Trading Symbols
AIM: AGQ
FWB: I3A1
20 September
2019
Alien Metals
Ltd
(“Alien” or “the Company”)
Acquiring 51%
interest in two iron ore projects in the Pilbara, Western Australia
Alien Metals Limited (“Alien” or the “Company”), the AIM quoted
mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to announce
it has entered into a binding option agreement with Windfield
Metals Pty Ltd (“Windfield”) to acquire a 51% interest in
two exploration licences (the “Licenses”) prospective for
Direct Shipping Ore (“DSO”) iron ore in the Pilbara region of
Western Australia. Entering into
this agreement is a significant step towards the delivery of
Alien’s strategy of building a portfolio of mining projects which
demonstrate development upside in global jurisdictions with an
established infrastructure and mining codes, where strong
operational controls can be assured.
Alien is currently exploring for silver and gold in Mexico’s
richest silver mining belt, with the option agreement with
Windfield allowing Alien to diversify its assets base in a tier one
mining jurisdiction. The Company will continue to assess various
precious and base metal projects and expand its asset base over the
coming year.
Highlights
· Exclusive option acquired over
majority stake in two prospective iron ore projects in the Pilbara
region of Western Australia
· Western Australia is the largest iron ore
producer and exporter in the world with production of around 800
million tonnes of DSO dominated by Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue
Metals
· Historic exploration undertaken by
mining majors demonstrates high-grade, DSO iron ore potential
· Hancock Ranges Iron Ore
Project
- Project on-strike to Brockman Mining Limited’s
(“Brockman”) Sirius Deposit which has a JORC inferred and
indicated mineral resource estimate of 124MT @ 60.32% Iron (Fe) (see Figure 2)
- One of four historic drill holes returned 126m @ 60.28% Fe from surface (Hole
14SERC004)
- Surface results taken from an approximate 4km
outcropping on strike mineralised ridge in the north west of the
project area returned assay results of up to 68.7% Fe
· Brockman Iron Ore Project
- Contains part of the historic BHP deposit 20, with
surface sample grades averaging 62% Fe
- The tenement geology is dominated by the Brockman Iron
Formation, which hosts nearby commercial operations
- The tenement remains underexplored for iron
mineralisation, despite being held by numerous companies over a
long period of time
· Alien to undertake first pass
exploration programmes to further test the potential of the iron
ore projects
· Company will continue to advance
Mexican project portfolio and review other opportunities in the
precious and base metals sector
Dan Smith, Chairman of Alien
commented: “This is an extremely exciting opportunity for the
Company. Over the last 6 months the Board has been reviewing a
range of potential opportunities and these projects are surrounded
by major iron ore mines owned by global mining companies and there
has already been significant interest in these projects given their
prospectivity and resurging iron ore price.
These iron ore licences are in the
heart of the most prolific iron ore region in the world, with first
class transport links and associated infrastructure. This
represents a real opportunity for the Company to unlock shareholder
value as iron ore focused companies have delivered significant
returns to investors this year. We are excited to commence
fieldwork in Q4 2019 and will update the market on our progress in
this regard.”
Further Information
The Company has entered into a binding option agreement to
acquire a 51% interest in the Licenses prospective for iron
ore in the Pilbara region of Western
Australia. The binding agreement with Windfield,
gives Alien 45 days in which to carry out legal and technical due
diligence, and to exercise its option to acquire the interest in
the Licenses (the full terms of the transaction are set out below).
The Company has engaged expert consultants in Australia, who together with Technical
Director Bill Brodie Good, will
assist with the technical due diligence and future exploration
programs.
Project Summary
Pilbara Iron Ore
Projects, Australia
The locations of the iron ore projects within the Pilbara region
of Western Australia are set out
in figure 1: www.alienmetals.uk/assets/img/190920_figure1.jpg
Hancock Ranges Iron Ore Project
(E47/3954)
The Hancock Ranges Iron Ore Project (E47/3954), is within 20kms
of the Newman township and borders licences held by Fortescue
Metals Group, Hancock Prospecting, BHP Billiton (Mount Whaleback),
Hope Downs and Brockman Mining.
The Licenses have been subject to historical exploration by Rio
Tinto plc, BHP Group plc, and more recently Volta Mining Limited
(“Volta”). In 2013, Volta undertook reconnaissance mapping
and surface rock chip sampling and drilled 4 drill holes for a
total of 475m which confirmed an
economic strike extension of the Sirius Iron Ore deposit hosted in
the Brockman Iron Formation including 126m @ 60.28% Fe from surface (Hole
14SERC004), with surface sampling further along strike supporting
the strike extension. This work outlined two areas of potential
high-grade iron ore mineralisation: the Sirius Extension Prospect
and the Kalgan Prospect. Further information regarding the work
carried out by Volta is described in Volta’s announcement dated
27 August 2014, which is currently
available from the ASX website.
Figure 2 shows the location of the Sirius Deposit strike
extension into the north-eastern part of the Hancock Ranges Iron
Ore Project (source: Volta Mining Ltd, 2014):
www.alienmetals.uk/assets/img/190920_figure2.jpg
In the north-western area of the tenement, historic exploration
has identified mineralisation at surface in the Kalgan prospect,
with Volta having reported in their 2013 annual report, eight rock
chip samples containing up to 68.7% Fe in the prospect
area.
Surface sample results from the Kalgan prospect in the Hancock
Ranges Iron Ore Project are set out in Figure 3 at
www.alienmetals.uk/assets/img/190920_figure3.jpg (source: Volta’s
announcement dated 27 August 2014,
which is currently available from the ASX website):
Brockman Iron Ore Project,
E47/3953
This tenement hosts part of the historic BHP Deposit 20 iron ore
target and the historic BHP Deposit 19 Fe target sits on the
south-eastern boundary.
This tenement is dominated by the Brockman Iron Formation which
underlies the majority of the tenement area. Recent alluvial cover
is prevalent and covers the indicated Brockman Iron Formation.
The Mount Sylvia Formation has been mapped by the Geological
Survey of Western Australia (GSWA)
in the southern part of the tenement.
Structurally, the tenement is in the northern area which is
thought to be relatively undeformed. A northwest trending folding
can be inferred from the geology. This may correspond to the
Ophthalmian age folds commonly seen in the south eastern part of
the Hamersley Iron Province which have proven iron ore resources
already defined.
The location of BHP deposits 19 and 20 in relation to the
Brockman Project tenement over regional geology is set out in
Figure 4: www.alienmetals.uk/assets/img/190920_figure4.jpg:
BHP, as part of their much larger regional programme, identified
these two ‘deposits’ from a combination of mapping and surface rock
chip sampling. This sampling was undertaken by BHP at both the 19
and 20 prospects and the samples were analysed for a standard suit
of iron ore related elements. The average iron content of four
rock-chip samples from prospect 19 was 62.8% Fe and the
average for four samples from prospect 20 was 62% Fe
(Source: Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited Australia 1973,
Mount Farquhar Project, Non-statutory Report: Final Report for the
year ending 31/12/1972, TR70/5556H: WAMEX Report A3796 (obtained
from MINDEX, 2019).
BHP reportedly used generalised outcrop dimensions and average
grade of rock-chip sampling to calculate the estimated Fe tonnage
per vertical feet.
This tenement remains under explored for iron mineralisation,
despite being held by numerous companies over a long period of
time. More detailed mapping has been recommended as a priority to
determine if any structural complexities in the way of steep
folding and/or faulting occurs anywhere on the tenement. Should the
mapping confirm the currently identified area of steep
folding/mineralisation and/or identify other areas of structural
complexity or mineralisation in the Brockman Iron Formation, a
broad Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drilling programme will be
considered.
The underlying geological units also have the potential to host
anomalous iron ore deposits, as reported by BHP.
Transaction Terms
The key terms of the binding term sheet are as follows:
(a) A$25,000 non-refundable
option fee, which grants Alien a 45-day exclusive option over the
Licenses (“Option”); and
(b) Subject to satisfactory due diligence and exercising
of the Option, the consideration for acquiring a 51% interest in
the Licenses shall be as follows:
i. 200,000,000 UFO shares issued at a
Deemed Issue Price of 0.11p;
ii. 66,666,666 share purchase warrants,
exercisable at an 80% premium to the Deemed Issue Price;
iii. £100,000 payable 12 months from Completion of
the acquisition;
iv. 100,000,000 performance shares, to be issued at
the Deemed Issue Price in two tranches upon achievement of the
following performance hurdles:
- 10,000,000 tonne JORC inferred
resource at greater than 54% Fe (Hurdle 1); and
- 20,000,0000 tonne JORC inferred
resource at greater than 54% Fe (Hurdle 2).
Additionally, following the exercise of the option, Alien would
be required to maintain the Licenses in good standing and sole-fund
the first two years of minimum commitments, estimated at
A$45,000; thereafter, the parties
will fund pro-rata to their respective interests.
The upfront Consideration Shares will be subject to a 6-month
lock in period.
2019 Alien Work Programme
Alien’s technical consultants, will carry out a site visit to
the Hancock Ranges and Brockman projects in September/October 2019 to confirm geological
interpretation, project access, and provisionally visit and sample
iron-mineralised outcrops, as part of the technical due diligence.
Results will be released to the market as and when available.
In the event the findings from the legal and technical due
diligence are acceptable to Alien, it is intended that the option
would be exercised and an initial work stream be commenced to carry
out detailed surface mapping and sampling on each of the projects
to close in and inform the next stage of exploration planning
including drill target definition.
For further information please visit the Company’s website
at www.alienmetals.uk, or
contact:
Alien Metals
Limited
Bill Brodie Good, Technical Director
David Taylor, Company Secretary
Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 6599 |
Yellow Jersey PR
Limited
Felicity Winkles/Annabel Atkins
Tel: +44 (0)774 884 3871 |
Beaumont Cornish
Limited (Nomad)
James Biddle/ Roland Cornish
www.beaumontcornish.com
Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396 |
First Equity Limited
(Broker)
Jason Robertson
Tel +44 (0)20 7374 2212 |
Notes to Editors
Alien Metals Ltd is an AIM quoted mining exploration and
development company. Since the recomposition of the Board and
company name change in 2018, Alien has focused on delivering its
strategy of acquiring mining projects which demonstrate significant
development upside, in jurisdictions with established
infrastructure and mining codes, and where strong operational
controls can be assured.
In addition to progressing its acquisition-led strategy,
following the strategic review of its portfolio of projects in
Mexico during 2018-19, the Company
has identified exploration targets across its 12 mining concessions
in Zacatecas, Mexico, which it is
working to advance systematically.
Historical drilling results
Drill-hole locations at the Hancock Ranges Project (E47/3954)
and significant Iron Ore interceptions is set out in the table
below (source: Volta Mining, 2014):
SiteID |
East |
North |
RL |
Collar Azimuth |
Collar Dip |
Total Depth (metres) |
Downhole Intersection Depths (metre) |
Width (metres) |
Fe% |
SiO2% |
Al2O3% |
P% |
S% |
TiO2 |
LOI Total% |
From |
To |
14SERC001 |
779696 |
7429736 |
582 |
180 |
-60 |
72 |
0 |
14 |
14 |
60.93 |
2.99 |
3.41 |
0.157 |
0.007 |
0.127 |
5.33 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14SERC002 |
779700 |
7429755 |
581 |
0 |
-90 |
151 |
2 |
128 |
126 |
60.28 |
4.34 |
3.94 |
0.162 |
0.006 |
0.133 |
4.63 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14SERC003 |
779703 |
7429778 |
583 |
360 |
-70 |
126 |
0 |
30 |
30 |
63.99 |
1.68 |
2.22 |
0.183 |
0.032 |
0.083 |
3.42 |
14SERC003 |
779703 |
7429778 |
583 |
|
|
|
34 |
38 |
4 |
56.32 |
10.39 |
4.17 |
0.174 |
0.003 |
0.121 |
4.42 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14SERC004 |
779694 |
7429741 |
582 |
360 |
-55 |
126 |
0 |
54 |
54 |
60.25 |
2.32 |
4.49 |
0.190 |
0.006 |
0.144 |
5.65 |
14SERC004 |
779694 |
7429741 |
582 |
|
|
|
76 |
84 |
8 |
59.96 |
5.94 |
3.00 |
0.191 |
0.002 |
0.121 |
4.59 |
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to exploration
results has been reviewed by Mr Howard
Baker, an independent technical consultant to the Company.
Mr Baker is a Chartered Professional Fellow of the Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (Membership Number 224239) and a
Competent Person as defined by the rules of International Reporting
Codes that are aligned with CRIRSCO. Howard
Baker 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. Howard Baker consents to
the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his
information in the form and context in which they appear.
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain “forward-looking
information”. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact that address activities, events or developments that the
Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the
future are deemed forward-looking information.
This forward-looking information reflects the current
expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information
currently available to the Company as well as certain assumptions,
including the availability of sufficient funds. Forward-looking
information is subject to a number of significant risks and
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results
of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are
realised or substantially realised, there can be no assurance that
they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the
Company.
Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on
which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable
securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to
update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the
Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the
forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking
information is not a guarantee of future performance and
accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information
due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
For further
information please contact:
Alien Metals
Limited
Bill Brodie Good, Technical Director
David Taylor, Company Secretary
Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 6599 |
Yellow Jersey PR
Limited
Felicity Winkles/Annabel Atkins
Tel: +44 (0)774 884 3871 |
Beaumont Cornish
Limited (Nomad)
James Biddle/ Roland Cornish
www.beaumontcornish.com
Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396 |
First Equity Limited
(Broker)
Jason Robertson
Tel +44 (0)20 7374 2212 |