Identification of Nickel, Copper and Cobalt

RNS Number : 4809D

Jangada Mines PLC

10 October 2018

 

Jangada Mines plc / EPIC: JAN.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

10 October 2018

 Jangada Mines plc ('Jangada' or the 'Company')

High Grade Nickel together with Copper Sulphide and Cobalt Mineralisation Identified

Jangada Mines plc, a natural resources company developing South America's largest and most advanced platinum group metals ('PGM') project, is pleased to announce that it has identified significant nickel and copper sulphide anomalies at its Pedra Branca PGM project ('Pedra Branca' or 'the Project') in north-eastern Brazil, which could positively impact its already robust economics.

Overview

·     High-grade economic nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation identified immediately beneath the existing PGM and base metal resource

·     Grades include:

o  2.65% Ni, 0.86% Cu and 0.13% Co over 0.3m at 55m depth

o  1.65% Ni, 1.5% Cu and 0.1% Co over 1.8m at 47.2m depth

o  2.30% Ni over 1.0m at 90m depth

o  1.01% Ni over 1.0m at 84m depth

o  102 core intersections with nickel grades ranging from 0.5% to 1.0%

·     Newly identified mineralisation, in proximity to the planned PGM open pit operation, could enhance the already strong project economics: potential net present value ('NPV') of US$192 million, Internal Rate of Return ('IRR') of 67% and 1.6-year payback

·     Commissioned independent nickel and copper maiden JORC resource estimate to be published in Q4, 2018

·     Strong market fundamentals for nickel and copper due to decreasing supply and increased demand from new battery technologies

Brian McMaster, Chairman of Jangada, said: "The identification of economic grade nickel and copper sulphide immediately beneath the existing PGM resource clearly demonstrates the potential of Pedra Branca to become a pre-eminent global polymetallic operation. 

"The nickel price has strong long-term fundamentals and has shown resilience in the recent few months, where commodity prices have been impacted by global politics.  There is growing demand for nickel from the stainless-steel market, and the emerging EV battery sector, and inventories are coming under increasing pressure to satisfy this demand.  

"The initial maiden resource estimate that has been commissioned will confirm the current project metrics and scale, in addition to highlighting the potential to expand on the existing base metal resources at the Project.  As shown in the Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') announced in June, our PGM resource already has very robust economics. High-grade nickel, which can be mined from the same shallow open pits as planned for the PGM horizon, is a potential game-changer that could further enhance these economics."

Further Information

The occurrence of nickel at the Project has been recorded over several years by various operators.  Its PGM and nickel-copper resources are hosted by a paleo-proterozoic, tabular-shaped ultramafic body known as the Troia Unit; most of the world's high-grade nickel deposits occur in such a geological context.

The distribution of anomalous nickel intersections indicate at least five potential targets, all of which are associated with geophysical magnetic anomalies and coincident with the known PGM deposits at the Project. The majority of nickel anomalies currently identified are located in the region of the Cedro, Esbarro and Curiu deposits.  The Company's independent consultants have indicated that there is potential to increase the current nickel resources.

A number of high-grade nickel and copper drill hole intersections display the occurrence of massive and disseminated mineralisation at the base of the ultramafic unit, similar to other global nickel deposits. These intersections include the following drill holes:

·     RW014: 2.65% Ni, 0.86% Cu and 0.13% Co over 0.3m at 55m depth;

·     CD50: 1.65% Ni, 1.5% Cu and 0.1% Co over 1.8m at 47.2m depth;

·     PBE05: 2.30% Ni over 1.0m at 90m depth; and

·     PBE11: 1.01% Ni over 1.0m at 84m depth.

Additionally, the database contains 102 other drill hole core samples with nickel grades between 0.5%

and 1.0%.

Pedra Branca is the largest and most advanced PGM project in South America and currently has a JORC (2012) compliant resource of approximately 1.45 million ounces of PGM+Au at a grade of 1.3g/t PGM+Au (2.5 g/t Pd Eq), 140 million pounds of nickel, 26 million pounds of copper and 6.7 million pounds of cobalt.

The Project is located 280 km from the port city of Fortaleza in the northeast of Brazil and holds three mining licenses and 42 exploration licenses over an area of 50,000 hectares.  Previous operators have spent more than $35 million on exploration and development activities, which include 30,000 meters of diamond core drilling, geophysical surveys and metallurgical tests. The current resources are at surface and Jangada is currently preparing a pre-feasibility study assuming shallow open pit mining and conventional processing methods.

Grade Tonnage Table - Pedra Branca Deposit - Mineral Resources

Block Model: 20m X 20m X 2m (5m X 5m X 0.5m)

Equivalent Gold Cut-Off Grade: 0.30 g/t

Cedro Tonnes (kt) PGM (g/t) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) Cu (%) Ni (%) Cr2O3(%) Co (g/t) PGM (koz) Pd (koz) Pt (koz) Au (koz) Indicated 3 798 1.066 0.665 0.383 0.018 0.043 0.196 0.789 118.73 130.2 81.2 46.8 2.2 Inferred 2 003 1.522 0.934 0.569 0.019 0.032 0.179 0.812 109.40 98.0 60.2 36.6 1.2 Curiu Measured 1 061 2.091 1.043 0.957 0.091 0.038 0.218 1.156 130.123 71.3 35.6 32.6 3.1 Indicated 382 2.046 1.035 0.893 0.119 0.037 0.199 2.382 122.121 25.1 12.7 11.0 1.5 Inferred 37 2.967 1.550 1.294 0.123 0.056 0.206 2.099 109.791 3.5 1.8 1.5 0.1 Esbarro Measured 2 985 1.316 0.863 0.428 0.025 0.047 0.249 1.145 139.677 126.3 82.8 41.1 2.4 Indicated 7 126 1.206 0.771 0.405 0.031 0.047 0.227 0.600 128.516 276.3 176.6 92.8 7.1 Inferred 495 0.996 0.549 0.424 0.023 0.056 0.178 0.276 109.553 15.9 8.7 6.7 0.4 Trapia Indicated 2 529 1.113 0.639 0.422 0.052 0.055 0.216 0.910 133.035 90.5 52.0 34.3 4.2 Inferred 2 717 1.320 0.605 0.616 0.099 0.045 0.202 1.184 122.955 115.3 52.9 53.8 8.6 Santo Amaro Inferred 11 380 1.360 0.650 0.690 0.020 0.010 0.120 0.710 105.870 497.0 237.0 252.0 7.0 Total Meas+Ind 17 881 1.252 0.767 0.450 0.036 0.047 0.221 0.846 128.898 719.7 440.9 258.6 20.5 Inferred 16 632 1.366 0.676 0.657 0.033 0.020 0.142 0.790 109.205 729.7 360.6 350.7 17.4

Competent Person Statement

The technical information in this statement is based on information compiled by Mr. Bernardo Horta Cerqueira Viana who is a geologist and full-time director and owner of GE21 and is registered as a Competent Person with the MAIG. Mr Viana has sufficient relevant experience to the style of mineralization to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code (2012). Mr Viana also meets the requirements of a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

ENDS

For further information please visit www.jangadamines.com or contact:

Jangada Mines plc	Brian McMaster (Chairman)	Tel: [phone]
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated & Financial Adviser)	James Spinney Ritchie Balmer Jack Botros	Tel: [phone]
Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)	Jonathan Evans Oliver Stansfield	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR)	Isabel de Salis Gaby Jenner	Tel: [phone]

 

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