TIDMIRR
RNS Number : 0715C
IronRidge Resources Limited
17 January 2018
17 January 2018
Lithium Portfolio Expanded in Ghana, West Africa
Spodumene Dominant Mineralogy Confirmed at Ewoyaa Lithium
Prospect, Ghana
IronRidge Resources Limited (AIM: IRR, 'IronRidge' or the
'Company') is pleased to announce the acquisition of an additional,
highly prospective lithium pegmatite tenure adjacent to its
exciting Ewoyaa prospect, within the broader Cape Coast Lithium
Project area in Ghana, West Africa.
The Company has entered into conditional and binding terms with
Joy Transporters Ltd ("Joy Transporters"), a wholly owned local
Ghanaian company, providing the Company with exclusive rights to
the granted Saltpond exploration license and Cape Coast
application.
Concurrently the Company has submitted an exploration license
application through its wholly owned Ghanaian subsidiary, Green
Metals Resources Ltd (IRR 100%), along the interpreted southern
extension of the Ewoyaa prospect.
In addition, comprehensive preliminary mineralogical studies
completed on a suite of surface samples from the Ewoyaa prospect
have confirmed spodumene as the dominant lithium bearing phase with
a simple process flow-sheet envisioned.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ø Conditional and binding terms signed with local Ghanaian
company Joy Transporters to secure an additional 318km(2) of highly
prospective, hard-rock lithium pegmatite tenure within the
Company's Cape Coast Lithium Project area.
Ø Application submitted through the Company's 100% owned
Ghanaian subsidiary (Green Metals Resources Ltd) covering 13km(2)
and potential southern extensions of the Ewoyaa prospect.
Ø Combined land package now provides the Company with access to
over 645km(2) of highly prospective granted and under application
lithium pegmatite tenure, including the Company's advanced Ewoyaa
and Abonku prospects, and re-discovered historic (non-JORC
compliant) Egyasimanku Hill lithium deposit of 1.48Mt @ 1.66% Li(2)
0.
Ø Prospective Li pegmatite swarm interpreted to extend from the
Ewoyaa and Abonku prospects into the newly acquired tenure further
supported by high-priority geophysical targets along the edge of
the recently completed helicopter radiometrics-magnetics survey
area.
Ø Ewoyaa prospect characterised by simple, spodumene dominant
mineralogy with minor accessory Li phases and very low
contaminants;a simple process flow-sheet envisaged.
Ø Ongoing definition pitting and mapping continue to support the
Company's geological model prior to commencement of planned
drilling at the Ewoyaa prospect.
Ø Ideal infrastructure support; projects located within 90km of
the operating Takoradi deep-sea port, within 100km of the capital
Accra and adjacent to the sealed bitumen Takoradi - Accra highway
and high-power transmission line.
Ø Highly supportive government; long mining history, strong
diversification drive and pro renewable and stored energy space
initiatives.
Reference to figures and tables relate to the PDF version of
this release visible in PDF format by clicking the link below:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0715C_-2018-1-17.pdf
Commenting on the Company's latest progress, Vincent Mascolo,
Chief Executive Officer of IronRidge, said:
"Enhancing and consolidating the Company's ground position along
the Cape Coast Lithium project corridor is an integral step in the
Company's strategy of building a lithium project pipeline in
Ghana.
"We are very pleased to have secured a partnership with Joy
Transporters and we look forward to working alongside them and our
other Ghanaian partners to advance the Cape Coast project. Joy
Transporters comprises a highly professional and experienced team
with a proven track record in mining and stevedore logistics, which
bodes well for the future development of our Cape Coast
portfolio.
"Additionally, comprehensive preliminary mineralogical studies
at the Ewoyaa prospect have confirmed spodumene as the dominant
lithium phase, providing confidence for a simple process
flow-sheet.
"We will continue with definition pitting at the Ewoyaa
prospect, ahead of planned drilling. We look forward to providing
shareholders with an update as more news and results become
available.
Lithium Portfolio Expanded
The Company has secured exclusive exploration rights, subject to
completion of successful due diligence, to the Saltpond exploration
license and Cape Coast application covering a combined 318km(2)
surface area of highly prospective geology adjacent to the Ewoyaa
lithium prospect.
Ongoing mapping and sampling across the portfolio, coupled with
the recently acquired helicopter borne radiometrics and magnetics
geophysical survey (released via RNS on 9 November 2017) identified
the recently acquired areas as highly prospective for additional
lithium pegmatite bodies.
The Company entered into an exclusive, binding agreement with
Joy Transporters Ltd; a wholly owned Ghanaian company and the
registered license holder of the Saltpond license and Cape Coast
application.
Concurrently, the Company submitted its own mineral exploration
license application through its 100% owned Ghanaian subsidiary,
Green Metals Resources Ltd, covering potential southern extensions
of the Ewoyaa prospect.
The combined Cape Coast portfolio now covers approximately
645km(2) of granted and under application tenure over highly
prospective hard-rock lithium pegmatite geology, including the
Company's Ewoyaa and Abonku prospects as well as access rights to
the historic (non-JORC compliant) Egyasimanku Hill lithium deposit
(1.48Mt @ 1.66% Li(2) 0).
Project Portfolio
The Company has entered into conditional and binding terms with
Joy Transporters Ltd of Ghana, West Africa, under which IronRidge
can acquire up to 100% of the projects through staged earn in
arrangements and expenditure to Feasibility Study subject to Joy
Transporters retaining a Net Smelter Return ("NSR") of 2.5% of
which 50% may be acquired for US$3 million at any stage.
Completion of the Investment is subject to certain conditions
being met by the Company and Joy Transporters, principally in
relation to the completion of successful due diligence by IronRidge
over the next three months.
Preliminary Mineralogical Studies Return Positive Results
Preliminary mineralogical studies completed by Dr Chris Blake of
Mineralogy Consulting Ltd, including petrography, X-Ray Diffraction
('XRD'), Scanning Electron Microscopy ('SEM') and Dynamic Secondary
Ion Mass Spectrometry ('DSIMS') have been completed on a suite of
surface samples collected over the Ewoyaa prospect.
Results from the preliminary samples confirm spodumene as the
dominant lithium phase with minor accessory beryl,
tantalite-columbite and apatite detected; a simple process
flow-sheet is envisaged.
Project Update
The Company is continuing with definition pitting at the Ewoyaa
and Abonku prospects ahead of the maiden drilling programme,
planned for Q1 2018.
The Company is completing soils and stream sediment sampling
over the Ewoyaa Prospect as an orientation survey over known
mineralisation for the effectiveness of these methods in
highlighting lithium pegmatites in tropical weathering terrains
with thick weathering profiles and dense vegetation.
Pending results, the preferred exploration methodology including
mapping and geophysics will be utilised as a blue print to
fast-track exploration within the Company's Ghana and Ivory Coast
Lithium project portfolio.
The Board is pleased with the progress that the Company has made
in 2017 and looks forward to keeping shareholders updated as
further news becomes available.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
For any further information please contact:
IronRidge Resources Limited
Vincent Mascolo (Chief Tel: +61 7 3303
Executive Officer) 0610
Nicholas Mather (Executive Tel: +61 7 3303
Chairman) 0610
SP Angel Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0)20
LLP 3470 0470
Nominated Adviser and
Broker
Jeff Keating
Charlie Bouverat
Yellow Jersey PR Limited Tel: +44 (0)
Julia Kalcheva 7544 275882
Harriet Jackson
Katie Bairsto
Competent Person Statement:
Information in this report relating to the exploration results
is based on data reviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.),
the Executive Chairman of the Company. Mr Mather is a Member of the
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in excess
of 25 years' experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified
Person under the AIM Rules. Mr Mather consents to the inclusion of
the information in the form and context in which it appears.
Notes to Editors:
IronRidge Resources is an AIM-listed mineral exploration company
with frontier assets in both Australia and West Africa, with two
province scale projects in Gabon, and promising and advanced
titanium and bauxite projects in Queensland, Australia. IronRidge's
corporate strategy is to create and sustain shareholder value
through the discovery of world-class and globally demanded
commodities.
Australia
Monogorilby is prospective for province scale titanium and
bauxite, with an initial maiden resource of 54.9MT of premium DSO
bauxite. Monogorilby is located in central Queensland, within a
short trucking distance of the rail system leading north to the
Port of Bundaberg. It is also located within close proximity of the
active Queensland Rail network heading south towards the Port of
Brisbane.
May Queen is located in Central Queensland within IRR's wholly
owned Monogorilby license package and is highly prospective for
gold. Historic drilling completed during the 1980s intersected
multiple high-grade gold intervals, including 2m @ 73.4 g/t Au
(including 1m at 145g/t), 4m @ 38.8g/t Au (at end of hole) and 3m @
18.9g/t Au, over an approximate 100m strike hosting numerous
parallel vein systems, open to the north-west and south-east.
Wholly owned Quaggy contains highly anomalous platinum,
palladium, nickel, cobalt and copper exploration targets and is
located in Central Queensland, within a short trucking distance of
the dormant rail system to the Port of Bundaberg. It is also
located within close proximity of the active Queensland Rail
network heading south towards the Port of Brisbane.
Gabon
Tchibanga is located in south-western Gabon, in the Nyanga
Province, within 10-60km of the Atlantic coastline. This project
comprises two exploration licenses, Tchibanga and Tchibanga Nord,
which cover a combined area of 3,396km(2) and include over 90km of
prospective lithologies and the historic Mont Pele iron
occurrence.
Belinga Sud is Located in the north east of Gabon in the
Ogooue-Ivindo Province, approximately 400km east of the capital
city of Libreville. IRR's licence lies between the main Belinga
Iron Ore Deposit, believed to be one of the world's largest
untapped reserves of iron ore with an estimated 1bt of iron ore at
a grade >60% Fe, and the route of the Trans Gabonese railway,
which currently carries manganese ore and timber from Franceville
to the Port of Owendo in Libreville.
Chad
The Company entered into an agreement with Tekton Minerals Pte
Ltd of Singapore concerning its portfolio covering 1,000km(2) of
highly prospective gold and other mineral projects in Chad, Central
Africa. IronRidge acquired 100% of Tekton including its projects
and team to advance the Dorothe, Echbara, Am Ouchar, Nabagay and
Ade licenses, which host multiple, large scale gold projects.
Initial trenching results at Dorothe, including 14.12g/t Au over
4m, 34.1g/t over 2m and 63.2g/t over 1m, have defined significant
gold mineralised quartz veining over a confirmed 1km strike at an
average of 2m and up to 5m true width, across multiple stacked vein
zones over a 250m wide zone, with new hard-rock artisanal workings
potentially extending strike to >3km.
Ghana
The Company entered into earn-in arrangements with Obotan
Minerals Limited, Merlink Resources Limited, Barari Developments
Limited and Joy Transporters Limited of Ghana, West Africa,
securing the first access rights to acquire the historical
Egyasimanku Hill spodumene rich lithium resource, estimated to be
in the order of 1.48Mt at 1.67% Li(2) O and surrounding tenements.
The portfolio covers some 645km(2) with a further identified 20km
strike of pegmatite vein swarms. Tenure package is also highly
prospective for tin, tantalum, niobium and gold, which occur as
accessory minerals within the pegmatites and host formations.
Côte d'Ivoire
The Company entered into conditional joint venture arrangements
in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa; securing access rights to highly
prospective gold mineralised structures and pegmatite occurrences
covering a combined 3,110km(2) and 400km(2) area respectively. The
projects are well located within access of an extensive bitumen
road network and along strike from multi-million ounce gold
projects and mines.
Corporate
IronRidge made its AIM debut in February 2015, successfully
securing strategic alliances with three international companies:
Assore Limited of South Africa, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and
DGR Global Limited of Australia. Assore is a high- grade iron,
chrome and manganese mining specialist. Sumitomo Corporation is a
global resources, mining marketing and trading conglomerate. DGR
Global is a project generation and exploration specialist.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
ACQFKODKDBKKADD
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 17, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Atlantic Lithium (LSE:ALL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Atlantic Lithium (LSE:ALL)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024