TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 1489Q
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
16 October 2023
Alba Mineral Resources Plc / EPIC: ALBA / Market: AIM / Sector:
Mining
16 October 2023
Alba Mineral Resources Plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Clogau Mine and Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project
Alba Mineral Resources Plc (AIM: ALBA) provides the following
update regarding the ongoing operations at the Clogau-St David's
Gold Mine ("Clogau" or the "Mine") and across the Dolgellau Gold
Exploration Project ("DGEP" or the "Project") in north Wales.
Key points
Clogau Gold Mine
-- Emergency abstraction ongoing with Lower Llechfraith
remaining fully dewatered down to Level 3, thereby protecting the
safety and access works recently installed there.
-- Applications progressing for formal variations to the
discharge and abstraction permits and European Protected Species
Licence ("EPSL").
-- Acoustic test blasting and sampling to be undertaken in order
to ensure that future exploration activities are within agreed
noise levels.
Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project
-- Field exploration undertaken at Caerwych Gold-Base Metal Prospect.
-- Airborne geophysical survey now fully permitted by Civil
Aviation Authority ("CAA") and scheduled to commence in w/c 30
October 2023.
Details
Clogau Gold Mine
As announced in the Company's last operational update on 18
September 2023, the Company has implemented emergency abstraction
measures within the reflooded Lower Llechfraith workings at Clogau
in order to safeguard the safety and access works installed there
by the Company. This ongoing abstraction exercise has been
successful in dewatering the flooded workings back down to and
including Level 3. The Company intends to continue its emergency
abstraction operations pending the grant of the increased
abstraction and discharge thresholds applied for in August.
While the Company is not yet able to advise of the likely
timeline for the determination of its applications, the Company has
responded fully to all requests received to date from the appointed
NRW case officers for both applications, including submitting a
detailed addendum to the previous Hydrogeological Impact Appraisal
("HIA"). The Company has also submitted an application for a
licence modification to the existing European Protected Species
Licence ("EPSL") to enable the current bat exclusion measures to be
kept in place post 31 October so that, once the workings have been
fully dewatered, the Company may proceed with its envisaged
exploration activities at Level 4 of the Lower Llechfraith workings
during the winter period.
Upon obtaining the revised approvals, the Company expects to
proceed to a successful completion of the dewatering process.
Following the dewatering of Level 3 by emergency abstraction,
the Company has accessed Level 3 in order to inspect the safety and
access works installed there and ensure that their integrity has
not been compromised by the recent reflooding. Further, as access
to Level 4, the main focus of Alba's future exploration activities
within the Lower Llechfraith workings, has yet to be secured, the
acoustic testwork which the Company has committed to NRW to
carrying out will now be undertaken at Level 3. This will provide
the Company with noise data from activities such as blasting and
sampling in order to ensure that the Company's future exploration
activities on Level 4 are within the noise limits agreed with NRW,
with or without further noise mitigation measures.
Figure 1: Lower Llechfraith workings showing general location of
test activities planned being blasting (red circle) and sampling
(yellow polygon).
Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project ("DGEP")
Following the grant of the north-west extension to Alba's
licence areas over the DGF in 2021 (see Figure 2, area outlined in
red, top left), Alba has recently conducted follow-up field
reconnaissance at the historic Caerwych mine site, where notable
copper grades of up to 2.92 % Cu and structural gold targets were
previously identified.
Historical mining activity is present in the region, with
several workings centred around a series of NE-SW trending
structures (Figure 3). Mining activity has largely been within the
Gamlan Formation, underlying the Clogau Shales, with the focus of
historic production being on base metals. Several samples have been
taken by Alba from spoil tips and outcropping veins in order to
confirm historic grades, with the Company now awaiting
multi-element assay results (see Figure 3 for sample
locations).
Figure 2: Alba licence areas (red). Regional targets Afon Gain,
Hafod Owen & Caerwych (magenta).
The lode at Caerwych showed signs of chalcopyrite
mineralisation, particularly in association with wall-rock contacts
with the host sedimentary rocks of the Lower Gamlan Formation.
The Caerwych lode also lies within a notable topographic
lineament that visibly extends for several kilometres to the NE and
is thought to cross through the Clogau Shales and intrusive units,
both critical controls on ore formation at Clogau St. David's
(Figure 3). Future work at Caerwych is planned and will focus on
tracing this lineament and other sub-parallel NE-SW structures
further NE to where they intersect the Clogau Shales, to assess
whether these structures have the potential to host high-grade gold
and base metal mineralisation.
Figure 3: 2023 Caerwych sample locations taken from within Alba
licence area in the Dolgellau Gold Field (red). Caerwych lode
mineralisation is associated with NE-SW structures (black
lineaments).
Figure 4: Photos taken from Oct 2023 Caerwych field work: A)
Spoil tip located along NE-SW trending structure; B) Historic
Caerwych adit.
Regarding the planned geophysical survey by unmanned aerial
vehicle (or "UAV") over some of the Company's key regional gold
targets, the CAA has now provided its formal approval to the survey
area. As a result, the Company's contractors are preparing to
mobilise to start for the commencement of surveying, subject to
weather conditions, in the week commencing 30 October 2023.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company
are responsible for the release of this announcement.
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.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
**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
----------------------
Alba's Projects & Investments
Projects Operated by Alba Location Ownership
------------ -----------
Clogau (gold) Wales 100%
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Dolgellau Gold Exploration (gold) Wales 100%
------------ -----------
Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
------------ -----------
Investments Held by Alba Location Ownership
------------ -----------
GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining) Greenland 42.97%
------------ -----------
Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
------------ -----------
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