Pan American Energy Commences the Spring 2024 Field Prospecting and Sampling Program At The Big Mack Lithium Project

The exploration program is part of the collaborative research project with the University of Regina entitled “Geomicrobiology for Detecting Rare Metal Deposits”

CALGARY, Alberta, May 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pan American Energy Corp. (CSE: PNRG | OTCQB: PAANF | FRA: SS60) ("Pan American” or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of the Spring 2024 field prospecting and sampling program at the Big Mack Lithium Project (the “Project” or “Big Mack”), located 80 km north of the town of Kenora, Ontario.

The exploration program is part of the collaborative research project with the University of Regina (“U of R”) entitled “Geomicrobiology for Detecting Rare Metal Deposits”. Eight students specializing in geosciences from the University of Regina (“U of R”) will collect soil microbiology, soil chemistry, rock chemistry, ground water chemistry, soil mineralogy, and vegetation biochemistry samples across the entire Project area. The Company expects to collect upwards of 2,000 total samples from approximately 600 stations (Figure 1) over the course of 6 weeks. Laboratory analyses will be conducted at the Institute for Microbial Systems and Society at the U of R as well as the Saskatchewan Research Council, with the intent of using geomicrobiology to help generate new exploratory drilling targets on the Project

Jason Latkowcer, Chief Executive Officer, commented “as we embark on the Spring 2024 field prospecting and sampling program at Big Mack, we are not only advancing our exploration efforts but also helping to pioneer new frontiers in resource detection. Through our collaboration with the University of Regina, we intend to leverage the cutting-edge technology of geomicrobiology to help unlock the potential of the Big Mack. Our use of this innovative approach, alongside traditional exploration methods, underscores our commitment to strategic and informed decision-making and our efforts to position Pan American at the forefront of sustainable resource development.”

Geomicrobial surveying is an emerging technology that seeks to detect subsurface deposits by identifying and enumerating microbial species in soil samples. Geomicrobiology is intended to complement existing geochemical and geophysical exploration by observing how microbial communities in shallow soil are shaped by the geological formation below. This data can then be used as an additional data layer in drill target selection. At Big Mack, samples will be taken at areas of known mineralization to observe the presence of specific microbial species and the structure of microbial communities. Sampling is planned to begin at the Big Mack Pegmatite and work outwards to other boundaries of the Project, making use of the drilling data generated by the Company in its 2023/2024 drilling program at Big Mack to correlate samples with areas of known mineralization. The intent of the program will be to evaluate relationships between the microbial communities at the Project and the features of the surrounding geology, which can then be integrated into exploration models to inform drill target selection.