Bold Ventures Discovers Rare Earth Element System at Burchell Project
Press Release
Toronto, Ontario, June 3, 2026 – Bold Ventures Inc. (BOL: TSX.V) (the “Company” or “Bold”) is pleased to announce the discovery of a rare earth element (REE) system in the northwest corner of its Burchell Project (the “Project” or the “Property”), located 100 km west of Thunder Bay in the Western Shebandowan Greenstone Belt (WSGB). The discovery was made during the March 2026 Phase II diamond drilling program at Burchell.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Hole BL-26-05A returned a mineralized interval averaging 1022 ppm (0.1%) Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) over 55.2 meters, within syenite intruded by carbonate veining.
- 29% of the TREOs are composed of the Magnet Rare Earth Oxides (MREOs), which include Nd, Pr, Dy & Tb, essential to EV, clean energy, aerospace and defense applications.
- The mineralized interval spans the entire drillhole from 55.8 to 111 m, extending beyond 55.8 meters of sand and gravel overburden, and therefore the mineralization is open at depth and in all directions.
- The mineralized interval is associated with REE pathfinder elements Sr, Ba, Ca and P, which are characteristic of fertile alkaline-carbonatite systems.
- Results indicate a chemically evolved system capable of concentrating rare earth elements.
- The geological entity hosting the mineralization, the Hermia Pluton, occupies a 6 km stretch in the northern part of the Burchell Property, indicating an expansive, previously unrecognized REE exploration potential on the Property.
Bruce MacLachlan, President and COO of Bold Ventures, stated: “The discovery of rare earth element mineralization was unexpected but very welcome, and bolsters the critical metal potential of the Burchell Property. The wide anomalous intercept in conjunction with geochemical pathfinders suggests a system rather than an isolated anomaly. This model has never been explored on the Property, and there is lots of room to do so along the 6-km portion of the Hermia Pluton on our ground. The discovery is especially significant in a time when governments are recognizing the importance of secure supply chains and procurement of critical metals for defense and high-tech applications.”
March 2026 Burchell NW Corner Drill Program: Initial Results, Discovery of REE System
The March 2026 Burchell NW Corner Drill Program involved the completion of 6 drillholes in the northwest corner of the Property where the Moss Gold Trend from the adjacent Moss Project owned by Gold X2 Mining Inc. is inferred to pass through. The 6 drillholes totalled 834.5 meters. Results from holes BL-26-05A and BL-26-06A, including significant REE results from hole BL-25-05A, have now been received from the laboratory and are described below, and results from holes BL-26-07, BL-26-08, BL-26-09, and BL-26-10 are pending. See Table 1 for drillhole statistics and Figure 1 for locations of drillholes relative to claim boundaries and topographical features.
Table 1: Burchell Phase II drillhole statistics
*hole attempted previously with lighter drill which could not penetrate overburden.
**same as hole BL-26-05A.
BL-26-05A
Hole BL-26-05A was drilled to test an MMITM gold-in-soil anomaly along the inferred contact of the Hermia pluton, which occupies a magnetic high domain distinct from the felsic to intermediate metavolcanics to the north (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: March 2026 Burchell Northwest Corner Drillholes
This hole has discovered a rare-earth element (REE)-bearing alkaline-carbonatite system hosted within syenite and associated with carbonate veining. The 55.2-meter mineralized interval returned a weighted average grade of 1,022 ppm TREO, and spans the entire drillhole following 55.8 meters of sandy, gravelly overburden down to 111 m, indicating that the mineralization is open at depth and in all directions. This mineralized interval is characterized by elevated concentrations of key REE pathfinder elements, averaging 3,244 ppm Sr, 2,287 ppm Ba, 14.7% CaO, and 0.89% P2O5 over the interval. This geochemical assemblage is considered characteristic of fertile alkaline-carbonatite REE systems and supports the interpretation that the Company has intersected a significant REE-bearing mineralizing environment.
From a geological perspective, this association is highly encouraging because it is characteristic of fertile alkaline-carbonatite systems, which host many of the world’s major hard-rock REE deposits. The elevated calcium content reflects strong carbonate enrichment and supports the presence of carbonatitic or carbonatite-related hydrothermal processes. Strontium values exceeding 3,000 ppm are particularly significant and commonly associated with carbonatite magmatism and REE-bearing carbonate systems. Elevated barium suggests the involvement of evolved magmatic-hydrothermal fluids capable of concentrating incompatible elements, including REEs. Finally, the anomalous phosphorus content may indicate the presence of REE-bearing phosphate minerals such as monazite and apatite.
The results indicate the presence of a chemically evolved system capable of concentrating rare-earth elements and provide compelling targets for follow-up exploration to identify higher-grade mineralized zones within the broader Hermia Pluton intrusive complex. This pluton occupies a 6 km stretch in the northern part of the Property, indicating expansive, previously unrecognized REE exploration potential on the Property.
Furthermore, the TREOs intersected in the 55.2-meter interval are composed of 29% Magnet Rare Earth Oxides (MREOs), including Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb, which are essential to EV, clean energy, aerospace, and defense applications. A breakdown of results is included in Table 2 below:
Table 2: Rare Earth Elements and Pathfinder Elements in Hole BL-26-05A
TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxides) is calculated by multiplying the elemental concentration of each REE by its specific stoichiometric conversion factor and summing the concentrations of the corresponding oxides. The conversion factors used are: La2O3 (1.1728), CeO2 (1.2284), Pr6O11 (1.2082), Nd2O3 (1.1664), Sm2O3 (1.1596), Eu2O3 (1.1579), Gd2O3 (1.1526), Tb4O7 (1.1762), Dy2O3 (1.1477), Ho2O3 (1.1455), Er2O3 (1.1435), Tm2O3 (1.1421), Yb2O3 (1.1387), Lu2O3 (1.1371), and Y2O3 (1.2699). LREO stands for Light Rare Earth Oxides, the sum of the oxide equivalents of Ce, La, Nd, Pr & Sm, and HREO stands for Heavy Rare Earth Oxides, the sum of the oxide equivalents of Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, & Y. True widths of mineralization are unknown at this time.
Hole BL-26-06A
This hole intersected a package of variably altered intermediate volcanics which returned no significant results.
Importance of Rare Earth Elements
Rare Earth Elements are critical to modern manufacturing processes across a wide range of sectors including electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive and defense. The largest and most important use of REEs is in the production of permanent magnets (NdFeB magnets), which require the ‘magnet rare earths’ Nd, Pr, Dy & Tb and accounted for 48% of the global demand for REEs in 2024. Canada is not yet a producer of REEs but holds some of the largest known rare earth resources globally, estimated at over 15 million tonnes of rare earth oxide in 2024. China is the world’s largest producer of REEs, accounting for 69% of global production in 2024. Establishing a secure and sustainable REE supply for industrial and defense applications has been an increasing concern for governments worldwide, including Canada’s federal and provincial governments. Ontario’s Ford government recently released its ‘Framework for the Ontario Defence Industrial Strategy’ document at the CANSEC 2026 defense & security trade show in Ottawa, in which Northern Ontario was mentioned as being part of an industrial cluster through the mining of critical minerals used in the defense and high-tech manufacturing. See the article below from Northern Ontario Business.
For more general information on REEs and Canada’s position in the global market, see the link below to Natural Resources Canada.
For a more in-depth review of REE usage, recovery, geopolitical significance, and global supply chain challenges, see the link below to an article from Mining, Metals and Metallurgy.
QAQC Protocols
Core samples were cut by diamond saw under supervision of the QP, placed in sealed bags, and driven to AGAT Laboratories in Thunder Bay, an ISO / IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. Blank and standard certified reference material were inserted into the sample sequence at a rate of 4% each, with an additional 4% of samples designated for duplicate analysis of the sample reject. All samples were analyzed using AGAT methods 202-551, a 50g fire assay with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy finish for Au analysis, and 201-378, a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-OES and ICP-MS finish, for 58 trace elements including most REEs.
Acknowledgements
The Company is pleased to acknowledge the contributions of consultant Ike A. Osmani, MSc., P.Geo, of FGC Inc., to this news release, having provided valuable insight and background information on alkaline-carbonatite systems, especially in the context of the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt where he has extensive work experience spanning decades.
The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Coleman Robertson, B.Sc., P. Geo., the Company’s V.P. Exploration and a qualified person (QP) for the purposes of NI 43-101.
Bold Ventures management believes our suite of Battery, Critical and Precious Metals exploration projects are an ideal combination of exploration potential meeting future demand. Our target commodities are comprised of: Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd) and Chromium (Cr). The Critical Metals list and a description of the Provincial and Federal electrification plans are posted on the Bold website here.
About Bold Ventures Inc.
The Company explores for Precious, Battery and Critical Metals in Canada. Bold is exploring properties located in active gold and battery metals camps in the Thunder Bay and Wawa regions of Ontario. Bold also holds significant assets located within and around the emerging multi-metals district dubbed the Ring of Fire region, located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.
For additional information about Bold Ventures and our projects please visit boldventuresinc.com or contact us at 416-864-1456 or email us at info@boldventuresinc.com.
| Bruce MacLachlan President and COO Direct line: (705) 266-0847 Email: bruce@boldventuresinc.com |
David Graham CEO |
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