Vortex Energy announced that the diamond core drilling has now commenced at its Robinsons River Salt Project located near Stephenville, Newfoundland & Labrador. The drilling program is being conducted by Major Drilling Group International under the support of the company’s consultant partner, RESPEC Consulting. The company is fully permitted to drill two core wells at the project.

The two core wells that will be drilled are located at the East and West salt structures of the project, which were identified during the H₂ storage capacity assessment. The objective of the drill program is to drill at the two confirmed core wells to confirm the depth of the salt structures and attain the geological properties of the salt and non-salt rocks at the project.

Project Highlights:

• Based on available geological information, the East Salt Structure can potentially hold an estimated amount of (1) 550,000 tons of H₂ in more than 35 caverns, based on conservative estimates and up to (2) 900,000 tons of H₂ in more than 53 caverns, using optimistic estimates.
• Based on the available geological information, the West Salt Structure can potentially hold an estimated amount of (1) 250,000 tons of H₂ in more than 25 caverns, based on conservative estimates and up to (2) 350,000 tons of H₂ in more than 43 caverns, using optimistic estimates.
• Using conservative estimates, the H₂ storage capacity assessment for the East Salt Structure estimates that the total volume of the East Structure salt cavern field is more than 70 MM m³.
• Using conservative estimates, the H₂ storage capacity assessment for the West Salt Structure estimates that the total volume of the West Structure salt cavern field is more than 50 MM m³.
• The property is adjacent to Atlas Salt’s Great Atlantic Salt Deposit. The salt deposit contains an inferred resource of 908 MMt grading 96.9% NaCl using bulk density of 2.16 g/cm³.

Paul Sparkes, Chief Executive Officer said, “We are thrilled to announce the commencement of our drilling program. Getting to this point has involved extensive planning and effort from our team and partners. We envision the Robinsons River Salt Project as a key driver of economic growth in the region, and we eagerly anticipate collaborating with the local community. I would also like to extend my best wishes for a safe and successful program to our invaluable partners who play a crucial role in making it happen.”