Wallal Project Exploration Update

RNS Number : 9986X

Power Metal Resources PLC

11 January 2022

 

11 January 2022

Power Metal Resources PLC

("Power Metal" or the "Company")

First Development Resources - Wallal Project Exploration Update

Ground Reconnaissance Commences at the Wallal Project in the Paterson Province, Western Australia in Preparation for Phase I Diamond Core Drilling Programme

Power Metal Resources plc (LON:POW),  the London listed exploration company seeking large-scale metal discoveries across its global project portfolio, provides an update to shareholders in respect of its interests in the Paterson Province of Western Australia (the "Paterson Interests") held through First Development Resources Limited ("FDR").

This update relates specifically to the Wallal Project ("Wallal" or the "Project"), one of three Paterson region projects held by FDR and includes the Wallal Tenements (E45/5816, E45/5853 and E45/5880) (the "Tenements").

Highlights

· A reconnaissance team has arrived on site at the Wallal Project to survey and map all existing access tracks and proposed drill hole locations for a planned Phase I diamond core drilling programme targeting gold-copper mineralisation.

· The reconnaissance work will inform the extent of the Heritage Clearance Survey which will be completed under the supervision of the Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation ("YMAC") if required by YMAC and the Nyangumarta people, prior to drill programme mobilisation.

· FDR has appointed Ian Shackleton of Perth, WA, based Resource Potentials Pty Ltd ("Resource Potentials") as Exploration Manager and have opened dialogue with the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ahead of the Company's proposed Phase I diamond core drilling programme.

· Preparations for the FDR initial public offering ("IPO") listing process planned for Q2 2022 are progressing well, including finalising the board and advisory team composition.

Paul Johnson Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources plc commented:

"The First Development Resources opportunity is attracting considerable interest from prospective investors and we hope this early stage field reconnaissance will create more interest in what we believe is a very exciting opportunity.  We intend to publish updates on progress and shareholders are encouraged to monitor the Company's gallery section on our website where Project images and videos will be uploaded in the coming days.

The prospectivity of the Paterson Province has been heightened recently following Greatland Gold's Gold-Copper Havieron discovery and we believe the team we have assembled and the work which has been completed to date at Wallal has demonstrated the exploration potential of the area.

I would like to welcome Tristan Pottas the newly appointed FDR Chief Executive Officer.  Tristan joined in November 2021 and has been working proactively on the multiple work streams to build relationships in Australia, advance exploration work and further the FDR listing process.

Tristan Pottas Chief Executive Officer of First Development Resources Ltd commented:

"The initiation of reconnaissance work at FDR's flagship Wallal Project is the first step on our journey to testing the multiple intriguing bullseye shaped geophysical anomalies identified during the desktop analysis.

Over the past few months, we have been working with our various consultants and in country partners to extract the maximum amount of information from the data available to inform the optimum locations for our Phase I diamond core drilling programme targeting gold-copper mineralisation. 

To this end, we have established a working relationship with the traditional owners and we look forward to working with them as the exploration programme progresses."

PATERSON INTERESTS - OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE

The Paterson Interests are held by First Development Resources Limited which holds a 100% interest in local Australian operating company First Development Resources Pty Limited ("FDR Australia"). FDR Australia's licence interests are outlined below.

Power Metal has a current effective interest of 96.15% in FDR and an effective interest of 83.33% after the grant of three licences owned by URE Metals Pty Limited ("URE") which was acquired outright by FDR in an all-share purchase announced on 19 November 2021.  Further details of the acquisition of URE and its uranium and rare earths interests may be viewed in the Company's announcement:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/POW/uranium-rare-earths-acquisition-australia/15219001

PATERSON PROVINCE - EXPLORATION RATIONALE

The Paterson Province is host to major gold-copper deposits including Winu (Rio Tinto) and Havieron (Newcrest Mining - Greatland Gold JV).

To date, FDR has undertaken in-depth desktop analyses with the aim of comparing the geological and geophysical features of both Winu and Havieron to those found within the Wallal Project.

The exploration hypothesis is that if FDR is able to identify geological and geophysical similarities of areas within the Wallal Project to established large-scale deposits elsewhere in the Paterson region, it would increase the chance of a discovery and justify more detailed exploration.

A comprehensive desktop study commissioned by FDR over the Wallal Project is nearing completion and has identified three prospective magnetic bullseye targets. These include the Western, Eastern and Border anomalies which, based on geophysical interpretation, have estimated dimensions of 5km x 5km, 2.5km x 2.5km and 1km x 1km respectively.

Further analysis has determined that the Eastern and Border anomalies are located at depths similar to Greatland Gold's Havieron discovery. Greatland Gold's Havieron was discovered by blind drilling a magnetic bullseye anomaly through circa. 420m of post-mineral sedimentary cover.

The latest exploration update focused on the Wallal Project and released by the Company on 13 September 2021 may be viewed through the following link:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/POW/fdr-australia-paterson-region-exploration-update/15132674

WALLAL RECONNAISSANCE

FDR's reconnaissance team have arrived in the Paterson and will spend a week mapping and completing a condition survey of all existing access tracks linking the Wallal Tenements with the Great Northern Highway. The team also plan to visit the planned Phase I diamond core drill hole locations to assess the logistics of getting the drilling rig to the sites using existing access tracks.

The drill hole location assessment will inform and constrain the extents of the Heritage Clearance Survey request which we hope to initiate in the coming weeks. All reconnaissance will be completed in accordance with the terms of the Heritage Agreement in place with the YMAC as agent for the Nyangumarta Warrarn Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC ("NWAC").

Ahead of deployment of the reconnaissance team, notification was submitted to YMAC who are acting as an agent for the traditional owners of the Wallal Tenements, NWAC.

YMAC have agreed to allow these low-impact preparatory exploration works to go ahead prior to completion of the Heritage Clearance Survey.

Phase I diamond core drilling programme

FDR in conjunction with Perth, WA, based consultancy, Resource Potentials Pty Ltd, are nearing completion of an in-depth desktop analysis of all available data relating to the Wallal Tenements. The desktop study has focussed on providing clarity as to the scale, geometry and depth of the three magnetic "bullseye" anomalies identified within the Wallal tenement area.

The study has included the analysis of open-file government airborne magnetic geophysical datasets along with the reprocessing of historical seismic and ground-gravity data. The reprocessing of the legacy seismic data was completed by Velsis Integrated Seismic Technologies Pty Ltd and has been supplemented by FDR Australia's own passive seismic survey which was completed by Atlas Geophysics Pty Ltd.

The passive seismic survey was completed to provide important information relating to the depth of post-mineral sedimentary cover and critical information relating to the precise depth to bedrock over the Eastern and Border "bullseye" anomalies which will be the focus of the Company's phase I diamond core drilling programme. FDR expects to receive the final findings of the survey in the coming weeks.

Based on the work completed to date, FDR strongly believe that there is sufficient exploration data to support further exploration including a Phase I diamond core drilling programme.

In preparation for the Phase I diamond core drilling programme the Company has been liaising with all stakeholders including the traditional owners and exploration partners.

In accordance with section 47(1) of the Western Australian Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994, Ian Shackleton of Resource Potentials has been appointed as the Company's registered exploration manager, in addition, Resource Potentials has been granted authority to lodge operational reports, Programme of Works applications and act regarding any other Project Management and mining related compliance matters with the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ("DMIRS"), Western Australia.

Following completion of the reconnaissance work announced today, Resource Potentials, on FDR's behalf, will be applying for a Programme of Works from DMIRS specific to the Phase I diamond core drilling programme and a Heritage Clearance Survey Request will be issued to YMAC. FDR are targeting commencement of drilling activities during H1 2022.

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

FDR is seeking a listing on the London capital markets.  Preparatory steps are being taken for the listing, which is targeting Q2 2022, including the recruitment of a suitable board, senior management team and suite of advisors to assist with the listing process. 

Specifically in respect of the board, Tristan Pottas has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of FDR and Craig Moulton as Non-executive Director. 

PATERSON PROJECTS - BACKGROUND

FDR Australia holds the following exploration licence interests:

Wallal Project  (Wallal Main-E45/5816 -  390km ²  - granted), (Wallal West 1-E45/5853 96km ²  - granted) and (Wallal West 2 - E45/5880 86km ²  - granted).

Braeside West Project  (E45/5854 -  137km ²  - one granted licence)

In-depth desktop analysis of historic exploration data is currently underway on the Braeside West Project. A recent base-metal discovery by neighbouring company Rumble Resources has enhanced the overall prospectively within the Braeside West Project area as it is hosted within a similar geological environment to that of Rumble Resources discovery.

Ripon Hills Project  (E45/5088 -  42km ²  - one granted licence).

The Ripon Hills Project is prospective for base-metal and gold mineralisation associated with deep-seated north-south oriented fault structures which run through the Ripon Hills Project area. In-depth desktop analysis of historic exploration data is currently underway over the project.

COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Power Metal Resources PLC to provide technical support.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

For further information please visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or contact:

Power Metal Resources plc
Paul Johnson (Chief Executive Officer)	[phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Ewan Leggat/Charlie Bouverat	[phone]
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
Nick Emerson	[phone]
First Equity Limited (Joint Broker)
David Cockbill/Jason Robertson	[phone]

NOTES TO EDITORS

Power Metal Resources plc (LON:POW) is an AIM listed metals exploration company which finances and manages global resource projects and is seeking large scale metal discoveries.

The Company has a principal focus on opportunities offering district scale potential across a global portfolio including precious, base and strategic metal exploration in North America, Africa and Australia.

Project interests range from early-stage greenfield exploration to later-stage prospects currently subject to drill programmes.

Power Metal will develop projects internally or through strategic joint ventures until a project becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or separate listing on a recognised stock exchange thereby crystallising the value generated from our internal exploration and development work.

Value generated through disposals will be deployed internally to drive the Company's growth or may be returned to shareholders through share buy backs, dividends or in-specie distributions of assets.

Power Metal Exploration Programmes Underway/Results Awaited

Power Metal has exploration programmes completed or underway, with results awaited, as outlined below:

Project	Location	POW %	Work Completed or Underway	Results Awaited
Alamo Gold Project	USA	Earn-in to 75%	Excavation of multiple test pits and mapping & sampling.	Field and assay results from on-site work programme.
Authier North Lithium	Canada	Earn-in to 100%	Soil & rock sampling completed	Laboratory assay results of samples collected
Ditau Project	Botswana	50%	Preparatory exploration work underway on target I10 leading to planned accelerated drilling targeting rare-earth elements and base metals	Field programme findings and defined drill targets for near term drilling.
Kalahari Copper Belt	Botswana	50%	Exploration programme underway across the South Ghanzi Project and further exploration at the more recently acquired South Ghanzi Extension and Mamuno licence areas	Field programme findings and defined drill targets for near term drilling
Molopo Farms	Botswana	53%1	Kavango Option to acquire an interest in local project holding company.  Option fee payable through defined work programme	Results from various work activities underway as part of the Kavango Option
Tati Gold/Nickel	Botswana	100%	Reverse circulation drill programme completed	Laboratory assay results awaited
Victoria Goldfields	Australia	49.9%	Ongoing exploration across 848km2 of granted exploration licences	Results from field programme including drill programme underway
Wallal Gold/Copper Project	Australia	83.33%2	Passive seismic and 2D seismic processing work programme completed	Results awaited

¹ should Kavango exercise their option to acquire Kalahari Key, Power Metal interest would reduce to 40% of the Molopo Farms Complex project

²   assuming all licences held by URE Metals Pty Limited are granted as outlined in the Company's announcement of 19.11.21 resulting in the issue of First Development Resources Ltd shares to URE vendors

 

END

 

 

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