33% Rise in Contained Copper

RNS Number : 5056W

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd

15 November 2017

 

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd / Ticker: AIM:PGM / Sector: Mining

15 November 2017

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd ('Phoenix' or the 'Company')

33% increase in JORC Resource for the Empire Mine oxide pit - 90,547 tonnes total contained copper

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd (AIM:PGM.L), the AIM quoted, US-focused copper exploration and development company, is pleased to announce a highly positive update on the JORC Resource (NI 43 101 Compliant) for the Empire Copper Mine oxide pit in Idaho, USA.

Highlights:

o  51% increase in total copper resource of 19,382,569 tonnes (April 2017: 12,809,000 tonnes);

o  43% increase in Measured and Indicated Resources of 10,419,483 tonnes (April 2017: 7,263,000 tonnes);

o  33% increase in total contained copper for 90,547 tonnes (April 2017: 68,300 tonnes);

o  $612m contained copper metal value based on current Cu price of $6,768/tonne

o  Zinc, Gold and Silver resources reported for the first time.

o  Contained by-products

§ Zinc - 51,925 tonnes

§ Gold - 165,686 ounces

§ Silver - 6,411,703 ounces

o  Drilling of high grade sulphide zone below existing oxide pit on-going

Dennis Thomas, the Company's CEO, said, "We have made rapid progress this year with this latest milestone adding considerably more value to the Empire Mine.  Since listing in June 2017, we have increased our total resource by 51% from the oxide pit, on a modest investment of US$1m, and increased the copper inventory to 90,547 tonnes, which is valued at US$612m based on today's copper price.  Importantly, we have now begun to report the zinc (51,925t), silver (6.412 million ounces) and gold (165,686 ounces) contained within the copper resource.

"However, we believe this is just the beginning and we are only scratching the surface given that the exploration of the high-grade and potentially transformational sulphides has only just begun.  We are expecting initial drill results from these deeper exploration targets as early as December 2017 and look forward to updating the market with these results in due course.  We believe we have a valuable copper project, at a time when the demand fundamentals are very strong, in a safe, supportive and politically stable jurisdiction, and that we will be able to rapidly advance and crystallise its inherent value."

Details of Updated JORC Resource for the Empire Mine Oxide Resource  

The JORC resource calculation was completed by Hard Rock Consulting LLC (HRC) and utilised new data from the 2017 infill drilling programme to augment the previously calculated April 2017 JORC resource. 

The 2017 infill-drilling programme was designed to provide additional subsurface geochemical data as well as to increase the understanding of the subsurface geology as it relates to the distribution of copper grade.  The drill hole assay data, combined with the refined geologic and grade model, has resulted in a total copper resource 51% larger than reported in April 2017.  The HRC Resource Update Report can be viewed on the Company's website.

The HRC resource update will be integrated into the ongoing copper oxide Pre-Feasibility Study which is anticipated for completion in Q2 2018.  Exhibit 1 shows the Measured, Indicated and Inferred copper resource calculated by HRC in the Empire oxide pit using a copper cut-off grade of 0.184%.  The Exhibit also highlights the zinc, gold and silver resources contained within the copper bearing zones of the oxide pit.

Exhibit 1- JORC Resource November 2017

Classification	Tonnes	Copper	Zinc	Gold	Silver	Contained Metal Tonnes		Contained Metal Ounces
	Ore	%	%	g/t	g/t	Copper	Zinc	Gold	Silver
Measured	3,296,532	0.53	0.11	0.21	8.81	17,472	7,252	21,803	933,887
Indicated	7,122,951	0.51	0.15	0.24	11.45	36,327	21,369	54,962	2,622,468
Measured + Indicated	10,419,483	0.52	0.13	0.23	10.62	53,799	28,621	76,765	3,556,354
Inferred	8,963,087	0.41	0.13	0.31	9.91	36,749	23,304	88,921	2,855,349
Total MI+I Resources	19,382,569	0.47	0.13	0.27	10.29	90,547	51,925	165,686	6,411,703

Cut-off Grade Calculation

The HRC Resource Upgrade Report is available for review on the Company's website by selecting www.pgmining.com/corporate-documents/.  In addition to the inclusion of recent drilling data and refined geological modeling, HRC calculated a new copper cut-off grade of 0.184% (compared with 0.17% used in the April 2017 estimate) based on a US$3.25/lb copper price and industry standard processing and operating costs.  The costing variables can be found in Table 10 of the HRC report.   

Resource Upgrade Defined

HRC estimated the mineral resource for the Project based on drillhole data constrained by geologic boundaries with an Ordinary Krige ("OK") algorithm. Datamine Studio 3® V3.24.73 ("Datamine") software was used to complete the resource estimate.  The metals of interest at the Project are copper, zinc, gold and silver. All units are imperial, and all costs are reported in US Dollars unless otherwise specified.

The mineral resources for the Project have been estimated in a manner consistent with the Committee of Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards ("CRIRSCO") of which both the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") and Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the "JORC Code") are members.

The mineral resources reported herein are classified as Measured, Indicated and Inferred in accordance with standards defined by the CIM, "CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves", prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014.

The HRC report is presented in imperial measure and the above table has converted these results into metric units for the purposes of this press release. It shows a comparison of this updated resource to the Measured, Indicated and Inferred resource contained in the Company's Competent Person's Report dated15 June 2017 prior to the reporting of zinc, gold and silver resource estimates. The current reporting indicates an increase of 44% contained copper, as well as significant zinc, gold and silver contained within the copper resource defined by the oxide pit.

The HRC Mineral Resources are reported within an optimized pit shell and meet the test of reasonable prospect for economic extraction. The cut-off used to report resources inside the optimised pit shell is based on a $3.25/lb Cu price. The cut-off is calculated to be 0.184% total copper based on current industry standards of operating costs, royalties, recoveries and metal prices.

The "reasonable prospects for economic extraction" requirement referred to in NI 43-101 was tested by designing a series of conceptual open pit shells using Whittle software.  After review of several scenarios considering different metal prices HRC utilised a pit optimisation with a long-term copper price of US$3.25/lb for determining the limit of reasonable prospects for economic extraction.

Qualified Person

The information in this announcement has been reviewed by Roger Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., Chief Technical Officer and Director of the Company. Mr Turner is a graduate mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years' experience in mine development, construction and operation and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr Turner consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they appear.

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.pgmining.com or contact:

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd	Dennis Thomas & Richard Wilkins	c/o St Brides Partners [phone]
SP Angel (Nominated Advisor)	Lindsay Mair / Caroline Rowe	Tel: [phone]
Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)	Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield/ Alex Walker/Robert Beenstock	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	Charlotte Page / Susie Geliher	Tel: [phone]

Notes

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd (AIM: PGM) is a US-focused, base metal explorer and developer, which is fast-tracking the historically-producing Empire Mine in Idaho, USA back into production.

Having established an initial copper oxide JORC resource of 19.4 mt grading 0.47% copper ('Cu') for 90,547 t contained Cu. Phoenix has defined a two-phase development strategy.  Phase One is focused on commencing low cost, open pit production from the current oxide resource, targeting 7,000t copper cathode per annum by 2020 via an SX-EW plant.  Stage Two will look to extend the life of mine by targeting the deeper (below c.120m), higher grade copper sulphides, where intercepts of up to 11.4% Cu have been recovered.  Preliminary Feasibility Study work on the priority open pit oxide resource is already underway.

It is estimated that only 5% of the potential ore system has been explored to date and accordingly there is significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased exploration; the current resource relates to the oxide resource only, which remains open along strike and does not include the deeper, higher grade sulphides.  The Company also holds two prospective copper-cobalt properties in Idaho, US, which are located north of the Empire Mine.  These are situated close to the town of Cobalt and are close to projects being advanced by Canadian junior miners, including eCobalt Solutions and US Cobalt.  Early stage exploration is underway with drilling targeted to commence in 2018.

With a management team that has successfully constructed, commissioned and operated mines and a low risk, mining-friendly jurisdiction with excellent infrastructure, Phoenix is looking to fulfil its ambitions to become a mid-tier base metal producing company, offering exposure to two high demand technology metals with compelling demand/supply fundamentals.

 

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