Selection of Targets for Review and Joint Venture

RNS Number : 8148J

Caerus Mineral Resources PLC

26 August 2021

 

26 August 2021

Caerus Mineral Resources PLC

('Caerus' or the 'Company')

Selection of Targets for Review and Joint Venture

Caerus Mineral Resources (LON: CMRS), the exploration and resource development company focused on developing mineral resources in Europe to support the global "Clean Energy" initiative, is pleased to announce that the Troulli Project has been selected as the first project for Joint Venture in consultation with Bezant Resources (LON: BZT) ("Bezant").

Highlights

· The Joint Venture partners will hold site meetings during the first two weeks of September to review the Troulli Project

· The Project comprises the Troulli, Kokkinapetra and Anglisides Licences

· The remaining Cypriot projects (Kalavasos, N. Mathiatis and Mala) and their various assorted metal-bearing surface materials and hard rock mineralisation will also be visited and reviewed.

The Joint review, which will also have input from Jubilee Metals Group (LON: JLP), will cover all waste recycling and hard rock VMS projects within the Caerus portfolio with an emphasis on Troulli as the first Joint Venture project between Caerus and Bezant. A diamond drilling and Mineral Resource Estimation programme will be agreed for Troulli along with other detailed sampling programmes specifically for mineralogical and metallurgical test work, bulk sampling, site surveys and preliminary economic assessment leading to a mining plan and processing plant design.

Martyn Churchouse, Chief Executive Officer of Caerus Mineral Resources, commented : "The opportunity to spend time on-site with our partners reviewing the Troulli Project in detail will be invaluable. This represents a significant step in the development of the Company. Our efforts over the past few months to broaden our footprint in the Brownfield exploration space in Cyprus with two key acquisitions has resulted in the opportunity to bundle together licences and their associated mineralised surface materials and hard rock resources to create projects that meet the expectations of our preferred partners. Our dual strategy of "Waste to Revenue", the reprocessing of waste materials, tailings and ore stockpiles together with the ongoing delivery of hard rock VMS and gold oxide ores  gives us the ideal platform to deliver revenue-generating Mineral Resources and projects in the shortest possible timeframe".

For further information , please visit  www.caerusmineralresources.com  or contact:

Caerus Mineral Resources plc:
Martyn Churchouse, CEO	[e-mail] [phone]
Novum Securities
Jon Belliss	[phone]

Follow us on Twitter at  @CaerusMineral

Further Information

Terms of the Bezant Resources Option Agreement

Bezant is a natural resources exploration and development company focused primarily on copper-gold with projects currently in  Namibia, Zambia, Argentina and the Philippines and a manganese project in Botswana

· Exclusive Option Agreement grants Bezant 18 months to assess the merits and economic prospects of all   Caerus   unexploited hard rock mining assets

· The Agreement allows Bezant to identify one or more of   Caerus'   assets to be converted into a   Mine Development Project(s) under a Joint Venture

· Under any Joint Venture, Bezant has the responsibility to lead the design, finance, construction and operation phases of an open-pit or underground mining operation

· Under the Agreement,   Caerus   will receive 70% of Joint Venture cash flow until   Caerus'   expenditure during the pre-mining exploration phase has been reimbursed

· The Agreement complements the existing programme with Jubilee Metals Group, which covers metal recovery from surface mining residues within   Caerus'   licence areas under the Company's waste to revenue strategy

Troulli Project

The Troulli Project comprises three exploration licences, Troulli, Kokkinapetra and Anglesides.

  Troulli Licence

The Troulli VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide) copper deposit, like most copper deposits in Cyprus, was initially discovered in Roman times as evidenced by the ancient galleries and small remnant "slag" piles on the License.  The first production of any significance occurred in 1936 when Berdy Mining Limited first obtained a mining licence. Berdy operated from 1936 - 1962, erecting the first sulphide flotation plant in 1956, treating a modest 46,500 tons of copper ore in total.  Historical records suggest that Berdy Mining also produced approximately 1,500 ounces of gold and 6,000 ounces of silver from the oxide gossan that is subject to the recent drilling.  Sporadic exploration was undertaken at various times until 1974, when the then-operator Geominco was forced to close its plant and operation following the Turkish invasion.

From 2017 to 2021, Ploutonic Resources Ltd. conducted several phases of exploration including detailed geological mapping, surface trenching and pitting over the oxide gold zone just to the south of the current open pit and remnant VMS copper resources. As a result, Ploutonic discovered a relatively continuous zone of oxide gold mineralisation that appears to be faulted off from the upper part of the main Troulli VMS copper deposit.  This zone remains open in all directions and at depth as only the top few metres of the sulphide mineralisation have been tested.

Significant results from oxide zone in the previous Ploutonic Resources work include the following:

Table 4: Ploutonic Resources Ltd Channel Sampling

Channel	Length (m)	Gold (g/t)	Silver (g/t)
1	3	5.86	44.97
2	2	2.43	11.95
3	2	19.65	16.15
4	2	13.91	40.35
5	4	7.56	46.03
6	10	5.12	22.36
7	9	2.13	12.79
8	5	0.92	38.72
9	5	2.28	25.16
10	5	5.43	12.04
11	3	2.56	3.47
12	3	0.61	6.37
13	10	0.28	1.32

Table 5: Ploutonic Resources Ltd Excavator Pit Sampling

Pit Number	Depth (m)	Gold (g/t)	Silver (g/t)
1	4	0.97	6.2
2	6	3.0	9.5
3	4	0.47	5.2
4	1.5	0.81	3.5
5	6	0.42	3.2
6	4	0.36	3.6
7	2.5	0.26	2.3
8	5.5	1.19	7.73
9	4	0.7	1.5
10	4	0.52	6.05
11	2.3	1.9	19.2
12	2.5	2.06	4.8
13	6	0.19	1.53
14	4	0.1	1.45

Kokkinapetra Licence

The Kokkinapetra Project represents the geological extension of the Troulli deposits. Oxide gold mineralisation is evidenced by extensive surface gossans covering a reported area of 32,000m² and to a depth of approximately 20m.  There are also indications of VMS-type copper - gold mineralisation located beneath the overlying epithermal gold occurrence.  Trench samples returned Au grades ranging from 0.56 - 1.52g/t Au. Kokkinapetra according to an independent consultant remains "a relatively unexplored target for concealed sulphide deposits". Judicious placement of a limited number of drill collars should quickly establish both the thickness of the oxide gold package and the whereabouts of the underlying Cu-Au VMS potential.

Anglesides Licence

Metal-bearing surface materials are represented by shallow scattered waste dumps generated by underground workings in the 1930's associated with small-scale production (88 long tons @ 5.98% cu & 1,336 short tons @ 24.5g/t Au & 86.4g/t Ag). The remaining tonnage is unknown. There may also be unidentified waste material derived from ancient artisanal mining. 

Hard rock resources include Cu-Au sulphide mineralisation reported to occur in a near-surface zone 25m thick, 40m wide over a strike length of 200m associated with a NE-SW shear zone. Historic drill results include 16m @ 1.1% Cu & 1.05g/t Au, 21m @ 0.45% Cu & 0.72g/t Au, 1.71% Cu & 2.81g/t Au over 9m. Potentially >500Kt @ >1% Cu eq. There is scope for a significant increase in the Cu-Au sulphide resource. An oxide Au zone identified by gossan records impressive grades including channel samples of 10m @ 6.56g/t Au, 10m @ 4.72g/t Au, 10m @ 4.02g/t Au and 5m @ 11.9g/t Au. A modest tonnage high-grade gold resource is evident.

Qualified Persons

The content of this news release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by H. Andrew Daniels, P.Geo in his capacity as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Caerus Mineral Resources plc

Caerus Mineral Resources is a copper - gold resource development and exploration company with mineral exploration licences located in Cyprus. 

Cyprus is a member of the European Union that operates to English common law. The Country has a well-developed infrastructure and a climate conducive to year-round exploration.

With investors recognising copper as one of the cornerstone metals for the Clean Energy Transition centred upon the Electric Vehicle and Stationary Energy Storage sectors, Caerus is working to rapidly expand its copper exploration and production objectives. The Caerus licence portfolio includes 16 former mines which operated with an average head grade of approximately 2% Cu. 

Caerus' licence portfolio comprises brownfield sites where historic mining has taken place and greenfield licences where there has been no systematic exploration. The Brownfield sites and the former high-grade copper-gold mines they host are evidence of rock types and structures conducive to Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") mineralisation. As VMS deposits characteristically occur in camps or clusters, it is the Company's view that its licences are prospective for both extensions to existing or mined-out orebodies together with new discoveries. 

The combination of brown and greenfield exploration provides optionality with multiple target types and the opportunity for the Company to quickly build a resource portfolio that can be commercially developed under a 'Waste to Revenue' strategy. 

 

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