Glenover Strategic Update

RNS Number : 8519F

Galileo Resources PLC

30 May 2013

 



30 May 2013

Galileo Resources Plc (AIM: GLR)

Galileo Resources Plc

("Galileo" or the "Company")

 Glenover Strategic Update  

Galileo, the emerging African Rare Earth exploration and development company, announces that following the strategic review of the very positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") of its South African Glenover Rare Earth Project ("Glenover Project or the Project") (announced 7 March 2013) it will focus on the development of the rare earth element (REE)-bearing phosphate-rich breccia ("REE-P breccia") resource  and going forward to commit future funding and management to where most value can be derived.

The focus on development will include: 

·    on-going testwork in Germany and China to optimise the REE recovery processes (including physical separation and sulphuric/nitric acid hydrometallurgical based flowsheets);

·    recovery of phosphate and  co-products to saleable value-add fertiliser products for local and global markets;  and

·    assessing the potential for recovery of high-value scandium and niobium by-products.

The directors, in their review, believe the large Glenover Project would be more than able to satisfy domestic markets with REE, phosphate and fertiliser products.  Galileo is unusual, in being a rare-earth junior with potentially valuable co-product phosphate and scandium. The Project has strong site and regional infrastructure and holds an attractive basket of rare earth elements including the critical high-value medium-REEs comprising Nd, Pr and Eu, which represent more than 28% of the total REEs in the deposit.

This strategy is expected to generate a project with a high degree of optionality in terms of products produced, project processing and location, in light of the logistics for the Project for consumables and product shipping.

The table below shows the PEA resource estimate for the REE-P breccia resource, on which the Company intends strategically to continue to focus for development.

	SAMREC Code Resource category	Tonnes Million	Attributable  b to Galileo  Tonnes Million	TREO %	P2O5 %	Sc2O3 ppm	Nb2O5  %
Stockpiles a	Inferred a	2.685	1.188	1.94	22.21	na	na
In Situ o/pit	Indicated	7.407	3.277	2.20	17.57	179.5	0.46
Total		10.092	4.465	2.13	18.80

a              inferred resource      The SAMREC CODE defines an Inferred Mineral Resource as " that part of a Mineral Resource for which volume or tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with only a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and sampling and assumed but not verified geologically or through analysis of grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that may be limited in scope or of uncertain quality and reliability. The stockpiles, which are inferred mineral resources, require rigorous SAMREC compliant sampling applied to them in order for them to be categorized as mineral reserves

b             44.24% attributable to Galileo after earn-in of the agreed 51%, with the balance of 5.76% attributable to Black Economic Empowerment shareholders

na           not assayed or not applicable

Colin Bird, CEO of Galileo said, "The PEA was very encouraging and very revealing and has left us with no doubt that the REE-P breccia must be the focus of our on-going plans. Potentially we will produce phosphate in addition to rare earths and our current reviewed planning is directed towards where best to site our own processing infrastructure in order to maximise potential for phosphate export and minimise the overall transport cost of consumables .

"The project is proving to be very exciting and is well placed , both as a future phosphate and REE producer.

"The potential by-products of niobium and scandium could be significant in the overall revenue mix, however, more work is required relative to their extraction and cost contribution. "

The Company continues with process testwork in Germany for the recovery of phosphate and potential scandium by-product from the waste products envisaged, being generated in a flowsheet as developed in the PEA.  Complementary testwork is also currently being undertaken in China using a combination of physical separation and an alternative hydrometallurgical regime to that used for the PEA. The potential benefits of this alternative include reduction of costs and plant footprint and creating value from the calcium in the ore in producing a potential marketable calcium-based fertiliser product. Results from these programmes are expected in second half of 2013. and additionally to convert waste calcium to marketable calcium-based fertiliser product. Results from these two programmes are expected in second half of 2013. The testwork will track the deportment of niobium for potential recovery.  

A copy of the executive summary of the PEA is available on the Galileo website at www.galileoresources.com. This PEA, as well as conforming to the SAMREC Code also follows the guidelines of the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.

Disclaimer Note on PEA

The PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on a number of assumptions that may be changed in the future as additional information becomes available. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. This PEA includes stockpiles, which are inferred mineral resources and require rigorous SAMREC compliant sampling applied to them in order for them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

A copy of the announcement is available on the Company's website www.galileoresources.com

Technical Sign-Off

Andrew Sarosi, Director of Galileo, who holds a B.Sc. Metallurgy  and M.Sc. Engineering, University of Witwatersrand and is a member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, is a "qualified person" as defined under the AIM Rules for Companies and a competent person under the reporting standards. The technical parts of this announcement have been prepared under Andrew's supervision and he has approved the release of this announcement.

Note to the Editors

Galileo Resources is a natural resource exploration company. The Company has an experienced management team with proven technical and commercial background. The flagship property is the Glenover Phosphate concession, which produced phosphate for many years. Phosphate however, is now subordinated to Rare Earth Elements (REEs). The project area is known to contain REEs and that the grades, if of sufficient size and continuity may well lead to a medium-sized operation for the production of REOs. Galileo, which is earning up to 51% interest in the Project, with an option to increase its interest further to 74.73%, currently has  earned in a 29.71% interest.

In Zambia, the Company can acquire a 35% earn-in interest with option to purchase an additional 15% interest in the rare-earth Nkombwa Hill Project prior to feasibility study. Intensive surface sampling over the last 18 months has identified two drill-ready targets having significant levels of REE mineralisation. Kilogram-scale outcrop (rock chip) samples have returned rare earth contents of up to 23.6% TREO; exploration samples collected over the entire carbonatite complex that contain more than 1% TREO average 3.58% TREO.

For further information, please contact:

Colin Bird, Chairman  & CEO	Tel [phone]
Andrew Sarosi, Technical Director	Tel [phone]
Beaumont Cornish Limited: Nominated Advisor and Broker Roland Cornish	Tel [phone]
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited: Joint Broker Jerry Keen/Toby Gibbs	Tel [phone]
Gable Communications Justine James	Tel [phone] M  [phone]

 

 

Technical Glossary

CIM:                                          Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum

Nb:                                            Niobium - uses include: when added to stainless steels improves weldability;  imparts greater strength to other metals particularly exposed to low temperatures; alloys with tin or titanium are superconducting (below -250^o C), which permits generation of the very strong magnetic fields required for full-body diagnostic MRI scans.

Nb₂O₅:                                       an oxide of niobium

Phosphate (P₂O₅):                  an oxide of phosphorus

Sc₂O₃                                                             anoxide of scandium

Rare earth (RE) or

rare earth elements (REE):    a set of sixteen chemically similar elements in the periodic table made up of the fourteen stable lanthanoids: lanthanum to lutetium plus yttrium and scandium.  On the basis of their chemical properties, the REE may be subdivided into: the light REE (LREE); being the elements from lanthanum to gadolinium and the heavy REE (HREE); being the remaining seven lanthanides terbium to lutetium and yttrium.  The "Medium REE" sub-group (MREE) of the LREE is sometimes distinguished: comprising samarium to gadolinium, this subgroup gained significant when in 2012 the Chinese authorities began allocating separate export quotas for the LREE, MREE and HREE.   

REO (rare earth oxide):         the oxide form of the rare earth elements 

SAMREC Code:                         South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

TREO:                                        total rare earth oxides

The economically significant rare earth elements include:

La: Lanthanum                        Used extensively as a catalyst in the refining of crude oil; its ability to store 400 times its volume of hydrogen is utilised in rechargeable NiMH batteries that are an essential component of hybrid motor vehicles; La changes the refractive index of glass and is used in the manufacture of lenses for digital cameras.

Ce: Cerium                               Primary uses are in high quality polishing of glass, silicon wafers, solar cells; in auto catalytic converters; rich red colour pigments; low energy light bulbs.

Pr: Praseodymium                 As an additive Pr gives a pure yellow colour to glass and brilliant pastel greens and yellows for glazes; can be used along with Nd in permanent magnets (see below).

Nd: Neodymium                      Major application is in the manufacture of NdFe(iron)B(boron) permanent magnets (neo-magnets), the most powerful permanent magnets currently known.  NdFeB magnets are essential in new "clean energy" technology such as wind turbines and hybrid and electrical motor vehicles; their high strength have allowed the miniaturising of hard disc drives and personal audio devices.  Nd, with Y, is widely used in the manufacture of lasers.  

Eu:  Europium                         Widely used as a phosphor: Eu alloys uniquely provide a perfect red colour for LED, LCD and plasma television and monitor screens; also used in thin film superconductor alloys and in lasers

Gd: Gadolinium                      Uses include neutron capture capability and in compounds as a contrasting agent in radiography and magnetic resonance imaging in medical diagnostics

Sm: Samarium                        Alloyed with cobalt, Sm forms a strong permanent magnet that has the highest resistance to thermal demagnetization.

Sc: Scandium                          Scandium is a superior kind of equally lightweight aluminium, having a melting 900^o C higher than aluminum.  Uses include alloying with aluminium in aircraft and ball sports bats, seed germinating agent and special optical coating for detectors.   

Y: Yttrium                                 Uses include lasers, as host for europium in TV red phosphor; alloyed with boron and cobalt high temperature superconductors and microwave filters

 

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