TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 0570V
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
12 April 2021
Click on or paste the following link into your website browser
to view the associated PDF document (including maps and images):
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0570V_1-2021-4-11.pdf
Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Clogau-St David's Gold Mine Update
Phase 2 Surface Drilling Commences
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to announce
that the second phase of the Company's surface drilling programme
at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine ("Clogau" or the "Mine") has
commenced. This phase of drilling will target what Alba believes to
be the westerly, 550-metre extension to the Clogau Main Lode, the
source of most of the historic gold production at the Mine.
Key Points
-- Underground drilling programme completed in October 2020
intersected what Alba believes to be the westerly, 550-metre
extension of the Clogau Main Lode, source of most historic
production at Clogau-St David's Gold Mine.
-- Phase 2 surface drilling programme designed to confirm
continuity of Main Lode extension. If confirmed, this will become a
primary zone for underground development and extraction.
-- Phase 2 drilling will also seek to intersect projected depth
extensions of certain historically worked lodes, namely
Grandfathers Lode and the 7-10 Lode.
Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:
"The Main Lode has provided most of the historic gold production
at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine, so finding a continuation of
the Main Lode which has never previously been exploited would
constitute the most important discovery at the Mine in many
decades. With that major objective in mind, we are excited to get
this next phase of our surface drilling programme underway."
Details
The second phase of the surface drilling programme at the
Clogau-St David's Gold Mine will consist of an 8-10 hole programme
for around 2,000 metres. This phase of drilling will target the
Main Lode extension indicated by the underground drilling last year
(see Figure 1 in the PDF version of this RNS). In that underground
drilling, drill holes L002 and L003 both intersected what is
believed to be the westerly extension of the Clogau Main Lode - see
the red dotted line in Figure 1 (as aforesaid). Drill hole L002
returned significant gold assays of 1.16m at 0.653 g/t, including
0.25m at 1.79 g/t.
The Main Lode is the source of most historic gold production at
Clogau-St David's and comprises a network of anastomosing veins
over a width of up to two metres. The geological observations of
the mined Main Lode and the morphology of the vein quartz in the
borehole intercepts suggest a correlation between the two bodies.
Further drill intercepts will either prove this relationship or
indicate that another, separate vein system has been intersected.
In either case, the Company believes this to be a potentially very
significant new discovery.
The Phase 2 surface drilling will also seek to intersect the
projected depth extensions of certain historically worked lodes,
namely Grandfathers Lode and the 7-10 Lode (Figures 1 and 3 in the
PDF version of this RNS), thereby testing the continuation of
mineralisation at depth and identifying currently undeveloped
resource potential. Underground drill hole L011 was aimed at the
depth extension of the 7-10 Lode. The 7-10 Lode is a parallel vein
structure to the Main Lode, lying some 30-40m to the south of the
Main Lode. Drillhole L011 intersected the 7-10 Lode as projected,
at a depth of 5.9 metres below the stoped-out reef.
Figure 2 in the PDF version of this RNS shows the indicative
trajectory of planned surface drill hole JW002, which aims to
intersect mineralisation in both the Main Lode and
7-10/Grandfathers Lode extensions.
Once this further phase of surface drilling targeting the Main
Lode extension has been completed, infill drilling will be
undertaken from underground.
Update on Other Activities at Clogau
Phase 1 surface drilling: assaying of drill core
The drill core from the Company's completed Phase 1 surface
drilling programme is currently with an accredited laboratory for
assaying.
Pilot processing plant
The processing of the underground bulk sample collected in
October 2020 is in progress at the Company's pilot processing
plant. Processing timelines have been longer than the Company had
anticipated, due to various factors including the need to fine-tune
aspects of the process circuit over time.
This first bulk sample was taken from previously worked areas of
the Mine, and as such the Company is not anticipating high-grade
results from this initial processing exercise. The Company is
therefore much more focused at this stage on using this first bulk
sample as test material for the refining of the processing plant so
that it is fully optimised to maximise gold recoveries before the
Company's processing team proceed to process the further bulk
samples which will be taken during the course of this year. As
those further bulk samples are expected to be taken from new,
unworked veins, where the prospects for high-grade mineralization
are expected to be much greater, it is critical that gold
recoveries in the processing circuit are maximised before those
further bulk samples are processed.
So far, about 15 tonnes of material from the existing bulk
sample have been processed. The Company has recently taken steps to
increase manpower at the plant and anticipates completing the
processing of the current bulk sample sometime in May, after which
the concentrates produced will be sent to an accredited laboratory
for assaying.
Pitting of historic waste tip
An update on the status of the Company's proposed pitting of the
historic waste tip at Clogau will be provided to shareholders by a
separate RNS.
Dewatering of Llechfraith Shaft
The Company is awaiting the decision of Natural Resources Wales
("NRW") on its application for a water discharge permit to enable
Alba to commence the dewatering exercise at the Llechfraith Shaft,
another one of the key gold targets identified by Alba during the
course of the Phase 1 surface drilling programme at Clogau (see our
RNS of 12 March 2021). The Company is not able to give an
indication at this stage of the likely timing of NRW's
determination.
All activities and timelines in this announcement are subject to
the timely receipt of regulatory and other third-party consents and
to the timely availability of contractors, plant and equipment.
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.
Glossary
7-10 Lode: The 7-10 Lode is a parallel vein structure to the
Main Lode, lying some 30-40m to the south of the Main Lode. The
whole of the Llechfraith Level is developed on the 7-10 Lode.
Anastomosing: Anastomosis refers to a network of irregularly
branching and reconnecting veins of ore.
Borehole or
drillhole: A hole drilled into bedrock using a diamond-coated bit to return core samples.
Grandfathers: Grandfathers or Grandfathers Lode is a pay-shoot within the 7-10 Lode.
Jack Williams: The Jack Williams Stope is the most westerly mined portion of the Main Lode.
Igneous Sill: A bedding-parallel, sheet-like unit of hard igneous rock.
Infill Drilling: A series of boreholes designed to spatially
constrain and sample a target structure.
Intercept: A section of core in which a target lithology,
structure or significant assay result has been identified.
Main Lode: The main quartz vein structure along which the
majority of historic mining took place at Clogau-St David's. The
Main Lode was mined from the Jack Williams Stope for approximately
300m eastwards to the Bryntirion Fault, on the other side of which
it was mined over a strike of at least 150m at the St David's
Mine.
Mineralisation: Any single mineral or combination of minerals
occurring in a mass, or deposit, of economic interest. The term is
intended to cover all forms in which mineralisation might occur,
whether by class of deposit, mode of occurrence, genesis or
composition.
Pay-shoot: An area within a quartz vein where gold has been
concentrated into a high-grade zone.
Quartz vein: A sheet-like body consisting predominantly of the
mineral quartz, which is known to host gold mineralisation in the
Dolgellau Gold Belt.
Reef: Another term for a quartz vein or lode.
Stope: A mined-out area along a lode structure from which ore has been extracted.
Stoped-out: Mined-out in a stope.
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.
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
uncertainties also exist in connection with the ongoing Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic which may result in further lockdown measures
and restrictions being imposed by Governments and other competent
regulatory bodies and agencies from time to time in response to the
pandemic, which measures and restrictions may prevent or inhibit
the Company from executing its work activities according to the
timelines set out in this announcement or indeed from executing its
work activities at all. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may
also affect the Company's ability to execute its work activities
due to personnel and contractors testing positive for COVID-19 or
otherwise being required to self-isolate from time to time.
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.
For further information, please contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3950 0725
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
James Caithie / Liam Murray +44 20 7213 0880
ETX Capital (Broker)
Thomas Smith +44 20 7392 1494
Alba's Project and Investment Portfolio
Project (commodity) Location Ownership
Mining Projects
Amitsoq (graphite) Greenland 90%
----------- ----------
Clogau (gold) Wales 90%
----------- ----------
Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
----------- ----------
Inglefield (copper, cobalt,
gold) Greenland 100%
----------- ----------
Limerick (zinc-lead) Ireland 100%
----------- ----------
Melville Bay (iron ore) Greenland 51%
----------- ----------
TBS (ilmenite) Greenland 100%
----------- ----------
Oil & Gas Investments
Brockham (oil) England 5%
----------- ----------
Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
----------- ----------
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
DRLBXGDSCDBDGBB
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 12, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Alba Mineral Resources (LSE:ALBA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Alba Mineral Resources (LSE:ALBA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
