Redmoor West Exploration Program Commences

RNS Number : 8079P

Strategic Minerals PLC

23 February 2021

 

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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.

23^rd February 2021

Strategic Minerals plc

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

Redmoor Update

Redmoor West Exploration Program focussing on Tin and Copper

Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a profitable producing mineral company, is pleased to announce that its 100%-owned subsidiary Cornwall Resources Limited ("CRL") is commencing a trenching and auger exploration program to investigate the possible presence of extensions of mineralisation up to 1,000 m to the west of the presently established Redmoor resource.

Highlights:

· Multiple prospective targets for tin and copper have been identified as a result of a review of historic exploration data to the west of the Redmoor deposit.

· Historic drill intercepts report up to 1.26% tin over 2.55 m in core, and 0.23% tin in percussion samples. 

· Significant soil anomalies feature values of up to 1,500 ppm tin and 630 ppm copper.

· Anomalies have a similar trend to known mineralisation further east.

· CRL to implement a low-cost combined trench and powered-auger sampling program to assess the potential of these anomalies as targets for future reconnaissance drilling.

As previously reported, CRL has had considerable success in exploration on the main Sheeted Vein System (SVS) resource. Although tungsten is known to be a key component of the SVS, the peak single-assay result for tin was 1 m @ 5.13% (in CRD029 from 366.51 m, appendix A) and for copper was 1 m @ 10.72% (in CRD018 from 358.17 m, appendix A), highlighting the capacity of the system to host intense mineralisation in both these metals. However, metal distribution is not uniform; the SVS shows a particular trend of increasing tin in the western parts of the resource. In light of this, CRL now plan to investigate the potential in the exploration area along strike from, and to the west of the current deposit.

This area is known from historic exploration data to contain multiple soil geochemical targets, particularly for tin and copper.  A review of all data from the 1960s-1980s, including paper documents only recently obtained, has been completed by the CRL team. This included historic soil sampling, auger drilling, percussion drilling, and five short diamond holes conducted by a range of previous operators including Dundonian Ltd and South West Consolidated Minerals Ltd. Several anomalies were identified during this work, the most interesting of which includes an intercept from core drilling in 1979, which reports grades of 1.26% tin over 2.55 m (in RM79-01 from 40.01 m, appendix B), at a depth of only 30 m from surface.

The improved understanding of the previous work has been further augmented by the results of CRL's recent field exploration, including some of its collaborative academic research projects. The combination of these datasets has allowed CRL to identify gaps in previous operators' work, representing opportunities for potential further discovery.

Three priority targets, primarily for tin and copper, have been selected for follow-up. The planned program will utilise a combination of powered-auger sampling and trenching techniques. This will both provide the opportunity to assess the defined targets and represents a practical test of the local viability of these methods. It is likely that similar techniques will be employed to follow-up anomalies identified during the forthcoming separate Deep Digital Cornwall geochemistry program (see release dated 15^th February 2021). Ultimately, this work is expected to lead to the definition of a series of additional targets suitable for reconnaissance drilling at a later stage should the initial exploration work be successful.

Substantial high-grade mineralisation is not expected at surface (grade being a function of proximity to the underlying granite). The main objectives of the program are to establish the westward continuity of the mineralised systems and advance knowledge of the prospective host geology with a view to optimizing and de-risking future exploration drill targets.

The program is believed to be the first exploration trenching work undertaken in this area, and we look forward to receiving results derived using modern technology and analysis. Work is planned to start in early April 2021, Covid-19 controls permitting, and to last for around three months, leading up to the expected start of the Deep Digital Cornwall work in the summer.

Commenting, Peter Wale, Executive Director of Strategic Minerals and Director of CRL, said :

"From our advanced understanding of the geology of the region, we consider it likely that the western potential of Redmoor extends farther away from the granite intrusions which drove the mineralisation in the area. As such, the mineralisation is likely to be richer in those metals that are typically distributed more distally from the source, such as tin and copper.

"Redmoor is, in its own right, a world-class undeveloped deposit (with a JORC (2012) compliant inferred resource of 11.7 mt @ 1.17% Sn Eq) and is understood to remain open at depth and along strike. The proposed work programme is designed to increase our confidence in the strike continuity of the main Redmoor system; to investigate a number of separate tin and copper lode-style targets; and to act as a precursor to further work associated with the recent Deep Digital Cornwall grant.

"Accordingly, the proposed western trenching and auger exercise represents a cost-effective program as a first step in assessing the wider potential for tin and copper at Redmoor."

For further information, please contact:
Strategic Minerals plc		[phone]
John Peters
Managing Director
Website:	www.strategicminerals.net
Email:	[e-mail]
Follow Strategic Minerals on:
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP		[phone]
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Matthew Johnson
Ewan Leggat
Charlie Bouverat

Appendix A

Hole ID	From (m)	To (m)	Interval Length (m)*	Cu (%)	Sn (%)	W (%)	WO3 (%)	Sn Eq (%)
CRD029	366.51	367.51	1.00	0.10	5.13	0.01	0.01	5.19
CRD018	358.17	359.17	1.00	10.73	0.2	2.72	2.72	8.37

Individual CRL assay intervals mentioned in release.

*lengths are apparent thicknesses

Appendix B

Pre-CRL intercepts mentioned in release.

Hole ID	From (m)	To (m)	Interval Length (m)*	Cu (%)	Sn (%)	W (%)	WO3 (%)	Sn Eq (%)
RM79_01	40.10	41.90	1.80	0.35	1.40	0.01	0.01	1.56
RM79_01	41.90	42.65	0.75	0.30	0.90	0.02	0.03	1.06
Interval	40.10	42.65	2.55	0.34	1.25	0.01	0.01	1.41

*lengths are apparent thicknesses

 

Notes to Editors

Strategic Minerals plc:

Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted, profitable operating minerals company. It has operations in the United States of America and Australia along with a development project in the UK.  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 the Board considers likely to benefit from future supply and demand factors.

In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the distribution rights to 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 progressing the Company's development projects.

In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited and, in February 2017, acquired 50% of the Redmoor Tin and Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK.  The bulk of the funds from the Company's investment were utilised to complete an initial drilling programme that year.  This programme resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource.  This was followed in 2018 with a 12-hole drilling programme which resulted in the resource update announced in February 2019.  In March 2019, the Company entered into arrangements to acquire the balance of the Redmoor Tin and Tungsten project.  This was completed on 24 July 2019.

In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and brought the project into production in April 2019.

 

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