31
January 2024
Operational
Update:
Copper and Gold Identified
from Azrar Expansion
Azrar Project,
Morocco
Aterian Plc
("Aterian" or the
"Company")
Aterian Plc
(LSE: ATN), the critical metal-focused
exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the
positive results, including 4.01 %
copper ("Cu") and
26.9 g/t silver ("Ag"),
from recent sampling conducted on the Company's Azrar Project
("Azrar" or the
"Project") located in
Morocco.
The Project, which was recently
expanded following the award of two new licences, now
covers
99.3 km2, is located
within the western Anti-Atlas Mountains of the Kingdom of
Morocco ("Morocco")
and lies 30 km north of the Company's Tata copper project. The
Azrar Project is one of 17 copper, silver and base metal projects
owned by Aterian, covering 897 km2
in Morocco within established current
and historic mining districts.
Highlights:
· Latest sampling
reports up to 4.01 % copper and
26.9 g/t silver from the sedimentary-hosted copper
target.
· Continued copper
mineralisation has been identified within previously mapped
Adoudouian sediments, with additional mineralised quartz veins and
fault-related breccia zones discovered on the new
licences.
· Quartz vein zones on
the new licence areas have gold ("Au") as a by-product and report 1.19 %
Cu, 0.50 g/t Au and 1.22 % Cu, 0.33 g/t Au.
· The project is
located in central Morocco within the western Anti-Atlas,
a region considered highly prospective for sedimentary-hosted
copper mineralisation.
· Several historical
workings have been mapped on the recently awarded licence
areas.
· The project lies
45 km east of Managem's Tizert Copper-Silver development project
and 30 km north of the Company's Tata sedimentary-hosted copper
project.
· Project located
close to good infrastructure.
· The Company holds
17 highly prospective projects in Morocco, totalling 897
km2.
Charles Bray, Chairman of
Aterian, commented:
"Multiple styles of copper
mineralisation and gold have been discovered in the recently
awarded expansion areas. We now better understand that the
sedimentary-hosted copper potential of this project likely offers
greater scale than previously determined. These recent results from
the Azrar Project are both very encouraging, with the continuation
of the sedimentary-hosted copper, and fascinating, with the
identification of multiple other geological sources of copper
mineralisation. The laboratory analyses from these new licences are
very positive, with the multiple zones of quartz veins identified
reporting good copper and unexpected associated gold
values.
"We remain confident that Azrar will
continue to deliver positive outcomes for the Company. This
project, together with our other key projects at Agdz, Tata and
Jebilet Est, has the potential to deliver tremendous value to the
Company, its shareholders and other stakeholders.
"We have created a strong asset
portfolio in Morocco and will continue to seek to expand our
projects and explore the area. The country is emerging as a
preferred destination for global mining and manufacturing companies
seeking to enter the EU and USA via preferential trade
status[1]. We are now
seeing continued positive results from our fieldwork on several
key projects in Morocco."
Project
Summary:
The Azrar Project comprises eight
licences for a total area of 99.3 km2, with
access to the Project via asphalt roads and a network of smaller
tracks. Aterian holds a 100 % interest in these
licences.
The Project is situated within the
western Anti-Atlas Mountains, 155 km southeast of the port
city of Agadir and 45 km east of the Tizert copper-silver
project (estimated non-compliant resources of 57 Mt
grading 1.03 % Cu and 23 g/t Ag), which is
operated by the Managem Group.
|
Aterian PLC project
locations in Morocco with competitor companies and
projects.
|
One of the Company's other
sedimentary-hosted copper projects, the Tata Project ("Tata"), is located 30 km south of
Azrar. Recent sampling on the Tata Project reported grades up to
7.02 % Cu, with copper mineralisation identified within two
stratigraphic horizons and visible on the surface. The combined
strike length of the mineralised sedimentary units at Tata (with
copper mineralisation observed on the surface) explored to date is
over 18 km.
The western Anti-Atlas is dominated
by Palaeoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic age inliers overlain
unconformably by Cambrian to recent sedimentary and volcanic
sequences. The Lower Cambrian Adoudou Formation comprises sediments
known to host significant sedimentary copper deposits in the
Western and Central Anti-Atlas, including Tizert. Late
Ediacaran to early Cambrian-aged Adoudounian sediments are mapped
within the Azrar Project along the southern flank of the
Paleoproterozoic Agadir Melloul Inlier.
The mineralisation on the Project is
observed hosted in fault-related breccia zones, late-stage quartz
veins and hosted within carbonate and siltstone sedimentary
sequences of the Adoudou Formation. Several abandoned artisanal
workings have been identified across the Project, with host rocks
on the Project comparable to the nearby Managem-owned Tizert copper
project.
Earlier prospecting by the Company on the Azrar
Project reported strong copper grades, including 3.79 % Cu and 23
g/t Ag from a NE-SW trending fault breccia trending across the
central area of the project.
Aterian Exploration
Results
The recent fieldwork, with results reported
today, concentrated on preliminary reconnaissance over two new
licences granted to the Company in August 2023 and continuing
exploration of the northwestern part of the original Project
area.
A total of 41 samples were collected during this
reported sampling campaign. Of these samples, 17 (41 % of this
batch) were > 0.3 % Cu, with 11 samples returning values greater
than 1 % Cu. Three samples reported gold values of 0.50, 0.33 and
0.19 g/t Au.
Area
Sampled
|
No. of
Samples
|
Outcrop
|
Float
|
Spoil/Dump
|
New
Permits
|
19
|
15
|
2
|
2
|
Original
Project
|
22
|
21
|
1
|
-
|
Total
|
41
|
36
|
3
|
2
|
The maximum sample grade reported from the
current dataset was 4.01 % Cu with 26.9 g/t Ag, collected from an 8
m thick carbonate bed with disseminated malachite observed along
bedding plane surfaces and cross-cutting fractures and joints.
Earlier project work identified a well-defined NE-SW trending fault
zone, with mineralisation hosted in a quartz-carbonate breccia,
within the central part of the Project. The recent samples taken
along strike to the northeast along this structure returned good
grades (2.40 % and 2.50 % Cu), extending the mineralised portion of
the feature to almost 2.5 km in length. The maximum width of this
structure observed during fieldwork is 8 m and averages c.4
m.
Along the contact of the d'Azaghar Izazen
intrusive body, quartz veins up to 1m wide and quartz
breccia-filled faults were observed in the northwest of the
Project. A vein sample with disseminated and fracture-filling
pyrite, chalcopyrite and covellite reported 1.81 % Cu, with a
sample from the brecciated fault zone reporting 0.69 %
Cu.
Sedimentary-hosted copper mineralisation was
observed from prospecting in the western area. Three individual
samples collected over a strike length of 1 km reported copper
grades of 1.21 %, 0.57 % and 0.54 % from Adoudounian age
sedimentary sequences, with disseminated mineralisation observed
along bedding and cross-cutting fractures.
Several zones of mineralised quartz veining and
fault breccia were observed within the new licences. Two samples
from spoil material adjacent to old artisanal workings returned
good copper and associated gold (1.19 % Cu with 0.50 g/t Au and
1.22 % Cu with 0.33 g/t Au) from the quartz-specular hematite
veins. The workings are sub-vertical shafts and pits, up to 7 m
deep and 2 m wide, with veins up to 1.2m wide. Another vein sample
collected 1.8 km south along the artisanal workings' structural
trend returned 0.54 % Cu and 0.19 g/t Au.
*A rock chip
or grab sample cannot be taken as a representation of the overage
grade average and potential deposit size. A float sample is
collected from loose pieces of rock not connected to an outcrop. A
spoil/dump sample is collected adjacent to a historical
working.
Sampling Methodology and
Analysis
ALS Limited, an accredited laboratory in
Sevilla, Spain, undertook all sample preparation and analysis for
these reported samples. Given the early-stage nature of these
programmes, no QA/QC samples were included. Rock samples were
crushed to 70 % passing -2 mm. The less than 2 mm fraction was
pulverised, with 85 % of the sample passing <75 microns. All
samples were analysed using four-acid digestion for a multi-element
suite of 34 metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission
Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). In addition, all samples were
analysed for their gold content by a 50g Fire Assay method with an
atomic absorption finish.
Work Plan for the Azrar
Project
Future work programmes at the Azrar Project will
include further geological mapping and sampling of the copper-gold
veins on the new licences, channel sampling across the copper-rich
NE-SW trending structure within the central part of the Project and
further exploration of the sedimentary-hosted copper potential
within the Adoudoudian sedimentary sequence.
Illustrations
The
following figures have been prepared by Aterian and relate to the
disclosures in this announcement.
Mining Indaba
2024
The Company will attend the
Mining Indaba in Cape Town and is available for meetings at the
Explorer's Showcase, Stand ES8.
Qualified
Person
The technical disclosure in this regulatory
announcement has been approved by Simon Rollason, Chief Executive
Officer of Aterian Plc. A graduate of the University of the
Witwatersrand in Geology (Hons). He is a Member of the Institute of
Materials, Minerals and Mining, with over 30 years of experience in
mineral exploration and mining.
- ENDS -
This announcement contains information which,
prior to its disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under
Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations
2019/310 (as amended).
For further information, please visit the
Company's website: www.aterianplc.com or
contact:
Aterian Plc:
Charles Bray, Executive Chairman - charles.bray@aterianplc.com
Simon Rollason, Director - simon.rollason@aterianplc.com
Financial Adviser and Joint
Broker:
Novum Securities Limited
David Coffman / George Duxberry
Tel: +44 (0)207 399 9400
Joint Broker:
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
Ewan Leggat / Kasia
Brzozowska
Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
Financial PR:
Bald Voodoo
- ben@baldvoodoo.com
Ben Kilbey
Tel: +44 (0)7811 209 344
Notes to Editors:
About Aterian
plc
www.aterianplc.com
Aterian plc is an LSE-listed exploration
and development company with a diversified African portfolio of
critical metals projects.
Aterian plc is actively seeking to acquire and develop new
critical metal resources to strengthen its existing asset base
whilst supporting ethical and sustainable supply chains as the
world transitions to a sustainable, renewable future. The
supply of these metals is vital for the development of the
renewable energy, automotive and electronic manufacturing sectors
that are playing an increasing role in reducing carbon emissions
and meeting climate ambitions globally.
The Company recently entered into a joint
venture agreement with Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration
Limited for Rio Tinto to earn into the HCK project in
southern Rwanda and holds two further partnerships
in Rwanda exploring and developing
lithium-tantalum-niobium-tin mining operations. Aterian currently
has a portfolio of 17 copper-silver and base metal projects in the
Kingdom of Morocco, with a project area of 897
km2. In January 2024, the Company announced the
acquisition of a 90% interest in Atlantis Metals. This private
Botswana registered company holds one mineral prospecting licence
for copper-silver in the Kalahari Copperbelt and three for lithium
brine exploration in the Makgadikgadi Pans region. The total
licence area in Botswana is 3,516 km2.
The Company's strategy is to seek new
exploration and production opportunities across the African
continent and to develop new sources of critical mineral assets for
exploration, development, and trading.
Glossary of Terms
The following is a glossary of technical
terms:
"Ag"
|
means
|
Silver
|
"Au"
|
means
|
Gold
|
"Breccia"
|
means
|
a rock consisting of
angular fragments of stones cemented by finer materials
|
"Cu"
|
means
|
Copper
|
"Ferruginous"
|
means
|
containing iron
oxides
|
"Float sample"
|
means
|
loose pieces of rock
that are not connected to an outcrop
|
"g/t"
|
means
|
grams per tonne
|
"Hercynian or Variscan Orogeny"
|
means
|
an orogenic belt that
evolved during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, from
about 419 to 299 million years ago
|
"km"
|
means
|
Kilometres
|
"m"
|
means
|
Metres
|
"mm"
|
means
|
Millimetres
|
"Mt"
|
means
|
millions of
tonnes
|
"NI 43-01"
|
means
|
National Instrument
43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects of the Canadian
Securities Administrators
|
"Outcrop"
|
means
|
a rock formation that
is in situ and visible on
the surface
|
"Qualified Person"
|
means
|
a person that has the
education, skills and professional credentials to act as a
qualified person under NI 43-101
|
"Sb"
|
means
|
Antimony is used in
alloys and in lead-acid storage batteries. The U.S. government has
considered antimony a critical mineral mainly because of its use in
military applications.
|
"Stratiform"
|
means
|
parallel to the
bedding planes of the surrounding rock
|
"Vein"
|
means
|
a distinct sheetlike
body of crystallised minerals within a rock
|
"Zn"
|
means
|
Zinc
|