Scandinavia Projects Update

RNS Number : 2068P

Erris Resources PLC

09 October 2019

 

Erris Resources plc / EPIC: ERIS.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

9 October 2019

Erris Resources plc

("Erris Resources" or the "Company")

Scandinavia Projects Update and Expansion into Norway

Erris Resources plc, the European focused mineral exploration company with a portfolio of zinc and base metals projects in Ireland and gold projects in Sweden, Finland and now Norway, is pleased to provide an update on its activities in Scandinavia for the 2019 field season, which typically runs from May to September.  

Highlights

·    Granted four new exploration permits covering two new gold projects in Northern Norway.

·    Ground truthing of new Norway permits confirms mineralisation potential ahead of winter season.

·    Completed fieldwork in Finland as part of the strategic alliance with Centerra Gold including mapping, prospecting and soil sampling at the Sakiatieva Project in northern Finland.

·    Completed a drone aeromagnetic survey at the Sakiatieva Project and re-logged historic core as part of a full data review of the project.

·    Identified new drill targets for gold mineralisation at the Sakiatieva Project.

Erris Resources CEO, Anton du Plessis, said, "Erris Resources has expanded its activities in Scandinavia into Norway with the granting of four new 100%-owned permits, for prospects which we believe are highly prospective for gold while the Company continues to be active on the ground as part of its strategic alliance with Centerra Gold in Finland. The new permits in Norway have been subject to very limited exploration in the past but historical reports suggest that high-grades and favourable styles of mineralisation are present and a modern systematic approach to exploration is warranted to assess the economic potential. The new permits are in line with the Company's stated strategy to identify highly prospective gold and base metal targets in safe and supportive European jurisdictions and to elevate priority targets to drill-ready status."

Norway - New Gold Exploration Permits

Erris Resources has been granted four new permits, each totalling 10 square kilometres over the Mauken and Gautelis Gold prospects in northern Norway. Two permits cover the Mauken prospect in the county of Troms and two permits cover the Gautelis prospect in the county of Nordland.

The Mauken project lies in a newly recognised greenstone belt with mineralisation first described in 2008. Previous exploration was limited to a private Norwegian company which reported stream and till anomalies over a large area and gold in rock samples over 1,750m of strike with results from surface exposures ranging from 1.0g/t Au to 5.79 g/t Au.  Mineralisation is hosted in siltstone and sandstone, and quartz stockworks within a contact zone between pillowed and massive basalts. Gold is associated with silicification, gold bearing arsenopyrite, en-echelon quartz veins and a quartz-ankerite alteration system. It is reported that six holes were drilled at two localities in 2010 before the company changed the nature of its business to research and development and abandoned the permits. The drilling results are not known. However, given the extensive length of the altered and mineralised zone, the various styles of mineralisation reported and the favourable structural setting, Erris Resources believes the mineralised structure has not been sufficiently tested and warrants a thorough review. Preliminary ground truthing by Erris Resources in September prior to the winter snows confirmed the location of historic drilling with drill collars and channel sample locations located and several altered and mineralised outcrops sampled. Results are pending for rock samples.

At Gautelis, historic work identified three styles of mineralisation including high-sulfidation style massive arsenopyrite with gold that was mined for arsenic on a small scale in 1916-1920, Carlin style gold mineralisation hosted in carbonates and narrow sulphide-rich veins with high grades up to 329.66 g/t Au, 0.52 % Cu, 2.4 % Pb, 0.69 % Zn, 0.08 % As and 61 g/t Ag.

A total of 1,500m of drilling was undertaken in 1984-1985 to test the mineralised carbonates and the massive arsenopyrite mineralisation. A historic report states that average gold grades in the carbonates may reach 6-7ppm over 3m in drill core while hole 2-85 intersected 3m grading 6.66g/t Au from 50-53m and 3m grading 3.3 g/t Au from 44-47m. The upper 26m of hole 4-84 returned 26m grading 0.58 g/t Au suggesting potential for broad zones of mineralisation in the carbonates.  A historic exploration report also states that the Gautelis area is underlain by a sizeable carbonate zone which reached thicknesses of up to 300m. It extends laterally for about six kilometres giving ample space for a new gold discovery. The characteristics are similar to Carlin-type deposits for which knowledge has greatly advanced over the past 35 years; the project warrants further exploration as historic drilling was shallow and sections indicate mineralisation is open at depth. Preliminary ground truthing was carried out by Erris Resources in September with the historic arsenic mine and waste dumps located along with two in-situ drill collars despite snow cover obscuring much of the geology. Ten samples were taken and results are pending.

Erris plans to conduct further data reviews during the winter period and fieldwork on both projects in the next field season to determine the full potential of these projects. It should be noted that all of the information and results outlined above cannot be verified by the Company and are merely an indication that mineralisation is present within the permit areas with preliminary site visits confirming the presence of mineralisation.

Centerra Gold ('Centerra') Alliance - Finland and Sweden

The Company's geologists completed mapping, prospecting and soil sampling at the Sakiatieva project in northern Finland in June. Prospecting and mapping were limited by glacial overburden in the main prospect area and it was necessary to carry out soil sampling. An ionic leach soil survey consisting of 301 samples taken on a 100m x 30m grid across the main prospect area was completed in late June. The results yielded four new strong copper +/- gold anomalies, which are priority targets and three additional gold (+/- multielement) anomalies. The ionic soil leach results show a very good correlation of anomalies over the drilled prospect for elements associated with gold mineralisation in the core assays, namely Au, Cu, Mo, Pd and Te. Three of the anomalies, along with the main drilled occurrence, define an east-west trend inferred to be a structure. In August, a drone aeromagnetic survey was carried out over an area of 10sq.km centred on the drilled prospect. The survey had a 30m line spacing with approximately 407 line kilometres of data collected. The quality of data was good, allowing better interpretation of some structures. An east-west break coincident with some of the new soil anomalies is apparent and is interpreted as a fault or shear zone. Historic core from the Sakiatieva project was reviewed at the GTK core archive facility in Loppi, south Finland, and this gave some new insights into the controls on mineralisation which was useful for evaluating geochemistry targets and understanding the new aeromagnetic data. Erris Resources and Centerra will consider the ranking of these targets for future drill testing.

Sampling and mapping at the Pirunkoukka reservation permit in Central Finland and on new target areas in North Sweden resulted in the projects being downgraded. No further work is warranted since none of the  samples taken returned anomalous gold. Two permits in Sweden were relinquished prior to the first anniversary with refunds of approximately €11,800 returned to the Company. This will be used to fund other targeting work for the Erris-Centerra alliance.

The work outlined above was fully funded as part of the Company's strategic alliance with Centerra. Erris Resources aims to rapidly and efficiently identify and evaluate new targets then either relinquish downgraded permits or advance the most prospective permits to drill-ready status, which may lead to Centerra electing a Designated Project Area for earn-in as per the agreement signed between the two parties in December 2015.

Outlook

At the end of September, the Company held approximately €1.65 million in cash and maintains a disciplined approach to expenditure on its 100%-owned projects. The Board and Management continue to review projects in low risk jurisdictions internationally that fit its investment criteria. The Board believes that current market conditions are favourable for gold which is reflected in the performance of the gold price in recent months and enhances the relevance of the Company's portfolio of gold-related exploration properties.

The technical information in this announcement has been compiled on behalf of Erris Resources by Aiden Lavelle. Aiden Lavelle (BSc (Hons), MSc, MIGI, P.Geo) is Erris'  chief operating officer. Mr Lavelle has sufficient experience 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 in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies, which outlines standards of disclosure for mineral projects. Mr Lavelle consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

*ENDS*

For further information visit www.errisresources.com or contact:

Anton du Plessis /Aiden Lavelle	Erris Resources plc	[phone]
David Hart/Liz Kirchner	Allenby Capital (Nominated Adviser)	[phone]
Erik Woolgar	Shard Capital (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Andy Thacker	Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Isabel de Salis/Beth Melluish	St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	[phone]

Notes

Erris Resources plc (EPIC: ERIS.L) is an AIM quoted, European focused, discovery driven exploration company.  Supported by Canadian mining majors, Osisko Gold Royalties, which has a 18.9% interest in the Company, and Centerra Gold KB Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSX listed Centerra Gold Inc., the Company has an established portfolio of zinc and base metals assets in Ireland and gold projects in Sweden, Finland and Norway which it is looking to further build on.  Led by a highly qualified team with extensive corporate and sector experience, Erris Resources' strategy is to create shareholder value through commercial discovery of base or precious metal assets in proven mineral districts and in favourable European jurisdictions.

 

END

 

 

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