TIDMEEE
RNS Number : 8441V
Empire Metals Limited
12 August 2020
Empire Metals Limited / AIM: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources
12 August 2020
Empire Metals Limited ('Empire' or the 'Company')
Option and Earn-In to Acquire High-Grade Gold Mining Licence in
Western Australia
Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is delighted to announce that it has entered
into an Option Agreement (the 'Option') to acquire a 75% interest
in the high-grade Eclipse gold mining licence, located 55km
north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia ('Eclipse' or the
'Project') from Philips Exploration Pty Ltd.
Overview:
-- Acquisition of a controlling interest in a large, high-grade
and previously producing mining licence which has been held by one
private individual for the past 30 years and has had only cursory
modern exploration applied to a very small part of the entire 300
hectare licence area
-- Historical gold production of 954 tonnes @ 24.6 g/t Au for
754.25 oz Au from the Eclipse shaft which operated up to 1910
-- Additional gold production from two further shafts:
-- Jack's Dream ( situated 230m north-west of the Eclipse shaft
along strike) was worked from 1907 to 1911 with a total production
of 197 tonnes at 23.8 g/t Au for 150.7 oz Au
-- Steinhobel shaft (100m along strike from Jack's Dream)
produced gold historically (no records are available)
-- Recent drilling (2014) has identified high-grade
mineralisation all within a 30-metre zone either side of the main
Eclipse shaft - highlights include:
-- GD008: 7m @ 13.07 g/t Au from 34 metres
-- GD014: 12m @ 5.13 g/t Au from 39 metres
-- ERC03: 8m @ 3.11 g/t Au from 66 metres
-- ERC019: 6m @ 3.92 g/t Au from 87 metres
-- The gold mineralisation at Eclipse is open along strike in
both directions and at depth and is hosted within quartz-carbonate
lodes that run semi parallel to the main shear zone, a structure
that can be traced for around 2.5km on the licence
-- The Eclipse mine shaft has been recently refurbished and
dewatered, allowing immediate access
-- In addition to the known mineralisation at and surrounding
the Eclipse old workings, recent geophysics and geochemistry work
has highlighted further potential mineralisation at two additional
targets north-west of Eclipse, the Houdini and Easy prospects
-- Additional sub-parallel structures to the east have also been
identified coincident with gold-in-soil anomalies
-- The total cost to acquire the 6-month option is AUD$100,000
in cash, AUD$300,000 to be settled via the issue of 9,387,908 new
ordinary shares in Empire at a price of 1.75p and the issue of
9,387,908 warrants exercisable at a price of 3 pence with a two
year expiry
-- Empire has agreed to spend AUD$300,000 on exploration at
Eclipse within the 6-month option period and can exercise the
Option at a cost of AUD$1 million in cash and AUD$1 million to be
settled via the issue of new ordinary shares at a 30 day VWAP at
time of exercise and 1 for 1 warrants at a 20% premium to the issue
price
Mike Struthers, CEO, said: "This acquisition is a great addition
to our portfolio. A large active gold mining lease less than 60km
along strike from the Kalgoorlie super pit in a politically stable
jurisdiction is a remarkable find for the shareholders.
"As noted previously, the Company has for some time now been
working to acquire additional assets outside of its interests in
Georgia, and we have been in discussions on a variety of candidate
projects. Acquiring a majority interest in Eclipse is a great
opportunity to add value to the Company. This project has received
very little exploration across most of the licence area, which is
remarkable given the very high-grade nature of the mineralisation
both at depth and along strike from the shaft that ceased operation
in 1910.
"The high-grade mineralisation occurs in a quartz-carbonate vein
with an average width of 2.2m. The mineralisation occurs at the
intersection of north-west trending volcanics and major north-east
faults, and in addition to Eclipse there are two other known points
of intersection of these features along the 2.5km of strike, as
well as potential for additional nearby gold deposits in parallel
features. These will be the focus of the team as we now move
quickly to drilling and other evaluation work.
"By entering into an option over the Project we are gaining a
foothold in one of the most productive gold regions in Australia,
surrounded by a number of major producers. Eclipse has been
privately held by one individual for around 30 years. Historical
production records have been preserved, and together with recent
geophysics and drilling there is now a robust understanding of the
gold mineralisation and the potential for significant high-grade
gold resource development."
To view a version of the announcement with illustrative maps and
diagrams please use the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8441V_1-2020-8-11.pdf
Transaction Terms
Empire Metals has entered into an Option Agreement to acquire a
75% interest in the Eclipse Gold Project from Philips Exploration
Pty Ltd. The Company has paid AUD$100,000 (approximately GBP55,000)
in cash, AUD$150,000 (GBP82,144) to be settled via the issue of
4,693,954 new ordinary shares of no-par value at a price of 1.75p
and the issue of 4,693,954 warrants exercisable at 3p for two
years. In addition, a finder's fee has been paid to an unrelated
party of AUD$150,000 (GBP82,144) to be settled via the issue of
4,693,954 new ordinary shares of no par value at a price of 1.75p
and the issue of 4,693,954 warrants to subscribe for ordinary
shares, exercisable at 3 pence for two years. Empire has also
agreed to spend AUD$300,000 within a 6-month period on exploration,
administration and maintenance.
Empire can exercise the Option at any time up to the 6-month
option expiration date by payment of AUD$1,000,000 in cash and
AUD$500,000 to be settled via the issue of new ordinary shares of
no par value at a price calculated by reference to the 30 day VWAP
prior to exercise and the issue of one for one warrants exercisable
at a 20% premium to the option exercise consideration share issue
price valid for two years from completion.
In addition, a finder's fee will be payable of AUD$500,000 to be
settled via the issue of new ordinary shares of no-par value at a
price to be calculated by reference to the 30 day VWAP prior to
exercise and the issue of one for one warrants exercisable at a 20%
premium to the consideration share issue price valid for two years
from completion. The Company will have an option to acquire the
remaining 25% of the Project at a price determined by an
independent valuer.
Application for Admission
The new shares issued pursuant to the Option Agreement and
finder's fee will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing
ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company.
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the new
shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is
expected that Admission will become effective on or around 18
August 2020.
Total Voting Rights
As a result of the issue of the new shares as described above,
the issued share capital of the Company now consists of 203,144,899
ordinary shares of no par value. The figure of 203,144,899 ordinary
shares may be used by shareholders of the Company as the
denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if
they are required to notify their investment in, or a change in
their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the
Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency
Rules.
The Eclipse Gold Project
The Project is located less than 55km north of Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia. It is accessible via a public road which runs
through the Project area.
Figure 1. The location of the Eclipse gold project relative to
major road and mill infrastructure and the city of
Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
Production and Exploration History
The Eclipse gold mine has had a number of owners since 1902. By
1910 the shaft was sunk to its current depth of 78 metres. Despite
the extensive shaft excavation, very little development and stoping
was undertaken. The production during this period was 954 tonnes @
24.6 g/t Au for 754.25 oz Au (source: GSWA Mindex database). In the
1990s the shaft was refurbished to the bottom level and the collar
of the shaft was re-established with concrete.
Figure 2. The new cement footing laid at the Eclipse shaft
Prospecting has occurred intermittently on the licence. In the
early 1990s drilling was conducted targeting extensions of the
Eclipse mine. A further two RC holes were drilled in 1997 targeting
the Steinhobel workings (situated 330m to the northwest of the
Eclipse shaft). In 2004 another phase of RC drilling was conducted
infilling and extending upon previous drilling. No further drilling
has been conducted since.
As series of soil sampling programmes were undertaken in the
early 1990s with additional samples collected from the western edge
of the licence in 2004. At various times rock chips have been
collected and assayed. These were taken from both surface and
underground exposures. The rock chip sampling is not comprehensive
and often wide-spaced reflecting the rare exposures and
outcrop.
Free gold contained within quartz is reported from old workings
in the east of the licence area, and there are also unverified
accounts of nuggets reported to have been found along strike
between the Eclipse shaft and Jack's Dream (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Gold nuggets detected within M27/153
Regional and Local Geology
The Project is situated in the Gindalbie domain of the Kurnalpi
terrane. Within 3km either side of the Eclipse mining licence
(M27/153) are north-south trending regional scale faults. The
Gindalbie domain is largely comprised of volcano-clastic sequences.
The volcanic units include assemblages of welded tuffs and
tuffaceous lavas. Clastic assemblages include interbedded
siltstone, sandstone, shale and thin bedded conglomerates.
The Project is located on a north-west trending sequence of
felsic-intermediate-mafic volcanics and clastic sediments. All of
the rocks are part of the Gindalbie Formation. There is little
exposure of the basement geology, with isolated float debris relied
upon.
Figure 4. The local geology for the Project. The tenement
outline is shown. Also illustrated are the GSWA records of gold
workings/ deposits, interpreted structures and form lines and
mapped shafts
Various soil sampling campaigns have been completed. These soil
surveys identified elevated gold concentrations in the middle and
southern portions of the Eclipse mineralised system. They also
recognised domains in the vicinity of the Houdini and Easy
structures as being anomalous. The peak gold-in-soil value at the
Eclipse gold deposit is 170 ppb, while the peak value at the
Houdini prospect is 73 ppb Au. The peak value within M27/153 at the
Easy prospect is 21 ppb Au, while the peak value outside the
licence but on the same structure is 267 ppb Au.
Mineral Resources and Underground Workings at Eclipse
The gold mineralisation of the Eclipse gold deposit has not been
subject to a Mineral Resource estimation. However, historical
production records have been preserved, and recent geophysics and
drilling have led to a good understanding of the nature,
distribution and controls of the gold mineralisation.
Some of the best drill intercepts (downhole lengths)
include:
-- GD008: 7m @ 13.07 g/t Au from 34 metres
-- GD014: 12m @ 5.13 g/t Au from 39 metres
-- ERC03: 8m @ 3.11 g/t Au from 66 metres
-- ERC019: 6m @ 3.92 g/t Au from 87 metres
Figure 5. Long-section view of the Eclipse gold deposit looking
north-east. Contours illustrate the distribution of gold in
gram-metres (true width of an intercept multiplied by the mean gold
grade)
Empire is now preparing a detailed development plan to advance
the Project and will provide further details in due course.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or
contact:
Mike Struthers Empire Metals Ltd Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Ewan Leggat S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Soltan Tagiev S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Damon Heath Shard Capital Partners Joint Broker Tel: 020 7186
LLP 9950
Susie Geliher St Brides Partners Ltd PR Tel: 020 7236
1177
Beth Melluish St Brides Partners Ltd PR Tel: 020 7236
1177
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals Limited (formerly Georgian Mining Corporation) has
50% ownership of the Bolnisi Copper and Gold Project in Georgia,
situated on the prolific Tethyan Belt, a well-known geological
region and host to many high-grade copper-gold deposits and
producing mines. The Bolnisi concession covers an area of over 860
sq km and has a 30-year mining licence with a variety of targets
and projects ranging from greenfield exploration / target
definition phase through intermediate target-testing phases to more
advanced projects including Kvemo Bolnisi East which is due to
advance to Feasibility Study.
The Company is assessing the potential for expanding the
Company's portfolio through the addition of new assets, which have
the ability to add value in the short term.
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END
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