TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 5375A
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
26 September 2022
26 September 2022
Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Investee Company Update
Drilling at Amitsoq More Than Doubles Deposit Footprint
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to note the
announcement today by its portfolio company, GreenRoc Mining Plc
("GreenRoc") (AIM: GROC). Alba holds a 54% majority interest in
GreenRoc.
GreenRoc's announcement today reports on the successful
completion of Phase 2 drilling at the Amitsoq Graphite Project in
southern Greenland. All drill holes have returned mineable widths
of high-grade graphite ore resulting in a more than doubling of the
drilled extent of the deposit footprint.
Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:
"The Amitsoq Graphite Project goes from strength to strength.
This has been a very strong drilling campaign at the Amitsoq Island
deposit and our expectation is that it will translate into a
substantial increase in the overall tonnage of the deposit once the
independent resource assessment work has been completed.
"Confirmation of the significant scale of the deposit, allied to
its exceptionally high grade and amenability to the production of
the high purity graphite which is needed in the EV sector, puts
GreenRoc in a strong position as it moves Amitsoq forward into the
development phase. "
The announcement is set out below without material changes.
GreenRoc Mining plc
("GreenRoc" or the "Company")
Amitsoq Graphite Update
Successful Phase 2 drilling more than doubles deposit
footprint
GreenRoc Mining Plc (AIM: GROC), is pleased to confirm the
completion of its Phase 2 drilling programme at the Amitsoq
Graphite Project in southern Greenland ("Amitsoq" or the
"Project"), one of the highest-grade graphite deposits in the
world. All holes have returned mineable widths of high-grade
graphite ore and more than double the drilled extent of the deposit
footprint, which is expected to support a significant upgrade in
the Project's resource tonnage.
Highlights
-- Drilling was completed on 17 September 2022, with 19 holes drilled for a total of 2,844m.
-- All holes reached target depths and intersected significant
graphite layers, extending the deposit to the west by about 100m
and to the northwest and the north by about 150m in horizontal
directions, more than doubling the deposit footprint, which
continues to remain open.
o Lower Graphite Layer ("LGL") shows mineable thicknesses
greater than 2.0m in all 19 holes with true thickness (where
present) varying between 2.50m and 20.69m.
o Upper Graphite Layer ("UGL") shows mineable thicknesses
greater than 2.0m in eight holes with true thickness varying
between 2.72m and 7.99m.
-- The LGL appears to form the main orebody of the deposit with
surface outcrops suggesting a potential continuation of significant
LGL thicknesses for several hundred meters towards the north.
-- Exceptionally high grades of up to 23.01% graphitic carbon
(C(g)) in the LGL and up to 19.83% C(g) in the UGL were returned
from Phase 1 and visual inspection of drill core suggest that Phase
2 intersections are similar in ore grade.
-- Results are expected to support a significant upgrade in the
Project's resource tonnage, with analytical results expected Q4
2022.
-- Despite extensive drilling, the deposit remains open towards
the north, west and southwest, giving an indication of the
significant resource potential.
The Company will hold an Investor Call and Presentation Update
at 12:00pm BST on 28 September 2022 with GreenRoc CEO, Stefan
Bernstein.
Stefan Bernstein, GreenRoc's CEO, commented : "Amitsoq continues
to prove to be an exceptional graphite deposit. These drilling
results have surpassed our expectations that were based on last
year's already successful drilling programme and give me much
excitement for the development potential ahead. The graphite layers
show better continuity and greater thicknesses than we could have
hoped for; to achieve true graphite layer thickness of up to 20.69m
and consistent LGL thicknesses of more than 14m is a fantastic
outcome and coupled with the graphite orebodies being open in three
directions holds promise that we are truly developing a world-class
graphite deposit at Amitsoq.
"It is particularly encouraging that the LGL is showing these
extraordinary thicknesses as intersections from 2021 drilling
returned grades of between 21.72% and 23.01% graphitic carbon,
underpinning Amitsoq as one of the very highest graphite deposits
in the world. Accordingly, alongside a world-class grade, today's
result suggests we have the tonnage potential to support a
significant new mining opportunity.
"Adding to this, the general quality of the rock core, whether
actual graphite ore, hangingwall, or footwall, is very high - with
only a low amount of fracturing, pointing to uncomplicated mining
operations in stable rock. This can indeed be appreciated when
entering the old mine workings, which are intact despite the 100
years that have passed by. Our focus now is to deliver a
significant upgrade in the Project's resource tonnage and to
progress to development status. We have completed 2nd year
environmental baseline work and are now pushing ahead with our
EIA/SIA work in the expectation that the revised resource
assessment to come will be sufficient to underpin feasibility
studies in support of a substantial mining operation at Amitsoq. We
look forward to sharing further detail in due course."
Details
Phase 2 drilling commenced on 2 July 2022 at the Amitsoq Island
graphite deposit with the aim of testing the extension of the known
graphite layers and forming the basis for an updated and higher
category resource determination to build on the Maiden JORC
Resource of 8.28Mt at 19.75% Graphitic Carbon ("C(g)"), reported on
8 March 2022.
The layout of the collars (Figure 1) was designed to test the
extension of the known graphite layers, their thicknesses and the
graphite grades. The layers can broadly be described in terms of an
upper graphite layer and a lower graphite layer, of which the LGL
in some holes display a set of sublayers (Table 1 and Figure
1).
The drilling shows thicknesses of the UGL to be between 2.72m
and 7.99m and the LGL to be between 2.50m and 20.69m (with a
cut-off layer thickness of 2.0m). Combined with Phase 1 drilling in
2021 (reported on 3 December 2021), the results of this second
phase drilling shows that the UGL is a coherent, well-defined ore
body underlying most of the southwestern part of the island and
open towards the south and towards the west, which appears to peter
out towards the north. The LGL is present in all drill holes from
both years (except at drill collar A from 2021, where projection
shows the vertical hole AM_DD_013A stopped ca 10m short of the
LGL). The thickest part of the LGL from the 2021 drilling was
15.60m and this is exceeded by this year's drilling with five holes
intersecting the LGL with true thicknesses of 17.01m (AM_DD_024),
18.36m (AM_DD_038), 19.44m (AM_DD_025), 19.85m (AM_DD_037) and
20.69m (AM_DD_035), see Table 1 and Figure 5.
Table 1: Drilling results of Phase 2 drilling based on visual
logging of drill core for intersections with graphite-rich layers.
Not shown in Table 1 are several intersections of subordinate LGL
layers with true thicknesses varying between a few centimetres and
1.97m. Similarly, intersections of the UGL with true thicknesses
less than 2.0m have also been omitted from Table 1.
The thickness variations for the LGL recorded by the two
drilling campaigns suggest that there is a small area underlying
collars E and F near the old mine site at the SE coast of the
island, where thicknesses are between 2.50m and 6m. The rest of the
LGL, stretching to the west, north and northeast gradually
increases in thickness from ca 12m directly beneath collars H
(AM_DD_017A) and I (AM_DD_020) to several more than 15m thickness
in holes drilled from collars B (included in results reported on
December 3(rd) , 2021), J and C2. This thicker portion of the LGL
is open to the north and northwest. Graphite ore is intermittently
exposed further towards the northeast from the northernmost
drilling site C2 sites (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Drill layout at Amitsoq, showing Phase 1 collars
(2021) in blue with projection of drill holes in orange and Phase 2
collars (2022, reported here) in red with projection of drill holes
in green. Each collar also has a vertical drill hole. Also traced
are outcropping graphite layers (in brown). There are 200m between
the UTM coordinate lines.
These exposures and their association with distinct breaks in
slope, indicate potential continuation of significant thicknesses
of the LGL for several hundred meters towards the north. The LGL
thus forms the main orebody of the deposit with mineable
thicknesses across an area that measures more than 400m from hole
AM_DD_019 (Pad H) in the south to AM_DD_025 (collar J) in the
north. In the down-dip direction of the LGL it measures up to 360m
(Figure 4).
In general, the quality of the drilled rock is very good, so it
is not unusual to have entire 3m long core-barrel filled with core
in one piece - even within the graphite ore.
Figure 2: View of 3D-model showing Upper Graphite Layer (UGL) in
orange and Lower Graphite Layer (LGL) in red, based on
interpolation of 2021 and 2022 drilling intersections as well as
surface expressions.
Figure 3: View of 3D model from the NNW, demonstrating the
continuity of the LGL and also the vastly expanded extents of the
graphite layers compared to what was known from drilling in
2021.
Figure 4: View of 3D model to the NE (see locations of drill
collars J and B in Figure 1). Extent of UGL and LGL as known by
2021 drilling are shown in light orange and red colours and 2022
drilling results show a more than tripling of the extent of the LGL
with thicknesses generally in the order of 15m. For LGL, the red
and grey surfaces give the upper and lower contacts, respectively.
Note that UGL intersected at Pad J generally are less than the
mineable ore width set here at 2.0m.
Figure 5: Drill core from AM_DD_038 showing part of the
intersections of LGL1 of 3.30m (3.10m true thickness) and LGL2 of
19.55m (18.36m true thickness). Note the abrupt shift in colours
from the light grey gneiss forming the wall rocks to the black
graphite-rich ore.
Graphite ore from Amitsoq was tested by ProGraphite GmbH in 2021
to show that the ore can be upgraded to a minimum 95% purity by
simple flotation and with further alkaline purification can attain
purity higher than the 99.95% required by the battery anode
industry. Current test work on material derived from LGL drilling
in 2022 with ProGraphite GmbH is ongoing to assess suitability for
spherical graphite production. High purity spherical graphite is
the main material for anodes in Lithium battery production for
electric vehicles.
The ongoing work programme at Amitsoq also included a small bulk
sample (ca 700kg) of material from the LGL, extracted from inside
the historic mine workings (Figure 6). This sample will provide the
basis for further test work to determine best processing techniques
and develop and characterise saleable products from the future
production of graphite from Amitsoq. Alongside this, the 2nd year
environmental baseline work has been completed and work is ongoing
on the EIA/SIA, in the expectation that the revised resource
assessment to come will be sufficient to underpin feasibility
studies in support of a substantial mining operation at
Amitsoq.
Figure 6: Collection of bulk sample from lower graphite layer as
exposed in the former graphite mine using a diamond blade saw to
cut sampling channels.
TBS update
With regard to the drilling results from the Company's Thule
Black Sands Ilmenite Project, which were anticipated to be
available in August 2022, these have been delayed due to a request
for additional analytical work. An upper screening of 1.0mm was
initially employed, excluding significant mass of potentially
ilmenite-bearing material. This coarser material (larger than 1mm)
is currently being reanalysed for more robust resource calculation.
The Company hopes to receive the results of this reanalysis by the
end of November 2022 in order to have a resource calculation before
the year-end.
Investor Call and Presentation
GreenRoc CEO, Stefan Bernstein, will give a live presentation
via the Investor Meet Company ("IMC") platform at 12:00pm BST on 28
September 2022, covering the Company's latest news and future
development plans. Following the presentation, Mr Bernstein will
also answer questions. These can be submitted pre-event via the IMC
dashboard up until 9am on the day before the meeting or at any time
during the live presentation.
The presentation is open to all existing and potential
shareholders. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for
free and add to meet GreenRoc Mining Plc via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/greenroc-mining-plc/register-investor
Investors who already follow GreenRoc on the Investor Meet
Company platform will automatically be invited.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company
are responsible for the release of this announcement.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating
to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results
that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market
and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the
regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political
jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration,
uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting
rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of
regulatory and other third party consents and approvals,
uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of
unexpected events.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to Exploration
Results has been reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member
of SACNASP (Reg. No. 400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society
and Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. He has a
B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years' experience.
Mark Austin has sufficient experience that is relevant to the
style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and
to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person
as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration targets, Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the JORC Code. The JORC
code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned with
CRIRSCO. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of
the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which they appear.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit
www.albamineralresources.com or contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3950 0725
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)
Andrew Emmott +44 20 3368 3555
OvalX (Broker)
Thomas Smith +44 20 7392 1494
St Brides Partners (Financial PR)
Isabel de Salis / Catherine Leftley alba@stbridespartners.co.uk
Alba's Projects and Investments
Mining Projects Operated by Location Ownership
Alba
Clogau (gold) Wales 100%
---------- ---------
Dolgellau Gold Exploration
(gold) Wales 100%
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Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
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Limerick (zinc-lead) Ireland 100%
---------- ---------
Investments Held by Alba Location Ownership
---------- ---------
GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining) Greenland 54%
---------- ---------
Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
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