TIDMBRES
RNS Number : 2149V
Blencowe Resources PLC
13 April 2021
Date: 13 April 2021 Blencowe Resources Plc
("Blencowe" or the "Company")
Maiden JORC Mineral Resource delivered at Orom-Cross Project
Blencowe Resources Plc is pleased to announce its maiden JORC
Mineral Resource Estimate at its 100% owned Orom-Cross graphite
project in Uganda:
Highlights
-- JORC Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource for Northern
Syncline deposit of 16.3Mt @ 6.0% Total Graphite Content (4% TGC
cut off), approximately double the targeted 8-10Mt.
-- Includes higher grade zones of 3Mt @ 8.1% TGC (7% TGC cut off).
-- Resources commence from surface to a depth of 30m, where drilling ended in mineralisation.
-- Drill results from higher grade Camp Lode deposit to be added
into a further Orom-Cross JORC Resource statement ahead, further
boosting both tonnes and average grade.
Blencowe's 2020 drilling program focused on a small part of the
estimated 3 billion tonnes graphite deposit at Orom-Cross, with the
objective of identifying a maiden JORC Mineral Resource of around
8-10Mt, being sufficient to provide the basis for an initial 25Kt
per annum mining operation for the first ten years. The maiden JORC
Mineral Resource, which covers only one of the two deposits
drilled, being the Northern Syncline lode, has yielded almost
double the targeted tonnage. These numbers will be further boosted
by inclusion of the previously reported higher grade drilling
results from the Camp Lode deposit to be reported in a further JORC
Mineral Resource update in 2H 2021.
These results, which come from the weathered, close to or at
surface, zone of the deposit, highlight the quality of the
Project's mineralisation and the potential for Orom-Cross to become
a low-cost graphite producer. These resources were identified in an
area adjacent to the proposed plant site, thereby expected to
further boost the project economics of any subsequent
development.
Blencowe will conduct a further geotechnical drilling programme
to commence shortly for inclusion within the Pre-Feasibility Study
(PFS) later this year. At the same time Blencowe will add further
holes on the Camp Lode deposit to enable this higher grade portion
of the deposit to be included in the next upgraded JORC Mineral
Resource, along with some additional drilling in the Northern
Syncline to convert more of the existing Inferred resources into an
Indicated category.
The Company is pleased to report good progress is being made by
globally respected consultants SGS Lakefield with respect to its
metallurgical studies and expects to be in a position to release
the results from this test work towards the end of the current
quarter. These metallurgical studies are a key input into the
upcoming Feasibility Study and also to progress a Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) for the project, for which work is set to
begin imminently and which will be delivered prior to the
Pre-Feasibility Study.
The objective of the metallurgical test work is to fully
understand the quality of the end-product that Orom-Cross can
deliver, as well as the process flow to achieve that. Blencowe
believes Orom-Cross has the potential to deliver a high grade
graphite concentrate which would prove desirable to potential
offtakers and the broader market.
Cameron Pearce, Executive Chairman commented:
"Following our acquisition of the project less than one year ago
I am delighted to announce our maiden JORC Mineral Resource at
Orom-Cross and at a time when the global market for graphite is set
to grow exponentially.
This resource has provided almost double the tonnes we set out
to deliver from just one of the two deposits we explored, being the
Northern Syncline. When coupled with the higher grade Camp Lode
drill results and their expected inclusion in a further resource
update, it will enable Blencowe to either high grade any mining
activities or to increase our production targets.
Additional drilling at Orom-Cross is set to begin shortly as is
work towards delivery of a Preliminary Economic Assessment as a
pre-cursor to the Pre-Feasibility Study. We also look forward to
the results of the met-test work from the SGS Lakeside (Canada)
labs during this quarter.
As we move through exploration into the studies phase Orom-Cross
remains on course to become a significant developer of flake
graphite, which is one of the key input materials into the highly
sought-after lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. With an
active programme of work and news flow ahead we look forward to
continued progress in 2021"
Mineralization Zones
The Orom Graphite Project is located in the Kitgum District in
north-eastern Uganda. The exploration activity identified and named
at least five (5) major graphite mineralised zones within the
project property underpinned by Mining Licence (ML) 1959,
namely:
1. Northern Syncline
2. Camp Lode
3. Central Anticline
4. Synformal Saddle
5. Southern Anomaly
The Phase 5 Resource Delineation Programme aimed at
investigating the near surface, free dig graphite mineralised
material within a portion of the Northern Syncline and Camp Lode
mineralised zones. Therefore, each mineralised zone was divided
into four sub-zones based on the subsurface level of oxidation and
weathering. Field observations and preliminary analyses suggest a
mean global weathering depth of 15m with a range of 9m to 25m in
some instances.
The Graphitic Carbon (GC) grade population within the
investigated mineralised zones indicates that the in situ graphite
grade for the deposit ranges from 0.01% to 24.1% GC with a mean
grade of 5.6% GC and a mode of 6.2% GC. The JORC compliant resource
estimate for these two graphite mineralised areas has been
completed and is based on the drill hole spacing, grade variability
and geological confidence. The result of the modelling and
estimation process is the initial Mineral Resource below.
Resource Estimates
Geostatistical analysis of the data allowed for the Northern
Syncline to be estimated and reported according to the into JORC
(2012) code. A Resource block model was therefore constructed for
the Northern Syncline. The block size for the model was dependant
on the data spacing and a final block size of 10m x 20m x 3m was
selected with a rotated grid to match the orientation of the
graphite mineralisation zones.
An Ordinary Kriged estimation was performed and resulted in both
Inferred and Indicated Resources being reported for the Northern
Syncline. The Resources for the Northern Syncline have been
tabulated at various cut-off grades starting at 3% GC. A 4% GC
cut-off was determined to be appropriate based on preliminary
economic analysis. The Resources are presented as follows:
The Resources declared can be summarised as follows:
Mineral Resources - Block Models
Area Material Resource Cut-off Tonnage Mt SG %GC %TC
Category Grade (t)
------------------ ------------ ----------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
Inferred 4% GC 3 517 350 3.5 2.18 5.86 6.09
------------ ------------------------------------------------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
Indicated 4% GC 1 941 840 1.9 2.18 5.60 5.82
------------ ------------------------------------------------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
Weathered Measured Not reported
------------------ ------------ ----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal 4% GC 5 459 190 5.4 2.18 5.77 5.99
-------------------------------- ------------------------------ --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
Inferred 4% GC 8 979 330 8.9 2.70 5.83 6.06
------------ ------------------------------------------------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
Indicated 4% GC 1 911 300 1.9 2.69 5.52 5.80
------------ ------------------------------------------------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
In situ Measured Not reported
------------------ ------------ ----------------------------------------------------------
10 690
Northern Syncline Subtotal 4% GC 650 10.7 2.70 5.78 6.01
-------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
12 496
TOTALS All Inferred 4% GC 700 12.5 2.56 5.84 6.07
------------------ ------------ ----------- --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
All Indicated 4% GC 3 353 140 4.3 2.43 5.56 5.81
------------------ ------------ ------------------------------ --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
16 349
TOTAL Inf.+ Ind. 4% GC 840 16.3 2.53 5.77 6.01
------------------ ------------ ------------------------------ --------- ----- ------ ---------- -------
* GC - Graphitic carbon, TC - Total carbon
** Tonnes have been rounded off
In conclusion it can be seen that significant mineralisation was
identified and delineated by the exploration programme. Although
not all the mineralisation identified had sufficient geological
confidence to be classified as a Mineral Resource (JORC, 2012),
approximately 75% of the mineralisation was classified as such
after applying a cut-off grade of 4% GC.
Competent Person's Statement
The information in this release, which is related to Mineral
Resource estimation, was compiled under the supervision of Mr JP
van den Berg who is an employee of Minrom Consulting (Pty) Ltd,
Member of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) and a
Certified Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat) with the
South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions
(SACNASP).
Mr Van den Berg has sufficient experience relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to
the activity that he has undertaken to qualify as a Competent
Person as defined by the JORC (2020) Code. Mr Van den Berg consents
to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his
information in the form and context in which it appears.
For further information please contact:
Blencowe Resources Plc Tel: +44(0) 1624 681
Sam Quinn 250
www.blencoweresourcesplc.com
info@blencoweresourcesplc.com
Investor Enquiries Tel: +44 (0) 7891 677
Sasha Sethi 441
sasha@flowcomms.com
Brandon Hill Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 3463
Jonathan Evans 5000 jonathan.evans@brandonhillcapital.com
First Equity Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7330
Jason Robertson 1883
jasonrobertson@firstequitylimited.com
Background
Orom-Cross is a potential world class graphite project both by
size and end-product quality, with a high component of larger
flakes identified from previous work performed. A 21-year Mining
Licence was issued by the Ugandan Government in 2019 following
extensive historical work on the deposit.
Orom-Cross presents as a large, shallow open pitable deposit,
with an estimated resource in excess of 3 billion tonnes of
graphite. Development of the resource is expected to benefit from a
low strip ratio and free dig operations, thereby ensuring lower
operating and capital costs.
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