Redmoor Project Update

RNS Number : 4810Y

Strategic Minerals PLC

22 August 2018

 

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.

22 August 2018

 Strategic Minerals plc

("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")

Redmoor Project Update

Phase 1 Drilling Programme Funded, Encouraging Mineralisation in Initial Holes

Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a producing mineral company actively developing projects prospective for battery materials, is pleased to provide the following update in relation to its interest in the Redmoor tin tungsten project (the "Project") in Cornwall, UK.

HIGHLIGHTS      

·     The Company's joint venture ("JV") partner, New Age Exploration Limited ("NAE"), has now funded its 50% of the Phase 1 development costs. As such, the Company's previous underwriting of all of Phase 1 funding has been cancelled reducing its current commitment by half to £332,000 which it has already funded.

·     Phase 1 of the 2018 drilling programme has commenced and is aimed at extending the Redmoor High Grade Inferred Resource within the broader sheeted vein system ("SVS").

·     Two holes have been completed of the Phase 1 seven-hole programme (for 4,000m), with two further holes underway.

·     Encouraging mineralisation intersected in both completed holes:

o  CRD021 - 728.7m total depth with multiple zones of tungsten mineralisation observed between 600m and 715m. This hole was extended below its target depth and represents the deepest hole drilled to date, intersecting high grade zones within the SVS.

o  CRD022 - 516.9m total depth with multiple zones of robust tungsten mineralisation observed between 405m to 501m depth.

o  Assay results for the first 2 holes expected in September.

·     Both drilling rigs are performing well, with Phase 1 drilling expected to be completed in early October, slightly ahead of schedule. Results from the full Phase 1 programme are expected to be available in November.

·     A cash payment of £101,000, net of fees, was received from the UK Government for Research and Development tax relief for the years ending June 2016 and June 2017. A further Research and Development claim for the year ending June 2018 will be finalised and submitted this year.

·     In September, a decision by the joint venture partners (SML and NAE) is expected to be made on drilling Phase 2 of the 2018 programme (a further approximately eight holes for 3,500m). This will be aimed at further extending the Redmoor high-grade resource and increasing the level of confidence of a significant part of the resource to an Indicated Mineral Resource classification.

Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director of Strategic Minerals, said:

"I am extremely pleased with the steady progress being made at Redmoor. The preliminary results from the first two holes, the funding from our JV partner and the receipt of research and development tax relief all bode well for the future of the Project.

"The 2018 drilling programme is designed with the expectation of delineating a sufficient resource to justify proceeding to a Prefeasibility Study in 2019.  While the Board and Management consider that the Redmoor project represents significant value, it believes that the provision of the Prefeasibility Study will provide the necessary basis for the market to appropriately value this asset. The Company looks forward to updating the market on progress at Redmoor throughout the rest of the year."

COMPETENT PERSON'S STATEMENT

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled and reviewed by Paul Gribble C.Eng., a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), and who is Principal Geologist of Geologica UK (Geologica). Paul Gribble has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Paul Gribble is also a Competent Person "as defined in the Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies which form part of the AIM Rules for Companies".  Paul Gribble has consented to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information, please contact:
Strategic Minerals plc		[phone]
John Peters
Managing Director
www.strategicminerals.net
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Notes to Editors

Strategic Minerals Plc is an AIM-quoted, operating minerals company actively developing projects prospective for battery materials. It has an operation in the United States of America and development projects in the UK and Australia. The Company is focused on utilising its operating cash flows, along with capital raisings, to develop high quality projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals being sought in the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.

In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, a cash-generating asset, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. This operating revenue stream is utilised to cover company overheads and invest in development projects orientated to supplying the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.

In January 2016, the portfolio was expanded with the acquisition of shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that are prospective for cobalt, gold, nickel sulphides and rare earth elements. The Company has since acquired all shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd.

In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited to acquire up to 50% of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. This 50% acquisition was completed in February 2017 and a drilling programme completed in 2017 resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource. Phase 1 of the 2018 drill programme is underway.

In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and is currently working to bring this into operation in 2019.

 

END

 

 

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