Assay Results for the First Diamond Drill Holes

RNS Number : 1154H

Kodal Minerals PLC

13 November 2018

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR")

Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining

13 November 2018

Kodal Minerals plc ('Kodal Minerals' or the 'Company')

Diamond Core drill intersections up to 30m at 1.51% Li2O

from Sogola-Baoule Prospect confirming geological model- Bougouni Project, Southern Mali

Kodal Minerals, the mineral exploration and development company focused on the Bougouni Lithium Project, is pleased to report assay results for the first two diamond drill holes completed during the wet season at the Sogola-Baoule ("Sogola-Baoule") and Boumou ("Boumou") prospects located on the Company's 450km² Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali ("Bougouni").

Highlights

·   At Sogola-Baoule, diamond core intersections confirm geological model and continue to extend mineralisation - intersections include:

o 30m at 1.51% Li₂O from 56.08m and

5.50m at 1.59% Li₂O from 96.48m in drill hole MDDH002;

o 16m at 1.85% Li₂O from 94.35m in drill hole MDDH001;

 (Note all depths are downhole depth, and true vertical depth will be shallower or closer to surface)

·   High grade assays up to 3.6% Li₂O returned at Sogola-Baoule and multiple parallel veins intersected at shallow depths

·   Diamond core drilling at Boumou intersected multiple pegmatite veins confirming and extending the geological model of mineralisation

·   Bougouni Project development and review activities continue with environmental assessment evaluations continuing and site visit by Independent Mineral Resource Geologist completed

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, said: "We continue to make solid progress with both drilling and development activities at Bougouni and have successfully added definition to the geological interpretation and extended the areas of known mineralisation at our key prospects at Sogola-Baoule and Boumou despite a very extensive wet season in West Africa.

"We intend to re-commence diamond core drilling this week, followed by reverse circulation drilling next week and will maintain two rigs through to the Christmas break.  We are expecting to be able to continue to expand our current resource base as we look to move rapidly to development.

"Running in parallel to our drilling programme, we have been completing our wet-season environmental review including river ecology, local flora and fauna studies as well as water sampling and dust monitoring.  This will be complemented by the dry-seasons studies and used to finalise our ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment) submission to the Mali government.  In addition to the environmental studies we have also completed a site visit with our Independent Mineral Resource geologist to complete a review of site activities and support potential future upgrading of our Mineral Resource estimate."

Further Information

Bougouni Lithium Project - Drilling Update

Kodal Minerals has continued drilling in the wet-season with diamond core drill holes targeting the Sogola-Boule and Boumou prospects.  A total of 12 core drill holes (five at Sogola-Baoule for 763.7m and seven at Boumou for 1,044.5m) have been completed where access has been possible.  This announcement refers to the first two drill holes for the Sogola-Boule prospect and has returned multiple mineralise pegmatite intersections.  Significant intersections calculated using a 1% Li₂O lower cut-off, maximum 2m internal dilution are tabled below:

Hole Id	Northing	Easting	Hole Depth m	From m	To m	Thickness m	Li2O %
MDDH001	1253499	653029	162.3	51.95	54.95	3.00	1.66
MDDH001				82.20	84.20	2.00	1.92
MDDH001				94.35	110.35	16.00	1.85
MDDH002	1253757	653546	129.44	56.08	86.08	30.00	1.51
MDDH002				96.48	101.98	5.50	1.59

Notes:  Drill holes are diamond core drill holes with core at HQ diameter. Drill holes have been sampled on a 0.5m basis, with core cut along an orientation line, and subsequent quarte core collected for assay test work. Drill hole collars are surveyed using a differential GPS with sub 1-metre accuracy, coordinate system WGS84 - Zone 29N, and all holes are survey down-hole for dip and azimuth on approximately 30m intervals. All drill holes are geologically logged, and sampling for analysis in based on geological boundaries.  Samples analysed by ALS Global. Assay results are reported as Li% and converted to Li₂O% by a factor of 2.153.  Intersections are reported using a 1%Li₂O lower-cut-off, and allowing for a maximum of 2m internal dilution.

The assay result for MDDH001 at 82.4m includes a 0.5m zones grading 3.6% Li₂O.  Review of this core zone indicates a spodumene rich pegmatite with both coarse crystals exceeding 5cm in length as well as fine grained spodumene.  This zone is located with a sub-parallel pegmatite vein to the main mineralisation.

Sogola-Baoule Prospect

The drill holes for the Sogola-Baoule prospect were designed to test key zones within the north-eastern extension of the prospect and target areas with potential to add to the existing JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.  The intersections detailed in the geological logging and the initial assay results have a very high correlation with the Company's current geological model.

Kodal Minerals is awaiting the receipt of the final three diamond core drill holes and will also continue its programme at Sogola-Baoule when drilling re-commences.  The mineralisation at this prospect remains open to the north-east and at depth and the Company will focus future drilling on upgrading and extending the current Mineral Resource estimate.

Boumou Prospect

Diamond core drilling at the Boumou prospect targeted both the 'northern' and 'southern' zones for the prospect.  The Boumou prospect is characterised by multiple lithium mineralised pegmatite veins with an overall strike trending east-northeast/south-southwest and dipping to the north.  The geological interpretation from initial RC drilling highlighted the separate 'northern' and 'southern' zones that formed the initial minerals resource estimate.  All assays are pending for the completed drilling, however geological logging of the diamond core confirms the continuity of Kodal Minerals' geological model and indicates the potential to extend the current mineralised zone.

The Boumou prospect will be targeted by RC drilling in the next campaign with a focus on continuing to expand the mineralised zone and define mineralisation with potential to support open pit mining.

Bougouni Lithium Project - Development Update

Kodal Minerals has continued to work on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment studies, with key wet-season studies being completed on site.  Kodal Minerals has had expert consultants reviewing the local flora and fauna, studying local wetlands, reviewing river ecology and aquatics and undertaken hydrological assessment.  The assessment work will continue throughout the following months as the Company continues to undertake water sampling and dust monitoring.  In addition, Kodal Minerals will continue with the community consultation to ensure successful permitting of the project.

Kodal Minerals has also completed a site visit by the Independent Resource Geologist to support future upgrading of the categories of the minerals resource estimates as well as confirm that all Kodal Minerals' site activities are being completed to a high standard suitable to support future mining assessment.

The exploration results and activity reported in this announcement have been reviewed by Mr Bernard Aylward who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Aylward 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 Qualified Person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Aylward consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or contact the following:

Kodal Minerals plc Bernard Aylward, CEO	Tel: [phone]
Allenby Capital Limited, Nominated Adviser Jeremy Porter/Nick Harriss	Tel: [phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial Adviser & Broker John Mackay	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd, Financial PR Susie Geliher/Cosima Akerman	Tel: [phone]

About Kodal Minerals

Kodal Minerals' primary focus is on the rapid advancement of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali towards production.  The recently completed Maiden JORC Resource Estimate placed the Bougouni Project in the top 15 hard rock lithium projects globally and was calculated using only three of the eight currently recognised prospects demonstrating the significant exploration upside potential remaining across the 450km² project area.  The Mineral Resource estimate for the Ngoualana, Sogola-Baoule and Boumou prospects are tabulated below.  These mineral resources are reported in accordance with the JORC Code:

	Tonnes (Mt)	Li2O% Grade	Contained Li2O  (kt)
Sogola_Baoule	10.4	1.18	122.2
Ngoualana	4.7	1.34	62.8
Boumou	2.2	1.04	22.9
Total	17.3	1.20	207.9

Notes:  Mineral resources are reported using a 0.5%Li2O cut-off.  Figures may not sum due to rounding.  The contained metal is determined by the estimated tonnage and grade.

The Bougouni Project is located in an emerging lithium province that is already attracting the attention of investors and off-take partners interested in securing a long-term supply of lithium.  With the support of its strategic investor and off-take partner Suay Chin International Pte, a Singapore-based lithium and chemical trader, Kodal Minerals is well funded to continue its ambitious development programme at Bougouni.

Further to this, Kodal Minerals is the manager of additional lithium and gold projects that are undergoing low cost exploration programmes in addition to JV funded gold properties in Cote d'Ivoire that offer potentially significant long-term value.

 

END

 

 

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