Clogau Drilling Completion

RNS Number : 1906V

Alba Mineral Resources PLC

29 November 2019

 

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Alba Mineral Resources plc

("Alba" or the "Company")

Maiden Drilling Programme at Clogau Gold Mine

Successfully Intersects Target Geology

Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA), the diversified mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that the Company has completed its maiden exploration drilling campaign targeting extensions to the Llechfraith mine workings, which are part of the overall Clogau-St David's Gold Mine ("Clogau" or the "Mine") in North Wales. 

The drilling sequence successfully intersected intrusive greenstones and shear zones dominated by intermixed Clogau shale and quartz veining.  This is the geological setting for all known historical gold mining at Clogau.

Highlights

·     Completion of the first ever exploration drilling campaign at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine to the Company's knowledge, targeting extensions to the Llechfraith mine workings.

·     Drill-holes GMOW002 and GMOW003 both intersected shear zone-hosted quartz veining up to 25 metres below the lowest known Llechfraith workings.  This therefore confirms the continuity of the mined shear zone structure at least 25 metres down dip of the historic mine workings.

·     This is significant as it is this geological setting of shear-zone hosted quartz veining which is the primary setting for all the historic gold mining in the Clogau-St David's Mine, including at the Llechfraith mine area.

·     The drill core is being sent to an accredited laboratory for assaying.

George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman, commented:

"I am very pleased to report that our drilling programme into the Llechfraith mine area has achieved its primary objective, which was to demonstrate that the shear zone-hosted quartz veins in the Llechfraith mine area continue down below the lowest level of the historic workings, being the No. 4 level.  This is significant, because shear zone-hosted quartz veining is the primary setting for all the historic gold mining at the Clogau-St David's Mine."

"In our short, two-year, period of involvement with the Clogau Gold Mine, we have already accomplished significant milestones. We are the first group to have ever systematically explored the Dolgellau Gold Belt, as a result of which we have been able to identify no fewer than 10 new gold anomalies there.  We have undertaken the most extensive rehabilitation and safety works within the Mine carried out over the past few decades, if not longer, such that large areas of the Mine are now accessible to us as we seek to identify extensions to the gold-bearing quartz veins.  And we are now the first group in the Mine's history, to our knowledge, to have ever undertaken exploration drilling at Clogau."

"This is an exciting and unique project, and we look forward to hitting further significant milestones in the coming year as we seek to bring Clogau back into commercial production in the shortest possible timeframe."

Drilling Programme

The maiden drilling programme at the Clogau Gold Mine targeted extensions to the Llechfraith mine area, shown in Figure 1 in the PDF version of this announcement.

Three drill-holes have been completed for a total of 158m.  All holes were drilled on the south side of the Llechfraith mine workings and from within Alba's freehold land area. Of the three drill-holes completed, GMOW002 and GMOW003 reached the target depths with GMOW001 being terminated early to preserve drill metres and once an initial downhole survey had been completed.

The primary objective of this short programme was to drill for structure, that is to identify whether the known gold-bearing geological setting at the Llechfraith mine area continues down dip of the deepest worked level, being Level No. 4.  Alba is very pleased to confirm that both main drill-holes completed, GMOW002 and GMOW003, intersected a sequence of intrusive greenstones or microdiorite followed by a shear zone dominated by intermixed Clogau shale and quartz veining.  It is this geological setting which is the primary setting for all the historic gold mining in the Clogau-St David's Mine, including at the Llechfraith mine area.

An examination of the drill core found sulphide mineralisation to be present within the shear zone hosted quartz vein, with Clogau shale intersected on the footwall side of the shear zone (see Figures 2 to 4 in the PDF version of this announcement).

The shear zone-hosted quartz veining, which is the target host material of the gold-bearing system at Clogau, was intersected approximately 25m below the lowest known mine level at Llechfraith, confirming the continuity of the shear zone system into unworked areas of the deposit. As such, the primary objective of the drilling programme which, as set out in our announcement of 14 November 2019 was to ascertain whether the known gold-bearing setting within the Llechfraith Mine area continues down dip of existing workings, has been achieved and answered in the affirmative. 

Given the nature of the geological setting at Clogau, where gold has previously been found within narrow quartz veins at the contact with greenstones, combined with the modest amount of drilling that was undertaken to test the structure at Llechfraith, it was not expected that the drilling would necessarily intersect gold mineralisation.  Nonetheless, the drill core will be assayed at an accredited laboratory to confirm any gold content and the presence of any other mineralisation.  Irrespective, this drilling campaign has increased the Company's confidence in the Llechfraith mine area as a potential economic source of future gold production. 

The Company is pleased to confirm also that no mine workings or voids were intersected during the drilling, which is testimony to the geological model developed by the Alba technical team, combined with the accurate survey points which were collected at various locations prior to the commencement of drilling, including at the adit entrance and points within the Llechfraith adit. This allowed the mine workings to be accurately located, assisting in drill-hole planning and orientation.

Figure 2 (in the PDF version of this announcement) shows the final drill-hole traces and the location of the shear zone-hosted quartz veining (shown as yellow segments on the drill trace). The red plane shown in Figure 2 (in the PDF version of this announcement) is the shear zone-hosted quartz veining as modelled from the exploited mine workings and the new drill-hole data. Figure 2 (in the PDF version of this announcement) also shows the intersected quartz veining which has an apparent width of up to 5 metres and a true thickness of approximately 1.5 metres.  Multiple quartz veins were intersected outside of the primary target zone which will also be sampled and assayed for potential mineralisation.

Figure 3 (in the PDF version of this announcement) shows the drill core from GMOW003. Dark grey Clogau Shale can be seen in the upper core tray followed by the shear zone contact and target quartz vein.  Figure 4 (in the PDF version of this announcement) shows the sulphide assemblage observed within the quartz veining with Chalcopyrite, Pyrrhotite, Pyrite and Galena being observed.

The drill-core is currently being prepared for assaying and mineralogical characterisation.

Llechfraith Mine Area: Background

The maiden drilling programme at Clogau targeted extensions to the Llechfraith mine area.  The Llechfraith mine area is reported to have first been opened in 1862, ceasing production in 1865. Most recently, limited mining was undertaken between 1983 and 1987 with visible gold being reported adjacent to westerly-dipping greenstone intrusives along the lowest No. 4 Level, which is approximately 30 metres below the main Llechfraith adit entrance. 

Note that the Llechfraith mine area is separate from the Clogau and the St David's mine areas which are accessed via the Llechfraith and Tyn Y Cornel adits, albeit that all mine areas are connected via the Llechfraith Level (or adit). See Figure 1 (in the PDF version of this announcement). The Llechfraith Level (or adit) is now open following the recent rehabilitation works carried out earlier this year by Alba. 

A total of three gold shoots were recorded at the Llechfraith mine area in the 1980s (as shown in the long section in Figure 5 in the PDF version of this announcement). The No. 1 Shoot, which was mined between 1984 and 1987, is reported to have been traceable from surface to 40 metres down-dip to the No. 4 Level, being the deepest level of the Llechfraith mine area.  Visible gold, by its nature being high-grade, was reported within the No. 4 Level.  Mineralisation controls in this area are not certain but No. 1 Shoot is reported to plunge to the south-east at a dip of 65 to 70° with a pitch to the south-west.  No.1 Shoot is thought to relate to a split in the lode with gold mineralisation reported to lie within the hinge of the split.

Future Drilling and Development Plans

The completed drilling programme has given the Company great confidence in the geological model that has been developed for the Llechfraith mine area.  Depending on the results obtained from the Company's assaying of the drill core, future work at the Llechfraith mine area could include dewatering the No. 3 and No. 4 level (see Figure 5 in the PDF version of this announcement) to enable access to be gained there, so that bulk sampling could then be carried out of the areas of reported visible gold. 

Further drilling from Alba's freehold land at Llechfraith is largely constrained by the limitations of the site, however it is possible that further drilling of the Llechfraith mine area target could be conducted from No. 4 level, drilling directly down into the favourable geology which has now been shown to exist for at least 25 metres below No. 4 level. 

Otherwise, the Company plans to drill in 2020 both from surface (along strike from Llechfraith, down below the underground workings at Clogau-St David's) and from underground within the Mine itself, as set out in the Company's current Corporate Presentation (which is available at www.albamineralresources.com).

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 Company's or any third party's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events.  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 Howard Baker, Technical Director of Alba Mineral Resources Plc. 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.

Glossary

Anticline: A fold, closing in any direction, in which the older rocks occupy the core.

Chalcopyrite: A brass-yellow mineral with a chemical composition of CuFeS₂. It occurs in most sulphide mineral deposits throughout the world and has been the most important ore of copper for thousands of years.

Clogau Shale: A dark-grey or black-banded carbonaceous mudstone and silty mudstone.

Geochemical: Relates to the chemical composition of the Earth and its rocks and minerals.

Footwall: The wall lying beneath a horizontal or inclined fault or orebody.

Galena: A lead sulphide mineral with a chemical composition of PbS. It is the world's primary ore of lead.

Geophysics: The application of the methods and techniques of physics to the study of the earth and the processes affecting it.

Intrusives: An igneous rock formed from magma forced into older rocks at depth within the Earth's crust, which then typically slowly solidifies below the Earth's surface.

Lithological Units: The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples or with low magnification microscopy, such as colour, texture, grain size, and mineral composition.

Lithological Contacts: The contact between two lithologies of differing characteristics.

Microdiorite: A medium grained igneous rock of volcanic origin.

Mineralisation: Economically important metals that can occur at a variety of scales from small disseminations through to large zones or ore bodies.

Pathfinder Elements: In geochemical exploration, an element that occurs in close association with an element or commodity being sought, but one can be more easily identified because it forms a broader halo or can be detected more readily by analytical methods.

Pyrite: A brass-yellow mineral with a bright metallic lustre. It has a chemical composition of iron sulphide (FeS₂) and is the most common sulphide mineral. It forms at high and low temperatures and occurs, usually in small quantities, in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks worldwide.

Quartz Veins: A distinct sheet-like body dominantly composed of quartz hosted within a rock formation.

Pitch: The orientation of a line, measured as an angle from the horizontal, in a specified non-vertical plane.

Plunge: The angle between a linear and a vertical plane.

Pyrrhotite: A bronze-yellow to copper-red iron sulphide of variable iron content.

Shear Zone: A zone of ductile deformation between two undeformed blocks that have suffered relative shear displacement.

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

Structural Architecture: The three-dimensional distribution of bodies of rock, as controlled by geological structures.

Weathering Profile: A vertical assemblage of weathering zones (subsurface zones of alteration differing physically, chemically or mineralogically from adjacent zones) from the surface soil to the unaltered bedrock.

For further information, please contact:

Alba Mineral Resources plc George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman	[phone]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)      James Caithie / Liam Murray	[phone]
First Equity Limited (Broker) Jason Robertson	[phone]
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR/ IR) Sarah Hollins/Harriet Jackson/Henry Wilkinson [e-mail]	[phone]

Alba's Project and Investment Portfolio

Project (commodity)	Location	Ownership
Mining Projects
Amitsoq (graphite)	Greenland	90%
Clogau (gold)	Wales	90%
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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