Zulu Assay Results and Pilot Plant Update

RNS Number : 7364T

Premier African Minerals Limited

26 July 2022

 

26 July 2022

Premier African Minerals Limited

Zulu Assay Results and Pilot Plant Update

Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company"), is pleased to report on assay results at Premier's Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu") and the Offtake and Prepayment Agreement.

Highlights:

·	Multiple thick high-grade zones intersected

George Roach, CEO commented , "And again, results continue to please on the upside. These are just a few of more than 2,000 outstanding assays that we are chasing laboratories for. This finishes hole 75 and this is typical of many of the holes intended to elevate the resource confidence level from Inferred to Indicated. Particularly pleasing are the multiple intersections that have passed through steeply dipping mineralised pegmatites. Pleasing also to note that this is precisely the type of ore body best suited to sensor-based sorting and the application of that technology is likely to improve overall mining efficiencies. At the same time good progress continues with early mine build. Site earthworks and camp construction is progressing well. Detailed civils design is expected to complete by end July 2022.

Our formal agreement in regard to offtake is largely in final state, and it is generally a pleasure to be able to report good progress all round." 

Zulu Lithium Project Pilot Plant

On 24 June 2022, Premier announced that it had entered into a binding Heads of Terms with Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology Co. Ltd to establish a large-scale pilot plant at Zulu to produce SC6 from Q1 2023.

The final form of the Offtake and Prepayment Agreement has now largely been agreed and Premier is now in the process of moving forward with closing, which is expected in the coming days.  A further announcement will be made in due course.

Drill Holes: Lithium & Tantalum Results

The table below sets out the independent external laboratory analyses for holes ZDD075.

Table 1 - Assay Summary Results

Hole	From (m)	To (m)	Width* (m)	Li2O%	Ta2O5 ppm	Rb ppm
ZDD075	53.22	56.96	3.74	1.29	62	3242
ZDD075	61.14	63.52	2.38	0.92	36	3167
ZDD075	102.00	105.89	3.89	1.16	15	2704

*Not True Width but lineal width

**0.50% Li₂O cut-off applied.

The following compositing routine was applied:

·	0.50% Li2O cut-off was applied to the pegmatitic intersections only.
·	<2m standalone composites at the cut-off grade but with an overall weighted average grade of >0.5% Li2O are not reported however,
·	Within any composite >2m thickness, high-grade intersections of 1m are reported; and
·	Within any composite, inclusions of country rock of <2m thickness are included within the composite provided the overall grade of the composite is not <0.50% Li2O.

Table 2 - Drilling Progress

A summary of the number of drill holes completed both prior to and for the ongoing DFS is set out below:

PROGRAMME	No of Drill Holes Completed	Metres (m)
RST (1958)	7	903.90
ZULU - Initial Exploration	6	2,312.90
ZULU - PEA	43	5,809.10
ZULU - DFS	101	23,377.98
ZULU - DFS (in progress)	6	888.54
	DFS Drilling Total (only):	24,266.52

Table 3 - Analytical Pipeline

A summary of the status of drill core analysis is set out below:

DFS - results received to date	1,800
DFS - sample pulps at SGS Randfontein	430
DFS - sample pulps ready to be shipped from Antec	1,585
DFS - samples being pulped at Antec	779
DFS - ongoing sampling of drill cores at site	183

Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC)

The drill holes are initially sited using a hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System device) within the -tenement areas. Accurate coordinates and elevations of drill holes collars are subsequently derived from a DGPS (Differential Global Position devices) survey.

Drill cores are geologically logged, intersections of interest are selected are marked-up with unique sample ID assigned before splitting and sampling. Cores are cut in half using a core cutter, individual samples bagged, and sent for analysis.

Alternating Certified Refence Materials (CRM), blank or duplicate samples are inserted every 10^th sample into the sample stream sent to the laboratory to ensure QA/QC compliance. These QA/QC samples are assessed upon receipt of analyses, checked and, if acceptable, accepted into the analytical database. Follow-up with the laboratory is instigated in cases were any QA/QC sample fails the QA/QC parameters.

Currently, drill core samples are crushed and pulverised at the Antec Laboratory, Zimbabwe to 85% passing -75 microns. Sample pulps are inspected for export in Harare by the competent government authorities and couriered to the SGS Laboratory Services in Randfontein, South Africa where pulps are fused with sodium peroxide and analysed by ICP-OES and ICP-MS to report 51-elements. (SGS code ICP90A50 & IMS90A50).

The Geology of Zulu

The area, located in the Fort Rixon Greenstone Belt, is underlain by Archaean-aged meta-volcanics and meta-sedimentary sequences of the Bulawayan Supergroup, with serpentinites and banded iron formations at the base in the east and metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary sequences to the west. The greenstone belt is tear drop shaped measuring 30 km long and 19 km wide near the broad section at the top. Metamorphism is retrograded to Greenschist facies.

The Zulu Pegmatite is a LCT (Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum) pegmatite swarm which intrudes along the contacts between serpentine and metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary sequences over a strike length of several kilometres. Outcrop widths vary between 10 and 25 m. The pegmatite bodies strike N20° and dip 70° to 90° to the west.

The area was first pegged in 1955 by J.S. Willemse and intensely explored, under an option, with mapping, trenching and drilling by Rhodesian Selection Trust Co. Ltd. ("RST") in 1958. In 1961 and 1962 a small quantity of petalite was mined by W. Burchett in partnership with J.S. Willemse. Premier later acquired the claims the Zulu in 2013.

The thickest pegmatite, north and south of the Machakwe river, is rich in spodumene, petalite and lepidolite while the thinner footwall pegmatites tend to be lower in Li-grade but carry good tantalum and rubidium grades.

In general, the lithium minerals, occurring in varying quantities, are coarse grained with associated feldspars and quartz with only very minor sulphides being observed. In several contact zones, the lithium-bearing amphibole, holmquistite, has been observed.

Qualified Person:

Bruce Cumming, geologist with Premier, has reviewed and approved this release to the extent that reference is made to Zulu.  Mr. Cumming is a SACNASP and GSSA registered geoscientist with 46 years' experience in exploration and project management, in multicommodity projects throughout Africa.

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 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. Nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.

Notes to Editors:

Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe.

The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and lithium and gold in Mozambique, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company has a ccepted a share offer by Vortex Limited ("Vortex") for the exchange of Premier's entire 4.8% interest in Circum Minerals Limited  ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, for a 13.1% interest in the enlarged share capital of Vortex. Vortex has an interest of 36.7% in Circum .

In addition, the Company holds a 19% interest in MN Holdings Limited, the operator of the Otjozondu Manganese Mining Project in Namibia.

Enquiries:

George Roach		Premier African Minerals Limited	Tel: [phone]
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish		Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
John More/Toby Gibbs		Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited	Tel: [phone]
Glossary of Technical Terms:
"amphibole"	A class of rock-forming silicate or aluminosilicate minerals typically occurring as fibrous or columnar crystals.
"Banded Iron Formation (BIF)"	A sedimentary rock consisting of alternating layers of iron oxides and iron-poor chert.
"DFS"	Definitive Feasibility Study.
"Greenschist facies"	The Greenschist facies is at low pressure and temperature. The facies is named for the typical schistose texture of the rocks and green colour of the minerals chlorite, epidote and actinolite.
"feldspar"	An aluminosilicate mineral consisting of potassium, sodium, and calcium.
"Holmquistite"	A lithium-bearing amphibole related to hornblende with a formula as (Na,K,Ca)Li(Mg,Fe)3Al2Si8O22(OH)2
"Lepidolite"	A pink to lavender coloured lithium bearing mineral (KLi 2 Al(Si 4 O 10 )(F,OH) 2 )
"Li to Li2O"	x 2.153
"Li"	Lithium
"Li2O"	Lithium Oxide (Lithia) - an inorganic lithium compound used to assess lithium minerals
"m"	meters
"meta-sediments"	Sedimentary rocks that have been metamorphosed
"meta-volcanics"	Volcanic rocks that have been metamorphosed
"Petalite"	A white coloured lithium bearing mineral (LiAl(Si 4 O 10 ))
"ppm"	parts per million
"Rb"	Rubidium
"serpentinite"	A dark, typically greenish metamorphic rock, consisting of serpentine or related minerals, formed when mafic igneous rocks are altered.
"Spodumene"	A white to pink coloured lithium bearing mineral (LiAlSi 2 O 6 )
"Ta to Ta2O5"	x 1.221
"Ta"	Tantalum

LITHIUM CLASSIFICATION AND CONVERSION FACTORS

Lithium grades are normally presented in percentages or ppm. Grades of deposits are also expressed as lithium compounds in percentages, for example as a percent lithium oxide (Li ₂ O) content. The standard conversion factors are set out in the table below:

Table: Conversion Factors for Lithium Compounds and Minerals

Convert from		Convert to Li	Convert to Li 2 O
Lithium	Li	1.000	2.153
Lithium Oxide	Li 2 O	0.464	1.000

 
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