TIDMPREM
RNS Number : 2456X
Premier African Minerals Limited
20 February 2017
Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM /
Sector: Mining
For immediate release
20 February 2017
Premier African Minerals Limited
("Premier" or the "Company")
Significant Lithium Grades up to 3.3% Lithium - Zulu Lithium
Project.
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM), the London quoted
mining exploration and production company, is pleased to report
further assay results from shallow drilling from its high grade
Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu"). The drilling programme
was designed to drill test for the extensive lithium mineralisation
over the known 3.5 km strike length of this deposit.
Highlights:
-- Exceptionally high grade lithium encountered at Zulu with
Drill-hole ZDD-3 returning grades up to 3.3% Li(2) O between 25.14
meters and 54.15 meters down hole, including 4.3 meters from 40.15
meters grading 2.16% Li(2) O
-- Host rock mineralised up to 0.9% Li(2) O and not previously described at Zulu has potential to substantially increase overall tonnage
-- Drill-hole ZDD-15 returned lithium mineralisation from 73.61
meters to 79.23 meters with grades up to 2.06% Li(2) O
-- Final Tantalum grades are still awaited
-- Drill rig has not been demobilised from site and a new
drilling programme has commenced with the aim of increasing the
size of further defining the ore body
Premier also advises that it has immediately commenced a new
drilling programme at Zulu with the rig currently on site. This new
programme is designed to further increase the ultimate size of Zulu
as much as our level of confidence and further define the ore
body.
All drill samples from the last extensive drill programme are
now at or in transit to the laboratory in South Africa and the
Company expects to receive most of the results during the coming
month. Further significant results will be reported when they
become available on the basis that they may be seen as material
information to the shareholders and these will be reported in a
timely manner.
George Roach, Premier's CEO, commented:
"We continue to be highly encouraged by the grades in these
recently received assays. The Company is expecting to receive a lot
of final assays over the coming weeks and we are also looking
forward to understanding the ultimate potential of the tantalum at
Zulu and publishing Zulu's maiden resource statement. At the same
time, the previously unreported mineralisation evident extensively
in host rocks has the potential to substantially increase the
overall tonnages at Zulu. Assays conducted on host rock return
values of up to 0.9% Li O.
"We have also elected to retain the drillers on site and, as a
direct result of these excellent lithium intersections, to
immediately re-commence drilling to increase the level of
confidence and further define the ore body as we develop a maiden
resource statement.
"Frustrating as the delays in getting assay results back from
the laboratories may be, we will continue to publish significant
results as they become available and those results will form the
basis of our maiden resource statement."
Lithium Results:
Premier reports results from two of if its latest drill holes at
the Zulu Lithium Project, ZDD-3 and ZDD-15, and reports the
following significant lithium intersections (externally analysed by
SGS South Africa) in the table below:
DDH From To Mineralised Li(2) Notes
Number (metres) (metres) Length O
(metres) (%)
(*)
--------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ------ ------------------
Including 4.31
metres @ 2.16%
Li(2) O (From
ZDD-3 25.14 54.15 15.63 1.54% 40.15 metres)
--------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ------ ------------------
And
--------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ------ ------------------
Including (1.97
metres @ 2.04%
Li(2) 0 (from
ZDD-15 73.61 79.23 5.6 1.46% 74.62 metres)
--------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ------ ------------------
(*) drilled widths
About the Zulu Lithium Project:
Zulu is located 80km east of Bulawayo and easily accessible by
road. The project comprises 14 claims covering a surface area of
3.5km(2). Zulu is generally regarded as potentially the largest
undeveloped lithium bearing pegmatite in Zimbabwe. The project was
first pegged in 1955 and intensely explored until the early 1960s.
Minor petalite production was reported for 1961 and 1962. The
pegmatite bodies intruded along serpentine and sedimentary rocks
over a strike length of several kilometres. The width varies
between 10 and 25 meters. The bigger pegmatites to the north of the
Machakwe River are rich in spodumene and lepidolite, the smaller
pegmatites south of the Machakwe River are rich in petalite. The
pegmatite bodies strike N20deg and dip between 70deg - 90deg to the
west. Parts of the pegmatites are rich in tantalite-(Mn).
Qualified Person:
Wolfgang Hampel, Exploration Manager of Premier African Minerals
Limited, has reviewed and approved this release to the extent that
reference is made to the Zulu tenements. Mr Hampel has 26 years'
experience in the African, American, European and Asian exploration
and mining industry and holds a Diploma in Economic Geology
(Dipl.-Geol.) from the Technical University of Munich. He is a
registered European Geologist (EurGeol). ndeg 1261 with the
European Federation of Geologists.
Enquiries:
Premier African Tel: +44 (0)7734
Fuad Sillem Minerals Limited 922074
------------------------ --------------------------- -----------------
Michael Cornish Beaumont Cornish Tel: +44 (0)
/ Roland Cornish Limited 207 628 3396
(Nominated Adviser)
------------------------ --------------------------- -----------------
Jerry Keen/Edward Shore Capital Stockbrokers Tel: +44 (0)
Mansfield Limited 207 408 4090
------------------------ --------------------------- -----------------
Beaufort Securities Tel: +44 (0)
Jon Belliss Limited 207 7382 8300
------------------------ --------------------------- -----------------
Charles Goodwin/Harriet
Jackson Yellow Jersey PR Tel: +44 (0)
/Dominic Barretto Limited 7544 275 882
------------------------ --------------------------- -----------------
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a
multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company
focused in Southern and Western Africa with production started at
its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include
tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in
Zimbabwe and Benin, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term
production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company
recently acquired a 52% controlling stake in Mozambique-based TCT
Industrias Florestais Limitada, which owns a substantial limestone
deposit and forestry business located on rail in the Sofala
Province of Mozambique. In addition, The Company holds 2 million
shares in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the
Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a
world class asset. At present those shares are valued at US$4
million based on the latest price at which Circum has accepted
subscriptions. Premier also has a 4.5% interest in Casa Mining
Limited, a privately-owned exploration company that has a 71.25%
interest in the 1.2 million ounce inferred resource Akyanga gold
deposit in the DRC.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to
be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are
identi ed by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe"
"could" "should" "envisage" "estimate" "intend" "may" "plan" "will"
or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions
including references to assumptions. These forward looking
statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the
Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the
Company's future growth results of operations performance future
capital and other expenditures (including the amount. nature and
sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business
prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements re ect
the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on
information currently available to the Directors. A number of
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
results discussed in the forward looking statements including risks
associated with vulnerability to general economic and business
conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes
actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital
markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses
and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the
Company. Although any forward looking statements contained in this
announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be
reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that
actual results will be consistent with such forward looking
statements.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Glossary of Technical Terms
"Li(2) O" means Lithium oxide
"lepidolite" is the mineral name for lithium bearing mica KLi(2)
Al(Si(4) O(10) )(F,OH)(2) an important ore of lithium
"pegmatite" is an exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rock,
with interlocking crystals, usually found as irregular dikes,
lenses, or veins, esp. at the margins of granitic intrusions
"petalite" is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate
LiAl(Si(4) O(10) ) an important ore of lithium
"spodumene" is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate
LiAlSi(2) O(6) an important ore of lithium.
"tantalite" a mostly dark grey to black mineral, manganese
bearing varieties are called manganotantalite or tantalite-(Mn); a
major tantalum ore.
ENDS
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
DRLLLFITFLIALID
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2017 02:01 ET (07:01 GMT)