Commencement of Diamond Drilling in Cyprus

RNS Number : 2925D

Chesterfield Resources PLC

28 June 2021

 

Chesterfield Resources / EPIC: CHF / Market: LSE / Sector: Mining

28 June 2021

Commencement of diamond drilling in Cyprus

Chesterfield Resources is pleased to announce that it is to commence its diamond drilling programme in Cyprus this week, exploring for copper, together with good credits in gold, silver and zinc. The programme is expected to cover approximately 2,000m of drilling.

Said Executive Chairman, Martin French, "We have just completed a series of extensive geophysics programs which involved four separate types of survey, conducted by specialist contractors brought in  from Spain and Germany. The surveys covered a total area of more than 12km² at our Troodos West licence area, taking readings from over 1,500 individual survey stations. After several encouraging encounters, we decided to extend this survey programme which has pushed back our diamond drill schedule slightly, as we waited for the new results and interpretations to be delivered. The data has now been analysed and earthmovers have been working to create a series of drill pads for the diamond drill which is ready, in-country. We are excited to get drilling again. Two targets will be to follow up on our drilling last year which encountered high grade mineralisation. Other targets have been identified by this year's geophysics programmes.'

High grade targets from recent drilling

In February this year the company announced that it had intersected two high grade mineralised zones on two separate targets. The assays returned were:

16.6m grading 0.36% Cu, 1.1% Zn, 1.1 g/t Au, 9.7 g/t Ag at a depth of 137.9m. This included an interval of 2.45m grading 1.4% Cu, 4.4% Zn, 3.0 g/t Au, 38 g/t Ag at target Hillside.

11.6m grading 0.65% Cu, 1.0% Zn, 2.5 g/t Au, 8.9 g/t Ag at a depth of 147.9m. This included a lowermost interval of 2.65m grading 2.8% Cu, 3.8% Zn, 2.9 g/t Au, 30 g/t Ag, at target Evlim.

Importantly, at both targets the higher grade interval was found to be faulted off at its lower contact, indicating that larger deposits of this high-grade polymetallic mineralization may be present nearby, across the encountered fault. The search for the continuation these high-grade polymetallic deposits will be two of the objectives of the forthcoming diamond drill programme.

Electromagnetic geophysics surveys

In preparation for the drilling, the company has just completed an extensive geophysics programme to identify anomalies to create new targets for drilling.  The programme included the drilling of 20 percussion holes to facilitate a series of down hole EM (electro-magnetic) surveys, which involves lowering an electromagnetic probe down various cased drill holes, which can identify potential deposits up to approximately 100m away.

In addition, a surface EM survey programme was also conducted.   This   electro-magnetic survey   is based on the response of the ground to   electromagnetic fields composed of an alternating electric intensity and magnetizing force. The electrical field is generated by passing an alternating current through a coil (loop of wire called a transmitter coil) placed over the ground. The Survey involved taking reading from 346 separate locations coving a total area of 2.45 km².

Extensive gravity and AMT surveys, including new drill target "Olive"

An extensive gravity survey was also completed over six grids. This involved taking 970 separate readings, with the grids covering a total of 7.38 KM². One of the results of the gravity survey highlighted a compelling North-South trending structure, manifesting as a residual gravity high. This anomaly extends 1 km in length and up to 300m in width and may be indicative of a type of early-forming subsidiary basin that often host VMS deposits. Similarly, orientated structures are associated with trapping mineralisation at the nearby historic Limni mine, which is of a similar scale to the new anomaly. The Limni mine is recorded to have produced around 8.1 million tons of ore yielding approximately 90,000 tons of copper. This is to form a new target for the drill programme, called Olive.

The company also continued its AMT geophysics programme commenced in 2020. This year readings were taken from 242 stations, with three grids covering an area of 2.65 KM².  An AMT survey works by using a probe to amplify and measure variations in electrical charges that already exist naturally in the earth's crust, from an accumulation of lightning strikes globally. AMT is particularly suited to shallower mineral surveys such as Chesterfield's exploration project in Cyprus and can also provide a useful indication of the depth at which mineralised deposits may occur.

Competent Person  

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Michael Parker, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Michael Parker has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Follow us on Twitter at @ChesterfieldPlc  

About Chesterfield Resources  

Chesterfield Resources is a copper-focussed exploration company with a project in   Cyprus and the proposed new Adeline copper project in Labrador Canada, contingent, among other things, upon the publication of a prospectus. Upon completion of the acquisition of the project in Labrador, Altius will become a strategic partner, with a 10% holding in the Chesterfield, and a 20p warrant over a further 10% of the company.

The exploration team is led by two highly experienced industry geologists   Neil O'Brien, formally SVP Exploration & New Business Development, Lundin Mining,  and Dave Cliff, previously Head of Exploration Europe, Rio Tinto.

In Cyprus the company holds the largest mineral exploration licence area of any operator on the island.

Cyprus   is regarded as a high-quality exploration location. It is a member of the EU, and its legal system is based on English common law. An opportunity exists because there has been minimal exploration activity on the island in the last 46 years since the invasion by   Turkey   in 1974 put a halt to what had been a very active mining industry.  

The current focus of exploration is in the Troodos West group of licences belonging to the company, with around 30 defined targets in an area measuring 10km by 10km. The objective is to discover several VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits in close proximity to each other to create a mining project with a centralised processing unit.  

While copper is the main exploration target, it is noteworthy that gold was not historically exploited in   Cyprus . Gold has been encountered in several locations in the exploration target area and is an important part of the exploration objective.  

In December 2020, Polymetal International, the   FTSE100 mining group, made a 23%  investment in Chesterfield via a placing of new shares, as strategic backing for the company's project in Cyprus.

The company announced high grade polymetallic results from its late season 2020 drilling campaign and has just completed an enlarged integrated 2021 geophysics, percussion and diamond drilling exploration campaign. The company will commence its diamond drill programme this week.

In Canada, the Adeline copper project is located within the western half of the Central Mineral Belt, a 260 km long metal-rich belt located in Central Labrador, eastern Canada.  The Adeline property is comprised of five contiguous mineral licenses totalling 12,925 ha (129.3 km2), covering the full extent of the Seal Lake basin, an approximate 40km long by 10 km wide geological structure which contains some 250 copper prospects.  The project is close to the regional service hub of Goose Bay.

The Seal Lake basin has seen extensive regional exploration over the years resulting in a rich exploration database. Trenching and channel sampling has established the presence of laterally continuous high-grade copper beds. However there has been relatively little drill testing, largely due to the lack of road access. Where sulphide mineralization becomes massive the grades are extremely high, commonly 10-30% Cu due to the high tenor of chalcocite-bornite. 

An initial field season is already being planned to investigate prospects and more specific field-based targeting methods based upon a re-evaluation and re-modelling of the regional exploration datasets with the latest visualization software tools and with expert consultants who have decades of experience in this belt. This is expected to generate a significant pipeline of quality drill targets to test for significant extents of high-grade copper-silver mineralized grey beds.

Chesterfield Resources is committed to world-class environmental standards in all of its operations to explore for copper, which is essential to developing clean technology projects worldwide. The company hopes to develop industry and opportunities for the benefit of Canada and the   Republic of Cyprus.  

Chesterfield has embarked on a strategy of acquisition to take advantage of mega-trend of electrification and copper demand. Further acquisitions are expected to significantly enlarge its exploration footprint.

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.

**ENDS**

 For further information, please visit  www.chesterfieldresourcesplc.com  or contact:

Chesterfield Resources plc: Martin French, Executive Chairman	Tel: [phone]
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker): John Prior & Hugh Rich	Tel:  [phone]
Fox-Davies Capital Limited (Broker): Daniel Fox-Davies	Tel: +44 ( 0)20 3884 8450

 

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