TIDMEEE
RNS Number : 0045B
Empire Metals Limited
08 February 2022
To view the announcement with the illustrative images please use
the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0045B_1-2022-2-8.pdf
Empire Metals Limited / AIM: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources
8 February 2022
Empire Metals Limited
('Empire' or the 'Company')
Empire to Focus on Advanced Exploration Opportunities at Eclipse
and Gindalbie Projects
and
Termination of Option on Central Menzies Gold Project
Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce that it will commence a
strategic phase of exploratory drilling at the Eclipse Gold Project
('Eclipse') in conjunction with an initial drilling campaign at the
new Gindalbie Gold Project ('Gindalbie'), located immediately
adjacent and southeast to Eclipse within the Eastern Goldfields of
Western Australia. This significantly larger, newly combined
Eclipse-Gindalbie project area provides the Company with an
exciting advanced gold exploration opportunity. As a result, the
Company has decided not to take up the Option over the Central
Menzies Gold Project ('Central Menzies') in order to focus its
activities on the more promising Eclipse and Gindalbie
Projects.
Overview:
-- A substantial strategic drilling campaign has been designed
for Eclipse, in conjunction with an initial drilling campaign
within the adjacent Gindalbie project area (refer Figure 1), which
will be implemented over the coming weeks.
-- Empire expects the Tribute Agreement allowing the Company to
explore and mine the Gindalbie Project (refer announcement dated 28
January 2021) to be concluded prior to the commencement of drilling
within the Gindalbie project area.
-- The Gindalbie project area increases Empire's mineralised
footprint around its flagship Eclipse Project by over 200% to a
total of 943ha and covers several historic high-grade gold
prospects that, together with the Eclipse and Jack's Dream
prospects, represent multiple structures within one large gold
system.
-- The highly anticipated next round of exploratory drilling at
Eclipse, utilising both reverse circulation ('RC') and Diamond
Drill ('DD') holes, is designed to gather further geological and
structural information around the Eclipse shaft ('Eclipse') and
Jack's Dream shaft ('Jack's Dream') and to prove continuity of the
gold mineralisation below the gold-depleted zone of weathering.
-- In addition to drilling the deeper targets at Eclipse and
Jack's Dream, Empire will commence an RC drilling campaign at
Gindalbie, looking to not only extend the mineralised trend a
further 2km to the southeast of Eclipse but also to understand the
extent and origin of what the Company believes to be a much larger
gold system.
-- Empire announced a summary of its exploration activities at
Central Menzies on 28 January 2022, including the results of a
second phase of RC drilling which focused on testing the Nugget
Patch gold trend to confirm if there was higher grade
mineralisation sitting at depth below a supergene gold enriched
zone and to confirm historic high grade gold intersections closely
associated with the main workings at Teglio. The results were
generally inconclusive, with no obvious continuity along strike and
no significant high-grade intercepts.
-- The Company has therefore decided to terminate the Option
over Central Menzies and instead intends to focus on the known
high-grade gold assets centred around the Eclipse-Gindalbie project
area as well as look for further acquisitions within Australia.
-- Empire remains well funded and capable of executing a
substantial amount of exploration over the coming months with over
GBP2.1 million in current cash reserves. The current favourable
exchange rate between the Pound Sterling and the Australian Dollar
provides the Company with an opportunity to carry out additional
exploration activities for less expenditure than originally
envisaged.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "This next strategic round
of drilling at the Eclipse and Jack's Dream lodes will test for
both high grade gold mineralisation at depth and continuity of the
mineralisation between the previous high grade RC drilling
intercepts. We are focusing on obtaining diamond core samples from
which we expect to gather important geological and structural data
which will enable Empire to build upon and improve the geological
model at Eclipse."
"By developing a more robust understanding of the structural
controls on mineralisation we can step out our drilling targets
with confidence and look to extend the known footprint of gold
mineralisation within the combined Eclipse-Gindalbie project area,
which we believe contains a very significant high-grade gold
system."
Figure 1. Location Map
Eclipse Drilling programme based on recent "Strategic
Review"
Empire has to date completed three exploratory drilling
programmes at Eclipse, consisting of 111 reverse circulation ('RC')
drill holes for a total of 9,121 metres and three diamond drill
holes for a total of 201 metres. Significant intercepts from the RC
drill programmes at Eclipse (above 1.3 ppm Au) are reported in
Table 1 below.
Late last year Empire completed a strategic technical review of
all the data collected over the Eclipse licence area, focusing on
understanding the structural controls on the high-grade gold lodes
identified by previous drilling. The gold mineralisation at Eclipse
is hosted in sheared felsic to intermediate volcanics and
volcaniclastic sediments, and associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite
and quartz veining. Analyses of the structural data collected
during the diamond drilling last year has confirmed the gold
mineralisation to be associated with shear foliation within the
volcaniclastic sediments.
The current database for Eclipse shows only 20% of the RC holes
drilled to date have penetrated below the gold-depleted regolith
zone into fresh rock. The results from previous drilling also
indicate that gold mineralisation likely continues to greater
depths, and that further drilling is warranted to test the strike
and depth extensions of multiple gold structures at Eclipse.
Table 1 . Significant intercepts of the RC drill programme at
Eclipse (reported above 1.3 ppm Au).
Hole_id Depth From Depth Interval Au (g/t) Target
(metres) To (metres)
(metres)
Phase 1 Drilling Programme - October 2020
ECRC20_005 42 50 8 2.14 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_009 45 48 3 21.96 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_017 49 52 3 3.18 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_021 9 10 1 7.76 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_021 13 23 10 1.49 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_022 22 36 14 3.78 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_026 0 1 1 6.93 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_026 10 11 1 4.51 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_027 33 36 3 5.37 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_031 15 16 1 1.51 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_032 26 30 4 4.58 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_036 30 31 1 1.58 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_037 133 141 8 3.20 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_039 94 105 11 3.04 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC20_040 77 78 1 2.46 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
Phase 2 Drilling Programme - January 2021
ECRC21_002 91 94 3 2.45 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_003 118 126 8 2.83 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_004 134 137 3 2.61 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_005 138 146 8 1.86 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_006 93 97 4 1.44 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_007 144 147 3 2.38 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_008 99 100 1 1.86 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_009 62 67 5 1.59 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_010 52 53 1 2.50 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_015 50 52 2 1.32 Steinhobel
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_017 70 78 8 2.32 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_020 46 70 24 1.44 Jack's Dream
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_020 82 85 3 2.51 Jack's Dream
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_024 38 39 1 2.10 Twin Shaft
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_024 45 48 3 2.07 Twin Shaft
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_027 33 39 6 5.52 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_029 33 37 4 2.80 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_030 49 54 5 4.77 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_032 55 56 1 1.46 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_033 49 54 5 1.42 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_034 75 78 3 2.40 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_035 47 49 2 2.22 Steinhobel
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
Phase 3 Drill Programme - April 2021
ECRC21_045 126 131 5 3.54 Jack's Dream
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_046 50 56 6 2.39 Jack's Dream
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_053 40 42 2 1.68 Eclipse - NW extension
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_053 51 54 3 2.08 Eclipse - NW extension
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_054 66 70 4 4.78 Twin Shaft
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_059 75 77 2 1.75 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_060 53 55 2 3.65 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
ECRC21_062 0 1 1 4.08 Eclipse
----------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------------------
A detailed fourth drilling programme of over 2300m has now been
designed for the Eclipse and Jack's Dream lodes and includes 900m
of diamond core drilling and 1400m of RC drilling. The drilling
will focus on the Eclipse and Jack's Dream lodes, along strike of
the mineralised trends (refer Figure 2.)
Figure 2: Plan view of the southern half of the Eclipse
licence.
Magnetics (RTP), with drill intercepts indicating Eclipse and
Jack's Dream area and lines delineating the long-sections shown in
Figures 3 and 6 below.
The following sections illustrate examples of how the planned
drilling at Eclipse and Jack's Dream will be targeting high-gold
zones within the fresh rock below the regolith (weathered
profile).
Eclipse Ore Zone
Two diamond holes drilled previously near the Eclipse shaft
successfully penetrated fresh rock (ECDD21_01 and ECDD21_03) and
these have provided valuable structural information pertaining to
what controls the gold mineralisation. A total of 60 structural
measurements were taken from the drill core, measuring the bedding,
foliation, and quartz-carbonate veining of the fresh rock. These
were plotted onto a 'stereonet' with Au assays, which showed the
high-grade mineralisation to be associated with a steeply-dipping,
northwest-southeast trending foliation.
When the drillhole and assay data are plotted into 3D modelling
software, and a long-section is defined along strike of the
foliation, it shows the mineralisation is open at depth and
along-strike within the fresh rock (Figure 3), highlighting areas
which to date have been completely untested. In doing so, Empire
has defined several priority drill targets, two of which are
highlighted in the cross-sections shown in Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 3: Long-section of Eclipse orientated along strike of the
foliation.
Viewing northeast through a 20m wide window. Shaded zone
indicates the higher-grade gold mineralisation which remains open
at depth, and to the northwest, where it could potentially link to
Jack's Dream.
Figure 4. Eclipse Cross section 1
Figure 5. Eclipse cross-section 2
Jack's Dream Prospect
At Jack's Dream, where only RC holes have been drilled, a
similar approach has been employed using the structural
measurements from Eclipse (Figure 6). This shows again the upside
and exploration potential for discovering more gold mineralisation
within the fresh rock at depth, which remains untested. It also
supports the idea that Eclipse and Jack's Dream are upper parts of
a larger, linked gold system at depth below the regolith horizon
between the two areas and will be targeted during this drilling
campaign, as illustrated in the cross-section (Figure 7).
Figure 6: Long-section of Jack's Dream along strike of the
foliation defined from Eclipse.
Viewing northeast through a 40m wide window. Shaded area
indicates higher grade gold mineralisation which remains open at
depth, and towards the southeast.
Figure 7. Cross section at Jack's Dream
Gindalbie Gold Project Exploration Planned
The recently announced agreed Heads of Terms to enter into a
Tribute Agreement for the Gindalbie Gold Project, the granted area
within the adjacent mining lease M27/158, is an exciting
development for the Company as it provides the potential for
significant additional high-grade gold targets to be evaluated
within the combined Eclipse-Gindalbie area, both along the
southeast strike extension of the Eclipse trend and in sub-parallel
northwest-southeast trends lying to the northeast and southwest of
the Eclipse trend (refer Figure 8).
The exploration activities being planned for Eclipse-Gindalbie
area will be executed as a phased approach, taking the benefits
from the data collected from both the Eclipse drilling programmes
and from a technical review of the existing exploration database
covering the Gindalbie Gold Project. It is important that
additional data be collected from the fresh rock to fully
understand lithological and structural context, at both Eclipse and
Jack's Dream, which influence controls on the gold mineralisation.
The design and implementation planning for an initial drilling
programme at Gindalbie is underway, with the plan to commence
drilling once the Eclipse RC drilling programme is completed.
Figure 8. Granted area within ML27/158 showing major mineralised
sub-parallel trends running north-west and south-east
Central Menzies Gold Project Update
The Central Menzies Gold Project, located in the Menzies Shire,
approximately 115km north of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and
10km south of the township of Menzies, consists of four prospecting
tenements (P29/2361, 2362, 2363 and 2364) covering an area of 618
hectares.
Empire held an Option to acquire a 70% interest in Central
Menzies at a cost of AUD$1,750,000 in cash and AUD$1,250,000 to be
settled via the issue of new ordinary shares of no-par value at a
price calculated by reference to a 10% discount to the 30-day
VWAP.
A summary of the exploration activities, carried out by Empire
at Central Menzies since entering into the Option Agreement in May
2021, was recently announced and included the results of a second
phase of RC drilling. The second round of drilling was focused on
testing the Nugget Patch gold trend to confirm if there was higher
grade mineralisation sitting at depth below a supergene gold
enriched zone and to confirm historic high grade gold intersections
closely associated with the main workings at Teglio. The results
were generally inconclusive, with no obvious continuity along
strike and no significant high-grade intercepts within fresh rock.
After a detailed technical evaluation Empire considers that the
results achieved to date do not warrant further exploration
expenditure and has decided not the take up the Option, much
preferring to focus the Company's exploration activities on the
highly prospective Eclipse-Gindalbie region and also to look
further afield for acquisitions within Australia.
Competent Person Statement
The technical information in this report that relates to the
Eclipse Gold Project has been compiled by Mr Andrew Bewsher, a
full-time employee of BM Geological Services. Mr Bewsher is a
Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Bewsher has
been engaged as a consultant by Empire Metals Limited. Mr Bewsher
has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the
activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as
defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting
of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr
Bewsher consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters
based on his information in the form and context in which it
appears.
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, as incorporated into UK law by the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this
announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or
contact:
Shaun Bunn Empire Metals Ltd Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Greg Kuenzel Empire Metals Ltd Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Ewan Leggat S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Adam Cowl 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
Selina Lovell St Brides Partners Ltd PR Tel: 020 7236
1177
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and
resource development company with a project portfolio comprising
gold interests in Australia and Austria.
The Company strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at
different stages in the development curve. Its current focus is on
the high-grade Eclipse Gold Project in Western Australia, with the
goal to expand through the addition of further projects in the
region to develop a viable and compelling portfolio of precious
metals assets.
Empire also holds a portfolio of three precious metals projects
located an historically high-grade gold production region
comprising the Rotgulden, Schonberg and Walchen prospects in
central-southern Austria.
The Board continues to evaluate opportunities through which to
realise the value of its wider portfolio and reviews further assets
which meet the Company's investment criteria.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCGRGDDBGGDGDI
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 08, 2022 02:08 ET (07:08 GMT)
Empire Metals (AQSE:EEE.GB)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Empire Metals (AQSE:EEE.GB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024
