Final Drilling Results from Cinovec Project

RNS Number : 5794W

Rare Earth Minerals PLC

10 February 2017

 

Rare Earth Minerals Plc

("Rare Earth Minerals", "REM" or "the Company")

Final Drilling Results from the Cinovec Lithium & Tin Deposit

Rare Earth Mineral Plc (AIM/ISDX: REM; OTC: REMMY) is pleased to report the analytical results for the final three drillholes from the recently completed drilling programme at the Cinovec Main sector of the deposit.

A revision of the resource model is now underway and will form the basis of the soon to be completed Preliminary Feasibility Study. It is anticipated this resource model will be finalised and announced in February 2017.

REM holds a 20.76% economic interest in Cinovec, via its interest in European Metals Holdings Limited ("EMH"). Cinovec contains the largest lithium resource in Europe and one of the largest undeveloped tin resources in the world.

The full EMH release is available at: http://europeanmet.com/assets/20170210_-_EMH_Final_Drilling_Results_(Final_Draft).pdf

Highlights from the EMH release:

·     Analytical results for further three drillholes at Cinovec Main confirmed or exceeded the expected lithium content and mineralisation widths.

·     The drillholes CIW-25, CIW-27 and CIW-06, are located in a central part of the deposit, filling a gap between the western edge of the Cinovec deposit and the historic vein deposit Cinovec-Central.

·     Hole CIW-25 contains the Company's longest Li intercept to date of 361.5m averaging 0.43% Li₂O, incl. a high-grade Li interval of 14.7m averaging 0.93% Li₂O. Moreover, significant intervals of Sn and W are included: 2m @ 1.67%Sn and 0.216% W and 2m @ 0.76%Sn and 0.319% W.

·     Hole CIW-27 retuned a Li intercept of 235m averaging 0.49% Li₂O, incl. high grade zones of 14m @ 0.97% Li₂O and 2m @ 1.79%Li₂O.

·     Hole CIW-06 intercepted a Li interval of 258.5m averaging 0.44% Li₂O, containing high-grade intercepts of 3m@1.11%Li₂O, 2.75m@0.91%Li₂O and 2m@1.03%Li₂O.

·     The updated drill database and geologic model for Cinovec have been completed and provided to Widenbar and Associates.  The block model will be updated within the next fortnight, as all the analyses of the core from the drilling program have been received. The block model and resource calculation will form the basis of the Preliminary Feasibility Study.

Drill Programme

The drill holes CIW-25, CIW-27 and CIW-06 were collared in the central part of Cinovec main, filling a gap between the historic Cinovec-Central mine and the western edge of the Cinovec deposit (see Figure 1). 

The current drill programme at Cinovec Main has been planned to confirm and delineate near surface lithium and tin mineralisation that would provide initial feed to the mill. Other goals are the conversion of resources from the Inferred to Indicated category, and delivery of material for metallurgical testing.  A total of 17 diamond core holes have been completed.  Visual inspection and logging indicates that the geology in these holes is as expected. Drill details are listed in Table 1 below.

After geological logging, drill core is cut in half with a diamond saw.  Quarter core samples are selected (honouring geological boundaries) and dispatched to ALS (Romania) for preparation and assay; the 3/4 of the core is returned to the core box and stored securely on site.  Samples are being prepared and analysed by ALS using ICP and XRF techniques following standard industry practice for lithium and tin deposits.  Strict QAQC protocols are observed, including the insertion of a Li standard in random fashion for every 10 core samples, as well as the insertion of blank and duplicate samples.

Table 1 - Completed drillholes, Cinovec Main

Hole ID	North	East	Elevation (m)	Depth (m)	Azimuth	Dip	Comments
CIW-11	-779299.50	-966097.50	867.40	444.4	40.10	-77.86	confirmation/infill
CIW-20	-778810.50	-965638.00	837.50	257.6	336.70	-84.60	confirmation/infill
CIW-13	-779175.50	-966126.84	862.80	429.3	76.00	-80.40	confirmation/infill
CIW-19	-778810.80	-965692.10	837.80	271.6	332.10	-89.58	confirmation/infill
CIW-08	-778791.39	-965800.23	837.60	274.9	156.85	-89.30	confirmation/infill
CIW-18	-779018.59	-966182.61	855.47	395.7	210.60	-89.05	confirmation/infill
CIW-14	-779055.85	-966093.30	854.46	417.8	323.30	-89.07	confirmation/infill
CIW-07	-778867.31	-965841.48	840.99	300.0	333.60	-89.57	confirmation/infill
CIW-26	-779214.82	-965937.24	865.33	430.5	248.00	-89.38	confirmation/infill
CIW-17	-778957.07	-965520.58	847.07	238.2	332.10	-89.58	confirmation/infill
CIW-21	-778811.80	-965952.31	841.33	320.6	42.68	-89.02	confirmation/infill
CIW-10	-779215.43	-965938.41	865.35	455.0	303.40	-74.47	confirmation/infill
CIW-23	-779008.92	-965993.87	848.91	376.1	222.30	-89.40	confirmation/infill
CIW-22	-779009.34	-965993.42	848.88	420.6	287.90	-70.43	confirmation/infill
CIW-06	-778995.26	-965844.93	846.77	296.3	11.70	-80.18	confirmation/infill
CIW-25	-778994.45	-965901.56	847.04	382.4	281.10	-69.89	confirmation/infill
CIW-27	-779152.42	-965816.56	861.50	370.0	271.90	-89.53	confirmation/infill

Hole locations are recorded in the local S-JTSK Krovak grid, all coordinates are surveyed.

Mineralised Intercepts and Lithology

The drillholes CIW-25 and CIW-06 were located on the NW edge of the Cinovec-main deposit, both were collared in the lithium bearing granite, and are about 60 meters apart in N-S direction at surface, increasing with depth as their core angles are discordant.

The upper part of the drill hole CIW-25 is formed by albite granite with several quartz veins and thin near-vein greisen bodies. The initial interval of massive greisen starts at depth of 104.25m and hosts a high grade intercept of 14.7m averaging 0.93% Li₂O and high Sn and W intercepts (incl. 2m@1.67% Sn). The interval of intensive gresenization is terminated by an albite (± sericite) granite (173.5-204.6m). Below this zone, a long interval of greisenized granite and greisen was intersected. The base of the lithium mineralisation, the so called is low-mica granite, is at a depth of 373m. Apparent core angles of narrow greisen contact were measured at 55-70 degrees. The drillhole was angled 70 degree West and the core was not oriented; therefore, the mineralised intercepts may not represent true widths.

The hole CIW-06 is angled 80 degrees to the North. It starts in albite granite and is intersected by several quartz veins with high Sn and W grades. Greisen and greisenized granite zones are more frequent with depth. This upper sequence of the core is interpreted as a continuation of the vein domain from the historic Cinovec-Main deposit (4 historic stopes were intercepted in the hole). Interval of massive greisenization starts in depth 127.5m. The base of the Li mineralisation is presented by low-mica granite at a depth of 270m. As the angle of the hole is perpendicular to quartz veins and greisen bodies, the mineralised intercepts in the hole CIW-06 can be considered of true, or near true, widths.

Drill hole CIW-27, located some 160m W of CIW-06, is collared in the barren porphyry. The contact with the lithium bearing granite is at 102.8m. Immediately below the contact a massive greisen with quartz veins was intersected. The main mineralised interval is formed by greisenized granite and greisen, locally with quartz veins and zones of albite (± sericite, hematite) granite. The base of the main mineralised interval occurs at 339m where the low-mica granite is intersected.  Measured core angles in the drillhole CIW-27 are subhorizontal, the hole is vertical, therefore the mineralised intercepts can be considered of true, or near true, widths. 

The Tables below list the mineralised intercepts for the three drillholes. 

Table summarizing mineralised intercepts in CIW-25

CIW-25
From	To	Interval (m)	Li2O (%)	Sn (%)	W (%)	Note
9.5	373	361.5 *)	0.43			incl. 14.7m@0.93%Li2O (106.3-121m), 1.55m@1.23%Li2O (123.45-125m), 3m@0.89%Li2O (127-130m), 4m@0.89%Li2O (159-163m), 5m@0.95%Li2O (166-171m), 2m@0.98%Li2O (223-225m), 6m@0.81%Li2O (260-266m)
23	25	2	0.23	0.01	0.055
75.6	77	1.4	0.28	0.22	0.215
104.3	106.3	2	0.67	1.67	0.216	179ppm Nb
110.3	111.3	1	0.96	0.05	0.064
111.3	112.3	1	0.84	0.13	0.007
115.3	116.3	1	0.92	0.08	0.072
118.55	121.2	2.65	0.95	0.19	0.060
128	129	1	0.96	0.32	0.055
156	157	1	1.14	0.07	0.428
213	215	2	0.45	0.76	0.319	305ppm Nb, 100ppm Ta
222	223	1	0.68	0.25	0.003
Cut-off: 0.2%Li2O, 0.1%Sn, 0.05%W  *) intercept shorter by mined-out cavities

Table summarizing mineralised intercepts in CIW-27

CIW-27
From	To	Interval (m)	Li2O (%)	Sn (%)	W (%)	Note
104	339	235	0.49			incl. 14m@0.97%Li2O (106-120m), 2m@1.79%Li2O (112-114m), 3m@0.90%Li2O (127-130m), 4m@0.86%Li2O (140-144m), 1m@1.03%Li2O (162-163m), 1m@1.14%Li2O (192-193m)
102.8	104	1.2	0.12	0.24	0.270
111	112	1	0.96	0.02	0.093
121	122	1	0.71	0.10	0.021
153	154	1	0.33	0.17	0.013
221	222	1	0.31	0.10	0.042
224	225	1	0.26	0.02	0.399
Cut-off: 0.2%Li2O, 0.1%Sn, 0.05%W

Table summarizing mineralised intercepts in CIW-06

CIW-06
From	To	Interval (m)	Li2O (%)	Sn (%)	W (%)	Note
8	270	258.5 *)	0.44			incl. 1.8m@1.00%Li2O (75-76.8m), 2.75m@0.91%Li2O (87.15-89.9m), 1.85m@1.00%Li2O (104-105.85m), 3m@1.11%Li2O (128-131m), 2m@1.02%Li2O (186-188m), 2m@1.03%Li2O (247-249m)
37.8	38.2	0.4	0.09	1.53	0.061
49	50.85	1.85	0.21	0.02	0.257
73.4	81.7	8.3	0.68	0.14	0.175
88.2	89.9	1.7	0.92	0.11	0.007
102	103	1	0.47	0.03	0.151
107	108	1	0.67	0.05	0.118
116	117	1	0.48	0.03	0.059
130	131	1	1.12	0.21	0.005
141	142	1	0.41	0.04	0.055
151	153	2	0.71	0.21	0.007
283	287	4	0.23
Cut-off: 0.2%Li2O, 0.1%Sn, 0.05%W  *) intercept shorter by mined-out cavities

Qualified Person:

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.

TECHNICAL GLOSSARY

The following is a summary of technical terms:

"carbonate"	refers to a carbonate mineral such as calcite, CaCO3
"cut-off grade"	lowest grade of mineralised material considered economic, used in the calculation of Mineral Resources
"deposit"	coherent geological body such as a mineralised body
"exploration"	method by which ore deposits are evaluated
"g/t"	gram per metric tonne
"grade"	relative quantity or the percentage of ore mineral or metal content in an ore body
"Indicated" or "Indicated Mineral Resource"	as defined in the JORC and SAMREC Codes, is that part of a Mineral Resource which has been sampled by drill holes, underground openings or other sampling procedures at locations that are too widely spaced to ensure continuity but close enough to give a reasonable indication of continuity and where geoscientific data are known with a reasonable degree of reliability. An Indicated Mineral Resource will be based on more data and therefore will be more reliable than an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate
"Inferred" or "Inferred Mineral Resource"	as defined in the JORC and SAMREC Codes, is that part of a Mineral Resource for which the tonnage and grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from the geological evidence and has assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through the appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, working and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability
"JORC Code"	Joint Ore Reserve Committee Code; the Committee is convened under the auspices of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
"kt"	thousand tonnes
"LCE"	the total equivalent amount of lithium carbonate (see explanation above entitled Explanation of Lithium Classification and Conversion Factors)
"lithium"	a soft, silvery-white metallic element of the alkali group, the lightest of all metals
"lithium carbonate"	the lithium salt of carbonate with the formula Li2CO3
"Measured" or Measured Mineral Resources"	Measured: a mineral resource intersected and tested by drill holes, underground openings or other sampling procedures at locations which are spaced closely enough to confirm continuity and where geoscientific data are reliably known; a measured mineral resource estimate will be based on a substantial amount of reliable data, interpretation and evaluation which allows a clear determination to be made of shapes, sizes, densities and grades.Indicated: a mineral resource sampled by drill holes, underground openings or other sampling procedures at locations too widely spaced to ensure continuity but close enough to give a reasonable indication of continuity and where geoscientific data are known with a reasonable degree of reliability; an indicated resource will be based on more data, and therefore will be more reliable than an inferred resource estimate. Inferred: a mineral resource inferred from geoscientific evidence, underground openings or other sampling procedures where the lack of data is such that continuity cannot be predicted with confidence and where geoscientific data may not be known with a reasonable level of reliability
"metallurgical"	describing the science concerned with the production, purification and properties of metals and their applications
"Mineral Resource"	a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such a form that there are reasonable prospects for the eventual economic extraction; the location, quantity, grade geological characteristics and continuity of a mineral resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge; mineral resources are sub-divided into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories
"mineralisation"	process of formation and concentration of elements and their chemical compounds within a mass or body of rock
"Mt"	million tonnes
"ppm"	parts per million
"recovery"	proportion of valuable material obtained in the processing of an ore, stated as a percentage of the material recovered compared with the total material present
"stope"	underground excavation within the orebody where the main production takes place
"t"	a metric tonne
"tin"	A tetragonal mineral, rare; soft; malleable: bluish white, found chiefly in cassiterite, SnO2
"treatment"	Physical or chemical treatment to extract the valuable metals/minerals
"tungsten"	hard, brittle, white or grey metallic element. Chemical symbol, W; also known as wolfram
"W"	chemical symbol for tungsten

ADDITIONAL GEOLOGICAL TERMS

"apical"		relating to, or denoting an apex
"cassiterite"	A mineral, tin dioxide, SnO2. Ore of tin with specific gravity 7
"cupola"	A dome-shaped projection at the top of an igneous intrusion
"dip"	the true dip of a plane is the angle it makes with the horizontal plane
"granite"	coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock dominated by light-coloured minerals, consisting of about 50% orthoclase, 25% quartz and balance of plagioclase feldspars and ferromagnesian silicates
"greisen"	A pneumatolitically altered granitic rock composed largely of quartz, mica, and topaz. The mica is usually muscovite or lepidolite. Tourmaline, fluorite, rutile, cassiterite, and wolframite are common accessory minerals
"igneous"	said of a rock or mineral that solidified from molten or partly molten material, i.e., from a magma
"muscovite"	also known as potash mica; formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2.
"quartz"	a mineral composed of silicon dioxide, SiO2
"rhyolite"		An igneous, volcanic rock of felsic (silica rich) composition.  Typically >69% SiO2
"vein"	a tabular deposit of minerals occupying a fracture, in which particles may grow away from the walls towards the middle
"wolframite"	A mineral, (Fe,Mn)WO4; within the huebnerite-ferberite series
"zinnwaldite"	A mineral, KLiFeAl(AlSi3)O10 (F,OH)2; mica group; basal cleavage; pale violet, yellowish or greyish brown; in granites, pegmatites, and greisens

- Ends -

For further information, please contact: 

Rare Earth Minerals plc

Andrew Suckling                                                                                                                           [phone]

Kiran Morzaria                                                                                                                 

WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Broker)                                                                                            [phone]

James Joyce

James Bavister

Square1 Consulting                                                                                                                     [phone]

David Bick

Brian Alexander

About Rare Earth Minerals

Rare Earth Minerals invests across the globe, principally in lithium mining projects. Its primary strategy is taking significant economic stakes in upstream exploration and development assets within strategic metals. We identify assets that have strategic cost advantages that are not replicable, with the aim of achieving lower quartile production costs. The combination of this approach and seeking value opportunities allows us to identify projects capable of achieving high rates of return.

The Rare Earth Minerals board has a blend of mining, commodity investing, fund management and deal structuring knowledge and experience, that is supported by access to key marketing, political and industry contacts. These resources are leveraged not only in our investment decisions but also in continuing support of our investments, whether it be increasing market awareness of an asset, or advising on product mix or path to production. REM's goal is to assist management to rapidly develop the project up the value curve and deliver excellent returns on its investments.

Rare Earth Minerals are major shareholders of the Sonora Lithium Project in northern Mexico and the Cinovec Lithium and Tin Project in the Czech Republic. Rare Earth Minerals portfolio also includes significant lithium-based investments the USA, Australia and Namibia. The Mexican and Czech deposits have published Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of 11.3 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent.

 

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