Trading
Symbol
AIM:
AYM
3rd
August 2023
Anglesey
Mining plc
(“Anglesey”
or “the Company”)
Parys
Mountain – Exploration and Drilling Update
Anglesey
Mining plc (AIM:AYM), the UK minerals development company, is
pleased to provide an update on progress at the Company’s Parys
Mountain Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au project located on the Isle of
Anglesey.
Highlights
-
Central
Alliance engaged for Proof-of-Concept Study on Muon Tomography at
Parys Mountain
-
Northern
Copper Zone drilling expected to start September 2023
-
Groundwater
studies about to commence as part of the ongoing permitting
process
Jo Battershill, Chief Executive of Anglesey Mining,
commented:
“We
are very excited to announce the proof-of-concept study with
Central Alliance and its muon tomography technique. Historical
drilling across the Parys Mountain project has identified many
zones of interest that have not been followed up on or included
within the current resource estimates and the Morris Shaft provides
an ideal location to test this cutting-edge exploration
tool.”
“With
conventional geophysical methods being increasingly difficult to
employ on the Isle of Anglesey due to impediments such as power
cables, windfarms and roads, the need to develop new technology is
becoming more important.”
“We
believe that the entire Parys Mountain stratigraphy remains highly
prospective, and that existing mineralisation should extend both
along strike and at depth, as seen at many other VMS deposits
around the world. Bringing modern exploration methods to this
project could facilitate and expedite both the discovery of
additional mineralised zones and the development of the current
known resources.”
Summary
The
Company confirms it has engaged the ground engineering technical
services company Central Alliance (“CA”) to conduct
a Proof-of-Concept study (“PoC”) on the use of Muon Tomography as
an exploratory tool to identify new resources and assist with the
delineation of existing zones of mineralisation at Parys Mountain.
Muon Tomography is a technique that measures naturally generated
subatomic particles, called muons, from which it creates an image
of the subsurface through density differentials (further details on
the technique are included in the Appendix to this announcement).
The process is analogous to medical x-ray imaging.
Muon
Tomography has previously been used to deliver accurate spatial
representation of metallic ore bodies and generate extensive
drilling targets over large detection areas, as demonstrated in the
following paper
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1071/ASEG2015ab054. At Parys
Mountain, this process should enable much more focused drilling
programmes and could potentially save drilling costs and
time.
Muon
sensors will be deployed by CA in stages down the 300m deep Morris Shaft at the Parys Mountain
mine, with the acquired muon data subsequently analysed offsite.
The Morris Shaft location will enable CA to conduct an orientation
survey with the known White Rock
and Engine Zone deposits; and potentially identify both new zones
of interest and extensions to these zones.
As part of
the PoC the post-processed muon data set will be interfaced to
Leapfrog geological modelling software to enable a reconciliation
between the current geological model and the density anomaly model
generated from the survey. If the data demonstrates suitability at
Parys Mountain, then it will be utilised in the upcoming NCZ
drilling, which is targeting down to 625m, with a downhole tool variant. The NCZ
currently has a lateral extent of over 1.2km and remains open to
the northeast and at depth, therefore it is interpreted to be a
target-rich environment for additional sulphide
discoveries.
Drilling
In
addition, the proposed Northern Copper Zone (“NCZ”) drilling is
expected to start shortly, with the drill rig scheduled to be
mobilised in the week commencing 11
September 2023. The six-hole programme, for approximately
3,725m of diamond core drilling, has
been designed to increase the resource confidence category for the
upper levels of the NCZ, extend the high-grade Garth Daniel resource estimate and test the
Central Zone, which is not currently in the Parys Mountain resource
estimate.
The six
proposed holes could potentially provide numerous pierce points
across the NCZ, the Garth Daniel Zone and the Central Zone, based
on current interpretations. Following rig mobilisation in
September, the Company expects the programme to be completed over
approximately six months.
Appendix:
Muon Tomography
Central Alliance have been engaged by Anglesey Mining to conduct a
Proof-of-Concept study (PoC) whereby the use of Muon Tomography can
be used to delineate geological boundaries through the modelling of
changes in density as measured through using Muon Tomography. Muon
sensors will be deployed in stages down the 300-metre-deep Morris
Shaft at the Parys Mountain mine, with the acquired muon data then
analysed offsite.
Figure 1 –
Schematic section showing the Morris Shaft, the White Rock / Engine Zone deposits, and the
area to be covered by the proposed Muon Tomography
survey.
Muon Tomography is a technique that exploits naturally generated
subatomic particles, called muons, to create an image of the
subsurface. The process is analogous to medical x-ray imaging,
where the source - the upper atmosphere in the case of muons -
emits particles through a region of interest (ROI) and a higher
fraction of particles are stopped as the density in the ROI
increases. By measuring particle flux changes spatially, density
changes can also be inferred.
Central Alliance’s muon technology is designed and manufactured in
the UK by its industry partner Geoptic. This multi award winning
technology can be applied by deploying either NQ-size borehole or
underground survey sensors. Large areas can be assessed by these
sensors with volumes of over tens of millions of cubic meters
analysed per location.
As part of the PoC, the post processed muon data set will be
interfaced to Leapfrog (a geological modelling tool) to enable a
reconciliation between the current geological model and the density
anomaly model.
Development of the Muon Tomography method has demonstrated its
ability to deliver accurate spatial representation of mineralised
ore bodies and generate extensive drilling targets over large
detection areas. This will potentially enable a much more focused
drilling programme and save drilling costs and time.
Furthermore, a muon study should also enable geologists managing
exploration programs to more confidently disregard certain areas
that do not display any high-density anomalies that would
traditionally be associated with a zone of
mineralisation.
About Anglesey Mining plc
Anglesey
Mining is traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and
currently has 420,093,017 ordinary shares on issue.
Anglesey
is developing its 100% owned Parys Mountain Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au deposit
in North Wales, UK with a reported
resource of 5.3 million tonnes at over 4.0% combined base metals in
the Measured and Indicated categories and 10.8 million tonnes at
over 2.5% combined base metals in the Inferred
category.
Anglesey
also holds an almost 50% interest in the Grängesberg Iron project
in Sweden, together with
management rights and a right of first refusal to increase its
interest to 100%. Anglesey
also holds 12% of Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited, which
through its 52% owned subsidiaries, is engaged in the exploration
and development of direct shipping iron ore deposits in
Labrador and Quebec.
About
Central Alliance
In
March 2018, RSK acquired Central
Alliance, a ground engineering technical services company
headquartered in Wakefield, UK.
The company provides ground investigation, survey and geomatics,
instrumentation and monitoring, specialist Electrokinetic
consultancy and remediation and applied technologies across all
sectors including infrastructure, transportation, mining, energy,
utilities and defence.
Through
its in-house experts and advanced technology such as electrokinetic
geosynthetics, muon tomography, remote instrumentation and remote
sensing capabilities, Central Alliance has been helping
high-profile clients, including Network Rail and National Highways
to deliver major infrastructure projects.
For
further information, please contact:
Anglesey
Mining plc
Jo Battershill, Chief Executive – Tel: +44 (0)7540
366000
John Kearney, Chairman – Tel: +1 416 362 6686
Davy
Nominated
Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker
Brian Garrahy / Daragh O’Reilly – Tel: +353 1 679
6363
WH
Ireland
Joint
Corporate Broker
Katy Mitchell / Harry Ansell
– Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
LEI:
213800X8BO8EK2B4HQ71
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