Star Zinc Project Update

RNS Number : 5902V

Galileo Resources PLC

06 November 2017

 

For immediate release

6 November 2017

Galileo Resources Plc

("Galileo" or "the Company")

Star Zinc Project Update 

Highlights

·     Galileo appoints Africa Technical Consultants Limited ("ATC") to assist with and provide services for an environmental and exploration programme ("EP") for the Star Zinc Project ("Project") in Zambia  

·     The EP environmental scope will involve an environmental update including engaging and meeting with interested parties in preparation for collecting of soil samples and a drilling programme in due course

·     Soil sampling with portable XRF (x-ray fluorescence) spectrometry will be carried out on a 400m x 200m grid pattern covering the accessible and exploitable areas of the licence

·     Estimated EP and assessment duration is six weeks

Colin Bird CEO said, "We have completed a review of the project and now have much greater confidence in being able to enlarge the size of the estimated pit. Furthermore, we believe that there now exists considerable potential for other zinc mineralisation types in the deposit and we will aggressively pursue this concept. On completion of this programme and its assessment, we will design a drill programme aimed at confirming the current resource estimate and testing the project's prognosis for an enlarged resource.  During this concept phase we will also investigate the potential for a possible sulphide feeder origin for the current willemite and other non-sulphide zinc mineralisation in and around the pit." 

Galileo (AIM:GLR) is pleased to announce it has appointed Africa Technical Consultants Limited ("ATC") to assist with and provide services for a fast track exploration programme for its  Star Zinc Project in Zambia . This is the first step in the Company's objective (previously announced 4 October 2017) to initiate a fast track drilling programme in order to upgrade the Projects current non-compliant resource and to test the potential to increase the resource size.

This programme envisages, initially twin-hole drilling in the current non-compliant resource in order to upgrade it to JORC code (2012) compliance, followed by new drilling to test the potential to extend the high grade resource east and west and in new ground to the south. The occurrence of high grade (>50% Zn) float (pieces of rock that have been removed and transported from their original outcrop) 200m south of the current open pit presents an exciting prospective new target for mapping and exploration.

Environmental and Exploration Programme

The scope of the environmental work will include, as part of the environmental update and mining regulatory requirements, engaging and meeting with local communities, authorities, Chiefs and farm owners with regard to the Company's exploration programme for collecting of soil samples over all the accessible exploitable areas of the Licence and drilling in due course; the latter within an approximate 500m radius of the Projects' deposit itself.

Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme

Licence scale soil sampling will collect soil samples on a 400m x 200m N-S grid lines and rapidly analysed on site utilising portable XRF (x-ray fluorescence) spectrometry.  Initial work will include recording of pertinent sampling site details as well as any obvious feature (geological and other) of interest. The data obtained will be used to re-look, re-model and re-interpret historical soil geochemical data collected by others over part of the Southern portion of the Licence.

Star Zinc Project

The Company recently acquired a 51% interest in the Star Zinc project, a historical, high-grade zinc ("Zn") open pit mine operated intermittently in the 1950s to 1990s. The Zn mineral is predominantly willemite  (zinc silicate) hosted in mainly limestone and dolostone (dolomitic rock). 

An Independently verified non-JORC compliant hard rock resource has been estimated at 275,166 tonnes @ 20.2% Zn with a cut-off grade of 14% Zn  ("pragmatic case") based on historical approximately 59 diamond drill holes for total 2 578m.  At cut off grade of 12% Zn non-JORC resource tonnage increases (18%) to 325,941 tonnes @19.1% Zn  (11% increase in Zn metal).

In addition, karstic fill deposits and red soil are locally heavily mineralised with detrital willemite and supergene zinc minerals, which may provide further potential increase to the known resource.

Mineralisation is interpreted to form two shallowly dipping lenses east and west of the open pit, mineralisation of which is around 40m deep, based on the independent model used for the resource calculation.    

A number of sub vertical structures recognised in pit outcrop suggests possibility of both vertical and horizontal control of Zn mineralisation.

The Willemite at Star Zinc, fluoresces a bright green in short wave UV light, a mineral characteristic that may find an application in optical sorting.  Willemite also, is denser (3.9 g/cm³) than the dolomitic  (2.9 g/cm³) host rock, a feature that may find an application in heavy medium separation process, with the potential for reducing the acid consuming dolomite in the ore.  

Preliminary metallurgical testwork indicates that the ore is amenable to acid leaching with more than 90% of the zinc leached into solution.   

The Company has committed to undertake an 18-month work programme ("Programme") at a cost of US$250,000 using reasonable endeavours to complete a preliminary economic assessment of Star Zinc ("PEA"), following which further new shares in Enviro Zambia, the owner of the Project will be  issued to Galileo to increase its aggregate equity interest in therein to 85%;  accordingly it expects the Programme to meet this obligation.

Glossary

Detrital                loose fragments or grains that have been worn away from rock

Dolomite             mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate

Dolomitic            pertaining to dolomite  

Floats                    pieces of rock that have been removed and transported from their original outcrop

Karstic                  pertaining to landscape underlain by limestone (calcium carbonate), which has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, fissures and so on

Leaching              chemical process of solubilising metals in rock into solution

Supergene              pertaining to processes or enrichment that occurs relatively near the surface 

Willemite           zinc silicate mineral

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

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.

You can also follow Galileo on Twitter: @GalileoResource

For further information, please contact:

Galileo Resources PLC Colin Bird, Chairman Andrew Sarosi, Executive Director	Tel [phone]  Tel [phone]
Beaumont Cornish Limited  - Nomad  Roland Cornish/James  Biddle	Tel [phone]
Beaufort Securities Limited - Broker Jon Bellis/Elliot Hance	Tel [phone]

 

END

 

 

UPDUVRRRBWAARUA