Cornish Metals Inc. (
TSX-V/AIM:
CUSN) (“Cornish Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to
provide an update on progress at the South Crofty Tin Project
(“South Crofty” or the “Project”), located in Cornwall, SW England.
Background
- Tin is a
Critical Mineral as defined by the UK, USA, and Canadian
governments, but there is no primary tin production in Europe or
North America. Cornwall is one of the world’s major past producing
tin provinces;
- The
Company is targeting production in 2026, coinciding with projected
deficits in tin supply;
-
Responsible sourcing of critical minerals and security of supply
are key factors in the energy transition and technology
growth;
- South
Crofty is an historic, high-grade, underground tin mine that
operated since the sixteenth century until its closure in 1998, and
benefits from the presence of multiple shafts that can be used for
future operations;
- It is the
4th highest grade tin resource globally, with a Mineral Resource
grade of 1.6% tin (equivalent to 4.4% copper at current metals
prices). The other three tin projects; Bisie in DRC, San Rafel in
Peru, and Renison Bell in Tasmania (similar grade to South Crofty),
are all producing underground tin mines;
- The
Project possesses Underground Planning Permission (mine permit)
valid to 2071, full Surface Planning Permission to construct a mine
water treatment plant, new processing facilities, all necessary
site infrastructure, and an Environmental Permit to dewater the
mine;
- The
Company completed a £40.5 million funding in May 2022, the use of
proceeds for which are to construct the mine water treatment plant,
dewater the mine, and complete a Feasibility Study;
- South
Crofty benefits from strong local community and regional and
national government support. (Photo 1). The Project could generate
250 – 300 direct jobs.
This update reports on all these aspects of the
South Crofty Tin Project.
Richard Williams, CEO of Cornish
Metals, stated; “We have made very good progress over the
last eight months, building an experienced and highly motivated
team at South Crofty. The Company remains on track to commission
the mine water treatment plant in June this year, with the
objective of commencing full scale dewatering operations in July.
Construction costs for the mine water treatment plant remain in
line with previous guidance of £6.5m to £7.0m. In addition to the
mine dewatering programme, ongoing metallurgical, feasibility study
and exploration work will provide news flow for Cornish Metals
through 2023.”
Mine Water Treatment Plant
The mine water treatment plant (“MWTP”) is
designed to treat 25,000m3 of mine water per day. At this rate,
mine dewatering is estimated to take 18 months, through to the end
of 2024. Figure 1 shows a 3D schematic view of the MWTP. Treated
mine water will be discharged into the Red River via the Dolcoath
Deep Adit. Since South Crofty closed in 1998, untreated mine water
has directly entered the river, so dewatering the mine and treating
the water will have a positive effect on the Red River water
quality.
The concrete foundation pad for the MWTP was
completed in November 2022, and the first reaction tanks were
installed in December 2022. The plant comprises nine reaction tanks
(all now installed) for increasing and decreasing the pH to
precipitate the various metals in solution, and six inclined plate
settlers (lamella clarifiers) to remove the precipitated solids,
four of which are currently installed with completion expected in
early March. (Photo 2, photo 3 and photo 4).
Installation of the structural steel supports
and walkways, surrounding and providing access to the MWTP, is
scheduled to commence this week, with completion by the end of
March. The pipelines carrying water from the submersible pumps in
New Cook’s Kitchen shaft to the MWTP are substantially complete and
modifications have been made to the headframe to allow the
installation of the suspended pumps and pipes.
The mechanical, electrical and instrumentation
equipment will commence installation in April along with reagent
storage, make-up and dosing equipment, which are being supplied as
complete packages from specialist manufacturers. Wet commissioning
is expected to commence at the end of May with completion due in
June 2023.
Metallurgical Drill
Programme
As part of the ongoing feasibility study, the
Company has retained the services of Mr. Mike Hallewell, the former
Mill Superintendent and Chief Metallurgist at South Crofty and
Wheal Jane, to assist in the collection of a representative
metallurgical sample and advise on the following studies:
- Metallurgical
flowsheet design and optimisation work being conducted by Wardell
Armstrong International;
- Paste backfill
studies being conducted by Paterson & Cooke; and
- XRT ore sorting
testwork being undertaken by TOMRA.
Five main lodes / mineralised areas within the
Mineral Resource were selected for metallurgical work, namely the
North Pool Zone, No. 4 Lode, No. 8 Lode, Roskear B/D Lode, and
Dolcoath North Lode (see Figure 2), which contain the majority of
the mineralised material anticipated to be processed during the
first six years of operation. The Company has three
drill rigs operating currently, two drilling the North Pool Zone
from surface, and one underground drill rig targeting Dolcoath
North from the Tuckingmill Decline. (Photo 5)
All mineralised sample material required from
No. 4 Lode, No. 8 Lode, and Roskear B/D Lode has been collected and
initial metallurgical studies have commenced. North Pool Zone
drilling and sampling is expected to be completed by the end of
March and all of the requisite metallurgical studies, except for
Dolcoath North, are expected to be completed by the end of 2023 for
inclusion in the feasibility study.
The metallurgical drill holes have encountered,
highly encouraging tin mineralisation down dip of existing workings
(Photo 6). Representative samples from each mineralized zone have
been collected for assay, results of which will be released when
received.
Feasibility Study
In addition to the metallurgical work, the
feasibility study continues to advance with the following
activities:
- Fairport
Engineering has been engaged to design the process plant and
estimate capital and operating costs. The first phase is a concept
study based on the design of the plant that operated up to 1998,
with a second full-feasibility level phase later in the year as the
metallurgical testwork program yields results;
- A geotechnical
site investigation for the process plant has been completed by AGS
Ground Solutions;
- MiningOne has
been engaged to conduct numerical modelling and ground control
studies for underground mining method and stope designs; and
- Entec has been
engaged to provide a study on the refurbishment, re-equipping and
operation of New Cooks Kitchen shaft, the principal shaft for
future operations.
Exploration
Following the recently announced discovery of
high-grade tin mineralisation in the Wide Formation (see news
release dated January 10, 2023), the geology team is planning a
follow up drill programme to better define the geometry (i.e.
strike and dip) of the Wide Formation. This programme is expected
to commence in June 2023, as soon as the metallurgical drill
programme is completed.
ABOUT CORNISH METALS
Cornish Metals is a dual-listed company (AIM and
TSX-V : CUSN) focused on advancing the South Crofty high-grade,
underground tin project through to delivery of a Feasibility Study,
as well as exploring its additional mineral rights, all located in
Cornwall, South West England. The former producing South Crofty tin
mine is located beneath the towns of Pool and Camborne, and closed
in 1998 following over 400 years of continuous production. Since
acquiring the project in 2016, Cornish Metals has completed and
published maiden NI 43-101 Mineral Resources for South Crofty using
the vast archive of historical production data and more recent
drilling completed between 2007 and 2013. Additionally, Cornish
Metals has undertaken extensive pilot-scale water treatment trials
and successfully applied for and received the necessary
environmental permits to abstract, treat and discharge mine water
in order to dewater the mine. Planning permissions for the
operation of the mine and re-development of the surface facilities
have been secured and construction of the water treatment plant is
currently well underway. The dewatering pumps, variable speed
drives and new high-voltage power supply have been delivered to
site and dewatering of the mine is expected to commence in June /
July 2023.
An updated Mineral Resource was completed in
June 2021 as summarised below:
South Crofty Summary (JORC 2012) Mineral Resource
Estimate |
Area |
Classification |
Mass (‘000 tonnes) |
Grade |
Contained Tin / Tin Equivalent (‘000 tonnes) |
Increase in contained Tin / Tin equivalent from 2016
MRE |
Lower Mine |
Indicated |
2,084 |
1.59% Sn |
33 |
10.2% |
Inferred |
1,937 |
1.67% Sn |
32 |
129.8% |
|
Upper Mine |
Indicated |
277 |
1.01% SnEq |
3 |
9.5% |
Inferred |
493 |
0.93% SnEq |
5 |
8.0% |
The Mineral Resource Estimate for South Crofty
(see news release dated June 9, 2021), is available in a report
titled the “South Crofty Tin Project Mineral Resource Update”,
dated June 7, 2021, authored by Mr. N. Szebor, CGeol (London),
EuroGeol, FGS, of AMC Consultants (UK) Ltd, can be accessed on the
Company’s SEDAR page.
The technical information in this news release
has been compiled by Mr. Owen Mihalop who has reviewed and takes
responsibility for the data and geological interpretation. Mr. Owen
Mihalop (MCSM, BSc (Hons), MSc, FGS, MIMMM, CEng) is Chief
Operating Officer for Cornish Metals Inc. and has sufficient
experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of
deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is
undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined under the
JORC Code (2012) and as a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr.
Mihalop consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the
matters based on his information in the form and context in which
it appears.
For additional information please contact:
In North America:
Irene Dorsman at (604) 200 6664 or by e-mail at
irene@cornishmetals.com
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker) |
Tel: |
+44 203 470 0470 |
|
Richard Morrison |
|
|
Charlie Bouverat |
|
|
Grant Barker |
|
|
|
|
Hannam & Partners(Joint
Broker) |
Tel: |
+44 207 907 8500 |
|
Matthew Hasson |
|
|
Andrew Chubb |
|
|
Ernest Bell |
|
|
|
|
BlytheRay(Financial PR/IR-London) |
Tel: |
+44 207 138 3204 |
|
Tim Blythe |
tim.blythe@blytheray.com |
|
Megan Ray |
megan.ray@blytheray.com |
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
“Richard D. Williams”Richard D. Williams,
P.Geo
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
The information contained within this
announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Caution regarding forward looking
statements
This news release contains "forward-looking
statements". Forward-looking statements, while based on
management's best estimates and assumptions at the time such
statements are made, are subject to risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including
but not limited to: risks related to receipt of regulatory
approvals, risks related to general economic and market conditions;
risks related to the COVID-19 global pandemic and any variants of
COVID-19 which may arise; risks related to the availability of
financing; the timing and content of upcoming work programmes;
actual results of proposed exploration activities; possible
variations in Mineral Resources or grade; outcome of the current
Feasibility Study; projected dates to commence mining operations;
failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated;
accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations
on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry;
changes in national and local government regulation of mining
operations, tax rules and regulations.
Although Cornish Metals has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Cornish Metals undertakes
no obligation or responsibility to update forward-looking
statements, except as required by law.
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