TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 6325N
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
02 February 2021
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Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Clogau-St David's Gold Mine Update
Projected Vein System Now Extends 66 Metres Below Existing
Workings
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to provide an
update on the Company's work activities at the Clogau-St David's
Gold Mine. The latest results from the ongoing Phase 1 drilling
programme have enabled the Company to project the newly identified
vein system as extending some 66 metres below the deepest
previously worked zone at the Llechfraith mine area.
Key Points
-- Surface Drilling Update
o Six drill holes have been completed for 724 metres in total
.
o Since last drilling updates (announced on 21 December 2020 and
8 January 2021) covering holes LL001-LL003, holes LL004-006 have
been completed for a further 324.5 metres.
o LL005 succeeded in intersecting the projected vein system some
16 metres or so below the intercepts for drill holes LL001-LL004.
Hole LL005 intersected significant quartz veins at 90m and
102m.
o Alba now projects the newly identified vein system as
extending 66 metres below the deepest previously worked zone at the
Llechfraith mine area.
-- Llechfraith Dewatering
o Application submitted for bespoke water discharge permit to
allow lower workings in the Llechfraith Shaft to be dewatered in
order to undertake underground drilling and bulk sampling directly
from that zone.
-- Pilot Processing Plant Operation
o Pilot gold processing plant now fully operational.
-- Gwynfynydd and Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project
o Airborne geophysical and stream sediment sampling data being
reprocessed with the objective to more narrowly define the regional
gold targets.
George Frangeskides, Alba's Executive Chairman, commented:
"This surface drilling campaign is delivering on our objectives
in spades. We wanted to identify the existence and extent of the
vein system below the historic workings at Llechfraith, and we have
now been able to show that it extends at least 66 metres below the
deepest previously mined section. This provides us with a
significant zone for follow-up channel and bulk sampling once we
can get much closer access, which we will be able to do as soon as
we have dewatered the Main Shaft at Llechfraith."
"Ultimately, assuming that sampling programme stacks up well, we
would then look to sink an extension to the Main Shaft some 60
metres down from No 4 Level, with several new Levels then being
driven across from the extended shaft in order to be able to access
the lode structure at a number of intervals. Thanks to modern
engineering techniques and equipment, putting this new development
in place would not be anything like the endeavour it would have
been when the last development was put in place at Clogau some
decades ago."
"It is really exciting to see our work coming together in this
way."
Surface Drilling
To date, six holes (LL001-LL006) of the Company's Phase 1
surface drilling programme have been completed for 724 metres. The
seventh and final drill hole in this drilling phase, LL007, has now
commenced and is expected to be approximately 110m in length (see
Table 1).
This Phase 1 surface drilling programme has been designed to
target mineralisation below the existing mine workings at the
Llechfraith mine area (see Figures 1 and 2 in the PDF version of
this RNS), thus testing the continuation of mineralisation at
depth.
By stepping out the drilling so that the drill collar was set
further away from the mine area, the current phase of drilling has
been designed to intersect the quartz vein at a higher, and
therefore more favourable, angle to dip. This has so far proved
successful (see Figures 1 and 2 in the PDF version of this RNS),
given the significant widths of quartz vein which have been
intersected. LL001 has intersected a total of 6.48 metres of quartz
veins, LL002 a total of 3.65 metres and LL003 a total of 5.7
metres.
LL005 intersected lode quartz in a zone 1.76m wide, however the
significance of LL005 is that it intersected the projected lode
structure some 16 metres deeper than LL001-003 did, meaning that
the Company now believes the projected lode structure potentially
extends at least 66 metres below the previously deepest worked
section of the Llechfraith Mine, the No 4 Level.
The structural information obtained from the Phase 1 drill holes
has been critical in enabling Alba's technical team to model the
vein intercepts within the existing 3D geological model for
Clogau-St David's to show, for the first time, the projected extent
of the identified vein system.
The identification of this significant projected lode structure
below No 4 Level now provides the Company with a significant zone
for follow-up exploration drilling and bulk sampling. The objective
will be to access this zone directly from the Llechfraith shaft,
once dewatered. This will enable far more targeted exploration than
has been possible to date, initially by channel and bulk sampling
from the newly dewatered No 4 Level and, in due course, by
extending the existing Llechfraith Shaft from No 4 Level down 60
metres or so and creating a number of sub-levels forking off from
the shaft extension (see Figure 3 in the PDF version of this
RNS).
The installation of a shaft extension and new sub-levels to
access the projected lode for bulk sampling and, ultimately, mining
would represent the most significant piece of development work
undertaken at the Mine in several decades.
Table 1: Summary of completed drill holes including notable
structural intercepts
Hole Azimuth Dip Length Structural Intercepts
(m)
Structure Depth Thickness
(m)
-------- ----- ------- ---------------
GMOW_LL001 351 43 183.5 Quartz Vein 56.77 0.3
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 60.23 0.61
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 63.29 0.33
--------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 63.87 0.24
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 83.43 2.38
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 95.22 2.3
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
GMOW_LL002 353 44 103.3 Quartz Vein 48.17 0.25
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 56.5 0.26
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 59.1 0.4
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 96.53 1.85
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
GMOW_LL003 344 44 112.8 Quartz Vein 64 0.42
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 84.92 1.22
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 88.12 0.63
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 89.09 0.56
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 91.64 0.33
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 96.22 2.23
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 101.8 0.28
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
GMOW_LL004 327 43 62.4 Quartz Vein 10.11 0.44
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 61.92 0.38
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
GMOW_LL005 340 52.2 125.6 Quartz Vein 10.53 0.23
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 21.8 0.21
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 64.25 0.85
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 90.01 0.69
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 101.83 2.5
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode System 107.31 0.32
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
GMOW_LL006 007 43 136.5 Quartz Vein 8.7 0.6
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 46.4 0.5
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Quartz Vein 75.2 0.3
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode Stringer
Zone 101.03 0.26
--------------- ------- ----------
Llechfraith
Lode Stringer
Zone 101.82 0.32
-------- ----- ------- --------------- ------- ----------
Table 1 refers to certain of the quartz veins as forming part of
the "Llechfraith Lode System", to indicate veins which have been
intersected in the same zone as one another within the Llechfraith
mine area.
LL007 is expected to be the final hole drilled in this Phase 1
programme and is designed to intersect the projected lode structure
a further 16 metres below LL005.
Once this Phase has been completed, as announced on 2 December
2020, the next phase of surface drilling (Phase 2) will consist of
an 8-10 hole programme for around 2,000 metres. This phase of
drilling will target the 550m Main Lode extension indicated by the
recently completed underground drilling and will also seek to
intersect the projected depth extensions of certain historically
worked lodes, namely Grandfathers Lode and the 7-10 Lode. The
Company hopes to be able to start Phase 2 as soon as Phase 1
completes, however this is subject to timely receipt of regulatory
approvals which are in progress.
Llechfraith Shaft Dewatering
The Company has applied to the competent regulator, Natural
Resources Wales, for a bespoke water discharge permit which will
allow the Company to divert the drainage water from the current
Llechfraith drainage adit and dewater the lower workings in the
Llechfraith Shaft in order to undertake underground drilling and
bulk sampling directly from that zone. After dewatering, and whilst
this exploration work is being undertaken, a constant discharge
will be maintained in order to ensure dry workings.
The proposed dewatering scheme would be to lower two submersible
water pumps into the Llechfraith Shaft from the Llechfraith Adit
level and pump the water back through the Llechfraith Adit to the
mine yard (see Figure 6 in the PDF version of this RNS). To
maintain a static level, the diversion pumping scheme would pump at
6 m(3) / hr. To dewater the mining voids, a second pump would be
utilised, again operating at 6 m(3) / hr. It is estimated that the
flooded mine voids are of the order of 800 m(3) . Therefore,
pumping at 6 m(3) / hr on a 24/7 basis would dewater the flooded
mining voids in around 1-2 weeks.
As the pumped mine water is likely to disturb previously settled
solids from the flooded workings, it would then be treated by
passing through two Siltbuster HB10 settlement tanks. Again, the
two tanks would operate in parallel. No chemical additions will be
made to the water, only unaided settling of solids will be
promoted. Water samples will be sent for analysis regularly during
these works.
As soon as the discharge permit is received, the planned
dewatering scheme will commence, as the Company sees this zone as a
key target for future mining operations, not least given the
results of the Phase 1 drilling campaign detailed above.
Pilot Gold Processing Plant
The Company's bespoke pilot gold processing plant has been
operational since 20 January 2021. Initially, ore stockpiles from
prior periods of exploration are being utilised to test and refine
the operation of the plant. The stockpile from the Sep/Oct 2020
bulk sampling will be processed progressively through Q1 2021.
Following completion of the processing exercise, concentrate
samples will be sent to an accredited laboratory for assaying. No
results will be available until those assay results have been
received and analysed.
Regional Exploration of the Dolgellau Gold Field
The assay results from the Company's first surface trenching
programme have been obtained. Gold mineralisation above the
detection limit was observed in a number of samples, up to 0.014
grams per tonne. Given only the surface expression of the exposed
quartz veins was sampled in places and given also the nature of the
geological setting in the Dolgellau Gold Field (DGF), where gold
mineralisation is irregularly disseminated and exhibits high
nugget-effect, Alba is currently evaluating the possibility of
follow-up exploration of the intersected veins by digging pits in
order to obtain a much bigger sample and more representative
geological information.
Alba's technical team have been progressing a detailed analysis
of the available regional exploration data across the DGF, now that
the Gwynfynydd licence area has been added to our exploration
ground (see Alba's announcement of 20 November 2020). These
invaluable datasets include:
(a) the airborne geophysical survey which was flown in 1972-3 on
behalf of the British Geological Survey (BGS); and
(b) the BGS stream sediment sampling programmes carried out in
the 1980s and 1990s and in which certain pathfinder elements have
been identified to aid in targeting gold mineralisation.
In respect of the airborne geophysical survey, the Company has
commissioned an experienced geophysicist to reprocess and
reinterpret the BGS geophysical survey data. The airborne
geophysical survey flown by the BGS included:
(a) electro-magnetic induction (EM) surveys, the objective being
to reveal bodies of conductive rock; and
(b) magnetic surveys, which would provide information on
structures and distribution of magnetic rock-types.
The overall objective of the aeromagnetic surveys was to
indicate structural features which, backed up by field work and
other exploration techniques, would be complementary in defining
target areas for mineralisation.
While the BGS data has formed part of Alba's dataset for some
time, the Company's technical team believes that a reprocessing and
reinterpretation of the data using modern geophysical processing
tools should elucidate more detailed information about the DGF than
were possible from the original processing that was undertaken in
the 1970s.
In respect of the BGS's stream sediment sampling programmes,
stream sediment sampling is a common gold exploration method which
involves the collection and analysis of the silt or sand in a
stream or riverbed. Anomalous assay results may indicate an area of
mineralisation upstream of the anomalous samples.
Alba is currently also undertaking a detailed drainage basin
analysis to assist in the planning of focussed stream sediment
sampling programmes. A drainage basin, also called a catchment
area, is an area from which all precipitation flows to a single
stream or set of streams. Typically, the analysis employs the use
of Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs). By identifying a drainage basin,
the stream sediment results are constrained to a geographic area
thereby aiding the targeting of mineralised areas.
The objective of this work is to identify specific targets for
follow-up exploration activity, both over the Gwynfynydd licence
area which has only recently been added to Alba's UK gold
portfolio, and also over the rest of the DGF.
All activities and timelines in this announcement are subject to
the timely receipt of regulatory and other third-party consents and
to the timely availability of contractors, plant and equipment.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating
to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results
that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market
and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the
regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political
jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration,
uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting
rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of
regulatory and other third party consents and approvals,
uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of
unexpected events.
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
uncertainties also exist in connection with the ongoing Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic which may result in further lockdown measures
and restrictions being imposed by Governments and other competent
regulatory bodies and agencies from time to time in response to the
pandemic, which measures and restrictions may prevent or inhibit
the Company from executing its work activities according to the
timelines set out in this announcement or indeed from executing its
work activities at all. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may
also affect the Company's ability to execute its work activities
due to personnel and contractors testing positive for COVID-19 or
otherwise being required to self-isolate from time to time.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to Exploration
Results has been reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member
of SACNASP (Reg. No. 400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society
and Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. He has a
B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years' experience.
Mark Austin has sufficient experience that is relevant to the
style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and
to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person
as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration targets, Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the JORC Code. The JORC
code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned with
CRIRSCO. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of
the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which they appear.
Glossary
Aeromagnetic survey: An aeromagnetic survey is a magnetic survey
carried out using a magnetometer aboard or towed behind an
aircraft. It allows much larger areas of the Earth's surface to be
covered quickly for regional reconnaissance. The aircraft typically
flies in a grid-like pattern with height and line spacing
determining the resolution of the data.
Drainage basin: a drainage basin, also called a catchment area,
is an area from which all precipitation flows to a single stream or
set of streams.
Electromagnetic (or EM) survey: a geophysical survey method
which measures the electromagnetic properties of rocks.
High nugget-effect: A gold deposit exhibiting irregular and
localised occurrence of economic gold grades. Economic grade
accumulations are generally contained within discrete oreshoots,
which are surrounded by barren to low-grade material.
Lode: a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills a fissure.
Magnetic survey: a geophysical survey that measures the
intensity of the Earth's magnetic field.
Oreshoot or payshoot: The portion or length of a vein or other
structure that carries sufficient valuable minerals to be extracted
profitably.
Quartz Vein: a distinct sheet-like body dominantly composed of
quartz hosted within a rock formation.
Stream Sediment Sampling: a common gold exploration method which
involves the collection and analysis of the silt or sand in a
stream or riverbed. Anomalous assay results may indicate an area of
mineralisation upstream of the anomalous samples.
For further information, please contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3950 0725
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
James Caithie / Liam Murray +44 20 7213 0880
ETX Capital (Broker)
Thomas Smith +44 20 7392 1494
Alba's Project and Investment Portfolio
Project (commodity) Location Ownership
Mining Projects
Amitsoq (graphite) Greenland 90%
----------- ----------
Clogau (gold) Wales 90%
----------- ----------
Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
----------- ----------
Inglefield (copper, cobalt,
gold) Greenland 100%
----------- ----------
Limerick (zinc-lead) Ireland 100%
----------- ----------
Melville Bay (iron ore) Greenland 51%
----------- ----------
TBS (ilmenite) Greenland 100%
----------- ----------
Oil & Gas Investments
Brockham (oil) England 5%
----------- ----------
Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
----------- ----------
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