06:36 AM EDT, 07/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Patriot Battery Metals ( PMETF ) late on Sunday released a maiden mineral resource estimate for caesium at the Rigel and Vega zones of the Shaakichiuwaanaan property in Quebec, confirming that the project hosts the "world's largest" pollucite-hosted caesium pegmatite deposit.

The company declared a maiden caesium zone mineral resource estimate with an indicated resource of 163,000 tonnes at 10% caesium oxide, 1.8% lithium oxide and 646 ppm tantalum pentoxide at the Rigel zone; and an indicated resource of 530,000 tonnes at 2.6% Cs2O, 2.2% Li2O and 172 ppm Ta2O5 and inferred resource of 1.7 million tonnes at 2.4% Cs2O, 1.8% Li2O and 245 ppm Ta2O5 at the Vega zone.

The mineral resource estimate for Rigel and Vega, hosted within the open-pit resource component of the CV13 Pegmatite, has a total contained caesium metal content of 30,500 tonnes Cs2O indicated and 40,800 tonnes Cs2O inferred.

Coincident with the pollucite-hosted caesium at Rigel and Vega is high-grade lithium and tantalum, present in the host minerals spodumene and tantalite, respectively.

The footprint of caesium mineralization at Rigel has been traced over a general area of at least 200 meters by 100 meters. At the Vega Zone, the footprint has been traced over a general area of at least 800 meters by 250 meters.

"To find a pollucite-hosted caesium deposit of this scale and grade is exceptionally rare, with only three deposits globally known to have produced this extremely high-value critical and strategic mineral," said Darren Smith, Patriot executive and vice president of exploration.