TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 3334H
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
27 July 2023
Alba Mineral Resources Plc / EPIC: ALBA / Market: AIM / Sector:
Mining
Alba Mineral Resources Plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
GROC Update
Progress at Amitsoq Graphite Project
Alba Mineral Resources Plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to note the
RNS today by its portfolio company, GreenRoc Mining Plc
("GreenRoc") (AIM: GROC), announcing an operational update re its
Amitsoq Graphite Project in South Greenland.
The GreenRoc announcement is set out below without material
changes.
GreenRoc Mining plc
("GreenRoc" or the "Company")
Amitsoq Operational Update
GreenRoc Mining plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the
development of critical mineral projects in Greenland, is pleased
to announce the following update for its Amitsoq Graphite Project
in South Greenland.
Highlights
- Potential off-take customer for Amitsoq has requested graphite
concentrate and spheronised graphite samples in order to conduct
its own testwork.
- 700kg bulk sample of graphite ore nearing the final stages of
separation at process engineering contractors UVR-FIA.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact
Assessment (SIA) work progressing well with both studies remaining
on track for delivery in 2024:
o Further ecological fieldwork scheduled for this August.
o Draft SIA Terms of Reference submitted for comment to
Greenlandic Ministry of Mineral Resources.
- Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), being conducted by SLR,
advancing as planned with expected delivery this autumn.
- CEO visit to Amitsoq completed in July to supervise
bathymetric survey over possible location for Amitsoq tailings
storage facility (TSF).
- Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has
delivered a detailed study testifying to the uniformity of the
Amitsoq ore.
GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:
"I am happy to report progress on the many fronts needed to
advance a project like Amitsoq through the development stages. We
believe that the fact that a potential off-taking company has
requested material for its own testwork demonstrates that our work
on marketing Amitsoq to a broad range of major industry players is
starting to bear fruit. To this end, further graphite concentrate
material will soon be available from our bulk sample collected at
Amitsoq last autumn.
"With the team of biologists from BioApp visiting Amitsoq in
early August, we will have completed the main field sampling
programme of the EIA, which is an important milestone to have
reached. Similarly important is the submission of the Terms of
Reference of the SIA to the Ministry of Mineral Resources in
Greenland, which essentially marks the beginning of the negotiation
process with the Government of Greenland towards exploitation
permitting.
"The PEA work is in full swing and will be reported in
September. This is anticipated to demonstrate how feasible and
profitable a mining operation at Amitsoq may be and will be
extremely important for discussions with potential project
partners, ranging from anode and battery manufacturers to car
makers and raw material traders."
Details
Dispatch of Samples to Potential Offtake Customer
ProGraphite GmbH has been engaged by GreenRoc to provide
processed graphite samples from Amitsoq to a potential
international off-take customer with which the Company has been in
discussions. The graphite material will be sourced from the
previous processing of Amitsoq graphite ore by ProGraphite in 2021
and 2022 and will comprise graphite concentrate, purified graphite
concentrate, and spherical graphite. The potential off-take
company, whose identity cannot be disclosed, has requested the
sample material in order to conduct its own verification
testwork.
Bulk Sample Processing
The 700kg bulk sample of graphite ore collected by the Company
in September 2022 is nearing the final stages of processing at
UVF-FIA in Germany. The aim of the work is to provide graphite
concentrate material for GreenRoc's further testwork requirements,
to have material ready for analysis by potential industry customers
and to understand the best options for processing the ore. The
concentrate material from this exercise is expected to be available
this autumn.
EIA and SIA Update
With the help of its professional consultants, the Company
continues to progress work on the EIA and SIA studies for Amitsoq,
which remain on track for delivery in 2024; these are important
milestones towards the granting of an exploitation permit.
Work on the EIA, which commenced in 2022, is being undertaken by
the Danish environmental consulting firm BioApp. In early August,
two biologists from BioApp will continue field work at Amitsoq,
completing their sampling of plant and animal species, collecting
water samples, and studying other matters pertaining to the
EIA.
The SIA, which is being undertaken by the Danish firm Niras a/s,
is also progressing well. This month, the draft Terms of Reference
were submitted for comment to Greenland's Ministry of Mineral
Resources.
PEA Update
The PEA, which is being conducted by UK mining consultancy SLR
Consulting Limited (SLR), is advancing as planned, with expected
delivery this autumn. The PEA will assess all key aspects of a
future graphite mining operation at Amitsoq based on a projection
of annual mining of 400,000t of ore for the production of c.
80,000t of graphite concentrate. The PEA is an important piece of
work and its delivery within a few months is expected to assist
greatly in the next round of discussions with potential project and
offtake partners. As part of the PEA, a representative from SLR
visited Amitsoq project area together with a Company representative
in May 2023.
Earlier this month, GreenRoc's CEO Stefan Bernstein oversaw a
bathymetric survey at a location within the Amitsoq project area as
part of its evaluation of possible sites for a future TSF, a key
element in the Company's ongoing feasibility studies.
Positive GEUS Study on Amitsoq Ore
The GEUS has produced a detailed study of the graphite ore from
Amitsoq based on samples from both the Upper Graphite Layer (UGL)
and Lower Graphite Layer (LGL). The study demonstrates that the UGL
and LGL ore bodies contain similar mineral assemblages with
distinct graphite crystals disseminated throughout the ore. We
believe the result of this study, coupled with the consistent
graphite grades across both ore bodies, suggests that processing of
ore during production is easily optimised with little need for
continuous adjustment of processing parameters.
Finally, GreenRoc has supported a master's thesis at the
University of Bologna, Italy, on the origins of Amitsoq graphite
ore. The thesis, which demonstrates that the remarkable grade and
consistency of grade of the ore bodies at Amitsoq is related to
metamorphic fluids with a biotic carbon source, will be presented
by the author Giacomo Fratelli at the Society of Economic
Geologists 2023 Conference entitled "Resourcing the Green
Transition" to be held in London next month.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.albamineralresources.com or contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3950 0725
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)
Andrew Emmott +44 20 3368 3555
-----------------------------
CMC Markets plc (Broker)
Thomas Smith / Douglas Crippen +44 (0) 20 3003 8632
-----------------------------
St Brides Partners (Financial PR) alba@stbridespartners.co.uk
Isabel de Salis / Catherine Leftley
-----------------------------
Alba's Projects & Investments
Projects Operated by Alba Location Ownership
------------ -----------
Clogau (gold) Wales 100%
------------ -----------
Dolgellau Gold Exploration (gold) Wales 100%
------------ -----------
Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
------------ -----------
Investments Held by Alba Location Ownership
------------ -----------
GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining) Greenland 44.67%
------------ -----------
Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
------------ -----------
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