TIDMBRES
RNS Number : 8780H
Blencowe Resources PLC
11 April 2022
Date: 11 April 2022
Blencowe Resources Plc
("Blencowe" or the "Company")
Mineral Resource Upgrade at Orom-Cross Graphite Project
Blencowe delivers a 50% increase to JORC Resource tonnes at
Orom-Cross Graphite Project, including a significant uplift in
Resource Categorisation.
Highlights
-- Total Resource increased by 50% (8.1Mt) to 24.5Mt at 6.0% TGC
-- 24.5Mt at 6.0% TGC contains sufficient Measured and Indicated
Resource for the first 15 years life of mine
-- 340% (9.4Mt) increase in Indicated and Measured Resources to
13.2Mt, giving a higher level of accuracy and confidence in the
deposits to be mined
-- Grade remains consistent over the extended zones drilled at both deposits
-- High-grade zones evident within the Northern Syncline, including 3.4Mt @ 8.4% TGC
-- The Mineral Resource now circa three times larger than
initial 8-10Mt targets for the Northern Syncline deposit.
-- Drilling at Camp Lode delivers consistent outstanding high
grade graphite results in the oxide zone including:
o OREA-L1302, 11 metres at 9.73%TGC from 3 metres including 6
metres at 10.97% TGC
o OREA-L1401, 5 metres at 10.30% TGC from surface
o OREA-L1501, 14 metres at 11.81% TGC from 4 metres
o OREA-L701, 19 metres at 9.78%TGC from 2 metres
o OREA-L1201, 17 metres at 10.35% TGC from 2 metres including 7m
@12.21% TGC
o OREA-L401, 19 metres at 9.49% TGC from surface
-- 100% conversion of potential mineralisation from the
weathered zones in the Camp Lode into JORC Standard Indicated
Resource.
-- Global Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource for higher
grade Camp Lode is 2.5Mt @ 7.4% TGC at a 3.5% TGC cut-off.
-- Further 4.2Mt potential resource available at Camp Lode with additional drilling.
Blencowe Resources (Blencowe or the Company) is pleased to
report that results for its revised JORC Standard Resource
estimation for the Orom-Cross Graphite Project located in northern
Uganda have substantially exceeded expectations.
A comprehensive infill drilling programme (Phase 6) was
completed in 2H 2021 and the results have significantly increased
the previously reported Mineral Resource to a position where
sufficient ore tonnes required for the first 15 years life of mine
are now available within the Indicated and/or Measured category.
The modelling has also confirmed the robustness of the two higher
grade zones within the main Northern Syncline deposit which
surround a zone of medium grade graphite. The Measured, Indicated
and Inferred Resources commence from surface outcrop to depth of
current drilling at 30m, and the ore body remains open below this
which represents considerable future potential tonnes into the
future.
These results, which come from the weathered, close-to or
at-surface zone of the deposit, highlight the quality of the
Project's mineralisation and its ability to be a low-cost producer.
The nature of the ore body will enhance the commercial outcome for
the early years of operations at Orom-Cross by mining this
higher-grade ore.
Blencowe had initially targeted a Mineral Resource of 20Mt from
Phase 6, with 10Mt in the Measured and/or Indicated categories, in
order to provide the start-up ore for a 25Kt per annum operation
with potential for expansion subsequent to commencement of
production. The 24.5Mt overall, with 13.2Mt as Measured and/or
Indicated Resources has outperformed this expectation. The Company
is happy with the initial assessment of Resources located in an
area specifically targeted as close to the potential plant site
within an extensive mineral field.
Furthermore, Blencowe is also looking at all options to deliver
green graphite products via a Project that will utilise renewable
energy and other sustainable components. This is seen as a very
important objective within the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") and
the strategy moving beyond.
All other areas within the PFS are going to plan, with work
underway on all key areas including infrastructure, energy, roads,
water, tailings, logistics, sales and marketing, plus plant and
camp design. Completion is targeted for mid-2022.
Executive Chairman Cameron Pearce commented;
"Our Phase 6 exploration results have added considerable further
value to the Orom-Cross Graphite Project as all of the Key
Performance Indicators for this latest drilling programme were
either met or exceeded.
We have now included the higher-grade Camp Lode deposit into the
overall JORC Resource for the first time; we significantly
increased the overall JORC Resource tonnage by 50%; we
re-classified a full 13.2Mt into the higher confidence Indicated
and Measured categories, and we maintained our in situ grade
throughout."
As a result of this programme we now have enough tonnes ready to
mine that will cover our first fifteen years life of mine, which is
an exceptional position for Orom-Cross as we head towards
delivering our Pre-Feasibility Study by mid-year, and thereafter
our first sale of graphite concentrates from a pilot plant from
2023 onwards. Full production from the main plant is targeted from
2025."
Mineralisation Zones
The Orom-Cross Graphite Project is located in the Kitgum
District in north-eastern Uganda. Previous exploration activity
identified and named at least five major graphite mineralised zones
within the Project property which are underpinned by 21-year Mining
Licence (ML) already awarded, namely:
o Northern Syncline
o Camp-Lode
o Central Anticline
o Synformal Saddle
o Southern Anomaly
The Phase 6 Resource Delineation Programme (2021) targeted:
1. Confirming and upgrading the resources in the Camp Lode to include within the JORC Resource.
2. Upgrading the resource classifications in the Northern Syncline and;
3. Completing the investigation of the near surface, free dig
graphite mineralised material within a portion of the overall
Northern Syncline Lode and the Camp-Lode mineralised zones.
The Phase 6 drilling was based upon each mineralised zone being
divided into four sub-zones based on the subsurface level of
oxidation and weathering. Field observations, phase 5 drilling and
the phase 6 drilling results confirmed the initial analysis
suggesting a mean global weathering depth of 15m (with a range of
9m to 25m in some instances) and a transition zone approximately 6
to 10m in depth.
The Graphitic Carbon grade population within the investigated
mineralised zones indicates that the graphite grade for the deposit
ranges from 0.01% to 24.1% GC with a mean grade of 5.6% GC and a
mode of 6.0% GC.
The JORC compliant resource estimate for these two graphite
mineralised areas has been completed and is based on the drill hole
spacing, grade variability and geological confidence. The resultant
of the modelling and estimation process is the declaration of
Mineral Resources as noted.
Resource Estimates
Blencowe undertook an additional drill program (Phase 6) in
August 2021 which consisted of an additional 38 holes into the
Northern Syncline for 1,140 metres and 36 additional holes into the
Camp Lode for 1,080 metres. Geostatistical analysis of the data
allowed for both the Camp Lode and Northern Syncline to be
estimated and reported according to the JORC code.
A Resource block model was constructed for both which was
dependant on the data spacing and a final block size of 10m x 20m x
3m was selected with a rotated grid to match the orientation of the
graphite mineralisation zones. An Ordinary Kriged estimation was
performed and resulted in the reporting of Inferred, Indicated and
Measured Resources for the Camp Lode and Northern Syncline. The
Resources for the Northern Syncline have been tabulated at various
cut-off grades starting at 3% GC through to 10% GC.
The previous drilling at the Camp Lode was focussed on
delineation of the lode and to check the presence, depth and
general shape of the deposit. The majority of the Phase 5 drilling
was in the central areas of the Camp Lode in a line which passed
through a good patch of mineralisation but since it was the only
information available at that stage it introduced a high bias on
the mean grades in the reporting of the mineralisation.
With the infill drilling Blencowe defined the high-grade zone
and surrounds and in so doing applied better definition on both
tonnes and grade and removed the high-grade zone basis.
Table 1: Phase 6 - Revised (2022) JORC Standard Mineral
Resources, Orom-Cross Project
Mineral Resources -- 2022 Block Model
Area Material Resource Cut-off Tonnage SG %GC %TC Contained % of
Category Grade (t) Graphite Resource
(Kt)
---------------------- ---------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Northern 3.5%
Syncline Weathered Inferred GC 2,363,000 2.33 5.60 5.75 132 36%
---------------------- ---------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Indicated GC 4,269,000 2.32 5.70 5.90 243 64%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Measured Not Reported 0 0%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Subtotal GC 6,632,000 2.32 5.66 5.85 376 100%
---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Fresh Inferred GC 8,269,000 2.67 5.61 5.80 464 54%
---------------------- ---------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Indicated GC 5,982,000 2.70 5.60 5.80 335 39%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Measured GC 1,043,000 2.71 5.50 5.70 57 7%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Subtotal GC 15,294,000 2.69 5.60 5.79 856 100%
---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Camp 3.5%
Lode Weathered Inferred GC 632,000 2.38 7.00 7.50 44 25%
---------------------- ---------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Indicated GC 1,903,000 2.25 6.90 7.40 131 75%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Measured Not Reported 0%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Subtotal GC 2,535,000 2.28 6.92 7.42 175 100%
---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Fresh Inferred No Resources Reported -
See Potential Mineralisation
---------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Indicated
-------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Measured
-------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Subtotal - - - - - - 0%
---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
TOTALS Inferred GC 11,264,000 2.59 5.69 5.88 640 46%
---------------------- ------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Indicated GC 12,154,000 2.50 5.84 6.08 709 50%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
3.5%
Measured GC 1,043,000 2.71 5.50 5.70 57 4%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Inferred,
Indicated
& 3.5%
Measured GC 24,461,000 2.55 5.75 6.00 1,407 100%
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Inf. + 3.5%
Total (Weathered) Ind. GC 9,167,000 2.31 6.01 6.28 551 37%
---------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
-- GC - Graphitic carbon, TC - Total carbon.
-- No geological loses applied.
-- A conservative cut-off grade of 3.5% GC has been applied
based on metallurgical testing & preliminary mining
parameters.
-- Mineralised tonnes have been rounded off and contained
graphite metal tonnages have been rounded off to the nearest 1000
(Kt).
-- Contained graphite has been reported without the application
of cut-off grades, loss factors, or beneficiation yields.
Potential (Additional) Mineralisation
The Phase 6 drill program was focused on a clearer delineation
of the resources and an upgrade of resource classification. To this
end the program was successful in being able to fully upgrade the
previously reported Northern Syncline potential mineralisation of
6,995,000t, in the weathered zone into JORC 2012 reportable
Resources.
The program was also successful in upgrading the full weathered
potential mineralisation in the Camp Lode into reportable
Resources. As the focus in the Camp Lode area was at understanding
the geological complexity of the deposit and defining the graphitic
carbon units this meant that the majority of drilling was in the
weathered zones. A potential further mineralisation of some 4.2Mt
higher grade graphite in the Camp Lode remains to be added ahead,
which the Company will consider converting into JORC Standard
Resource as part of the DFS works. The better understanding built
from the 100% conversion of the weathered material is expected to
also result in the full conversion of this remaining 4.2Mt.
Therefore, the Potential Mineralisation for both areas can be
summarised as follows:
Potential Mineralisation - Grade Tonnage Curves
Area Material Avg. depth Cut-off Tonnage Mt Mean Mean Mean
investigated Grade (t) SG %GC %TC
-------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Weathered 0 - 13m - - - - - -
--------------------------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Insitu 13 - 36 Not reported as potential mineralisation
m - see Mineral Resources
-------------- -------------- -------------------------------------------------------
Northern Syncline Subtotal - - - - - -
------------------------------ ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Weathered 0 - 17m - - - - - -
--------------------------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Insitu 17 - 40m - 4 220 000 4.2 2.35 8.35 8.67
--------------------------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Camp Lode Subtotal - 4 220 000 4.2 2.35 8.35 8.67
------------------------------ ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
Total
-------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
4,220,000 4.2 2.35 8.35 8.67
--------------------------------- -------------- ---------- --------- ----- ------ ------- --------
GC - Graphitic carbon, TC - Total carbon
** Mineralised tonnes have been rounded off
Competent Person's Statement
The information in this release, which is related to Mineral
Resource estimation, was compiled under the supervision of Mr JP
van den Berg who is an employee of Minrom Consulting (Pty) Ltd; he
is Member of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) and a
Certified Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat) with the
South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions
(SACNASP).
Mr Van den Berg has sufficient experience relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to
the activity that he has undertaken to qualify as a Competent
Person as defined by the JORC (2012) Code. Mr Van den Berg consents
to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his
information in the form and context in which it appears
For further information please contact:
Blencowe Resources Plc www.blencoweresourcesplc.com
Sam Quinn Tel: +44 (0)1624 681 250
info@blencoweresourcesplc.com
Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0) 7891 677 441
Sasha Sethi sasha@flowcomms.com
Tavira Securities Tel: +44 (0)20 7100 5100
Jonathan Evans jonathan.evans@tavirasecurities.com
First Equity Limited Tel: +44(0)20 7330 1833
Jason Robertson jasonrobertson@firstequitylimited.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/72382491/admin/
Background
Orom-Cross Graphite Project
Orom-Cross is a potential world class graphite project both by
size and end-product quality, with a high component of more
valuable larger coarse flakes within the deposit. A 21-year Mining
Licence for the project was issued by the Ugandan Government in
2019 following extensive historical work on the deposit and
Blencowe is moving through the Feasibility Study phase as it drives
towards first production targeted for 2023.
Orom-Cross presents as a large, shallow open-pitable deposit,
with a revised JORC Measured, Indicated & Inferred Mineral
Resource deposit of 24.5Mt @ 6.0% Total Graphite Content.
Development of the resource is expected to benefit from a low strip
ratio and free dig operations, thereby ensuring lower operating and
capital costs.
Akelikongo Nickel Project
Akelikongo is a highly prospective nickel sulphide exploration
project that has previously had considerable work completed by Rio
Tinto and Sipa to establish three mineralised lenses to date. It
represents an opportunity for Blencowe to add further value through
a targeted work programme that will seek to delineate higher grade
and thicker intercepts of nickel.
Nickel sulphide deposits are rare and valuable and the prospect
of further exploration success gives Blencowe suitable incentive to
develop this asset under a structured earn-in agreement, whereby
100% of the asset can ultimately be acquired for US$1.5m, 100%
payable in shares.
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