Amitsoq Update - Commencement of Drilling Campaign

RNS Number : 7192B

Alba Mineral Resources PLC

14 June 2021

 

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Alba Mineral Resources plc

("Alba" or the "Company")

Amitsoq Graphite Update

Commencement of Maiden Drilling Campaign

Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling operations at the Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern Greenland.

Key Points

-  Drilling operations have commenced at the Amitsoq Island deposit, part of the Amitsoq Graphite Deposit

-  Alba seeking to drill 15 holes for 1,700 metres with the aim of declaring a maiden Mineral Resource

-  Amitsoq graphite is among the highest-grade graphite projects in the world (averaging 28.7% TGC).

-  Kalaaq Discovery to also be explored further by mapping, sampling and EM survey

-  Environmental baseline studies to be carried out as the foundation for a future EIA 

Details

Alba subsidiary Obsidian Mining Limited ("Obsidian") has now commenced a 15-hole, 1,700m diamond core drilling programme at the Amitsoq Island deposit, part of the Amitsoq Graphite Project, with the aim of establishing a maiden Mineral Resource there.

Five drill pads have been prepared at 100-200m spacing along strike, situated on top of the steep ridge that forms the southern tip of the island. From each pad three holes will be drilled with varying dip to intercept the upper and lower graphite horizons at increasing depths. The proposed hole layout aims to intercept mineralisation over a strike length of approximately 600m.

Drilling will take place on Amitsoq island which is the location of the highest-grade graphite (averaging 28.7% TGC) as well as being the site of a previously producing mine.

Figure 2 in the PDF version of this RNS shows a photograph of the southern part of Amitsoq Island facing north-west and showing the position of the drillholes on the topography. Figure 3 in the PDF version of this RNS is a 3D view showing the five drill fences and the projected graphite bodies.  The core will be drilled using triple tube technology in order to minimise any potential core loss over the graphite intersections.

Obsidian's field exploration team of geologists and assistants, drill crew and environmental contractors are being accommodated on a chartered vessel anchored close to the drill site for the duration of the programme, which is expected to last for about six weeks.  Helicopter support will be provided in order to transport equipment to site.

On 7 June 2021, Alba reported the release of an Exploration Target for the Amitsoq Island deposit, with a range of 1.7-4.5 million tonnes (assuming a density of 2.63t/m3) and a grade range of 24-36% Graphitic Carbon. This drilling programme is designed to provide supporting Resource definition to the Exploration Target. 

Establishing a Mineral Resource at Amitsoq will provide the foundation for progressing the Project to the development stage.  Assuming the Mineral Resource supports doing so, the subsequent work will include a Scoping Study.  A key part of this will be an assessment of mining methods, logistics and infrastructure requirements, refinement of the process flowsheet and mine waste management.

Other Field Work

Kalaaq Exploration Programme

Aside from the Amitsoq Island drilling programme, a separate field team will conduct a mapping and sampling programme at the Kalaaq Discovery on the mainland portion of Obsidian's licence area.

Graphite deposits at Kalaaq were unknown until they were discovered during Obsidian's fieldwork in the summer of 2017. The Kalaaq area contains multiple horizons of graphite mineralisation that are interpreted to have been subject to complex folding. Individual outcrops expose graphite horizons up to 9m true thickness, however lateral continuity is harder to observe due to surficial sediment cover. Mapping by Obsidian to date has shown mineralised horizons occur within an area of 1.2 km along strike (north-south) and up to 500m wide.  Average grades from sampling conducted at Kalaaq are 25.6% TGC, also among the highest of any project in the world.

On 7 June 2021, Alba reported the release of an Exploration Target for Kalaaq mineralisation alone of between 4.0 and 7.0 million tonnes (assuming a density of 2.63t/m3) with a grade range of between 23-29% Graphitic Carbon.

Exploration will involve extensive mapping and sampling, including the use of a beep mat to record electromagnetic (EM) conductivity and magnetic susceptibility down to 3 m below surface, through overburden.  This technique was used to great effect in 2017 to identify and map the graphite occurrences.

Beep Mat traverses, mapping and systematic channel sampling of discoveries is designed to extend the known graphite mineralised structure significantly. 

Environmental Baseline Studies

Experienced environmental consultants BioApp Greenland will be undertaking an initial environmental baseline screening at Amitsoq during this summer's field programme . The survey will focus on gathering an overview of the ecological conditions in the area, supplemented by collecting information on aquatic macro invertebrates, water quality parameters, marine environment, wildlife and birds in the area. The collected data will be part of the Project's environmental baseline data package and contribute to a future environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Amitsoq.

The BioApp team have in-depth knowledge and an extensive track record of environmental sampling in all parts of Greenland. The team is multidisciplinary and will cover both freshwater, marine and terrestrial sampling.

Mark Austin, Alba's Chief Operating Officer, commented: 

"This is an exciting time for Alba as we move onto the drilling of one of the world's highest grade graphite deposits. The testwork from our extensive field sampling has shown that the target value for the LOI content of 99.9%, and the typical specification for spherical graphite of 99.95%, are both capable of being achieved which qualifies this graphite as battery grade and suitable for the EV market. These results, together with the Exploration Target of 1.7 and 4.5 million tonnes for the Amitsoq Island deposit alone, with a grade range of between 24-36% Graphitic Carbon, gives us great confidence in the project's fundamentals."

"The first objective arising out of our drilling programme will be to declare a maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource at the Amitsoq Island deposit. Ultimately, our goal is to prove up sufficient tonnes to be able to move to the feasibility study stage as soon as possible thereafter."

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.

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.

Glossary

Electromagnetic (or EM) survey : a geophysical survey method which measures the electromagnetic properties of rocks.

Graphitic : of, relating to, resembling, or having the structure of graphite.

Graphitic Carbon or Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) : Carbon may be present in rocks in various forms including organic carbon, carbonates or graphitic carbon. Carbon in rocks may be reported as fixed or total carbon (i.e. organic carbon + carbon in carbonate minerals + carbon as graphite) or as graphitic carbon or total graphitic carbon (or TGC) (i.e. total carbon - (organic + carbonate carbon)).

LOI : Loss on ignition (LOI) is a test used in inorganic analytical chemistry and soil science, particularly in the analysis of minerals and the chemical makeup of soil. It consists of strongly heating ("igniting") a sample of the material at a specified temperature, allowing volatile substances to escape, until its mass ceases to change.

Overburden : material that lies above an area (the orebody) that lends itself to economical exploitation.

Spherical graphite : used as the anode in lithium-ion batteries.  Natural flake graphite is first purified and shaped into small spheres, at which point the material is referred to a High Purity Spherical Graphite ("HPSG").  After shaping, the natural flake graphite is purified by chemical leaching to remove impurities and raise the carbon content to above 99.95% C. 

Strike or Strike Length : The direction and length of a geological feature (for example, a vein or rock formation) measured on a horizontal surface.

For further information, please contact:

Alba Mineral Resources plc George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman	[phone]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)  James Caithie / Liam Murray	[phone]
ETX Capital (Broker) Thomas Smith	[phone]

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%

 

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