Yukon Territory. 

In the Minto Copper District, Carmacks is a 177-square-kilometer property on trend with the past-producing, high-grade Minto mine. Carmacks' current NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate is 36,200,000 tons of 1.07% copper equivalent, consisting of copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum, in the Measured & Indicated category and 38,000,000 pounds of copper in the Inferred category.  

"Granite Creek Copper Ltd. continues to work towards its near-term objective of expanding the Carmacks copper project resource to a billion pounds of copper equivalent," wrote the Couloir Capital Research Team in a July research report.

The summer drill program there comprised 1,800 meters of diamond drilling focused on high-potential targets, including the Gap and Sour Toe areas, within one kilometer of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA)-outlined pits. Metallurgical test results earlier this year showed improved oxide recoveries that could materially increase the project's net present value; thus, the company plans to update the 2023 PEA. As it stands now, the report Carmacks has a CA$321 million (CA$321M) pre-tax net present value discounted at 5% and a 36% internal rate of return.

Couloir Capital highlighted in its report that exploration upside at Carmacks plus higher metals prices present "a significant opportunity to enhance shareholder value."

Granite Creek also owns the LS molybdenum project, in a region in B.C. with a long mining history. Historical operations there include the Endako molybdenum and the Huckleberry copper-molybdenum mines. Historical studies on LS include a 2008 resource estimate and a 2007 PEA.

Geologic Hydrogen: Emerging Energy Sector

Geologic hydrogen, which is carbon-free, is an emerging energy sector, though it was first discovered in Mali, West Africa, in 1987.

"A previously overlooked, potential geologic source of energy could increase the renewability and lower the carbon footprint of our nation's energy portfolio: natural hydrogen," noted an article by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) communications department.

The earth's interior could contain as much as 5,000,000,000,000 metric tons of geologic hydrogen, Geoffrey Ellis, research geologist with the USGS's Energy Resources Program, told CNBC. Most of it is likely too deep or too far offshore to be recovered economically, however, a few percent of geologic hydrogen could be enough to meet forecasted global hydrogen demand for 200 years.

"The potential is there, but we've got to do the work," Ellis said.

He believes the amount of hydrogen in the earth's interior could potentially constitute a primary energy resource, he told USGS.

"The key is to understand if hydrogen exists in significant accumulations that can be economically accessed and, if so, how to find these resources," added Ellis.

As such, the new sector is focused on two primary objectives. One is exploring and developing geologic hydrogen sources. The other is developing the technology to recover it. For geologic hydrogen in rock-trapped reservoirs, drilling into them, as is done to extract oil and gas, is one method, according to the USGS. Directly tapping the iron-rich rocks may be possible if they are shallow and sufficiently fractured. A third method involves pumping water or other fluids into the rocks to stimulate production.

Catalysts on the Horizon

Later this month, on Nov. 21 and 22, Granite Creek CEO Johnson and Cornell's Gadikota plan to make a presentation at the RE+ CHARGE H2 conference in Seattle, Wash., noted the news release. At the event, private industry, government and research stakeholders will discuss the key issues affecting the growth and development of emerging hydrogen hubs in the U.S.

News about Granite Creek's two in-progress Alaska project acquisitions could catalyze the company's share price.

Also, an updated Carmacks PEA would be a "value-accretive catalyst, signaling to the market that the company's intrinsic valuation is due for a step change," Couloir Capital wrote. The research team further explained, "The metallurgical tests encouraged us, and we now see an incentive for Granite Creek Copper to update its current PEA. The updated PEA will provide a clear pathway to advancing the project to feasibility and production."

Couloir Capital has a Buy recommendation and a fair value price on Granite Creek reflecting a potential return of 633%.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, insiders own 6.29% of Granite Creek Copper, including the CEO Johnson with 2.56%. The next top two, both directors, are Robert Sennott with 2.01% and Michael Rowley with 1.37%.

The company does not have any institutional investors. Retail investors own the remaining 93.71%.

Granite Creek has 198.27 million shares outstanding and 185.79 million free-float traded shares. The company's market cap is CA$3.97 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.02 to CA$0.06 per share.