VANCOUVER, April 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Group Eleven Resources
Corp. (TSX.V: ZNG; OTC: GRLVF; FRA: 3GE) ("Group Eleven" or
the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its
corporate strategy and a summary of the Company's achievements
since its initial public offering in late 2017. After several years
of diligent work, the Company has now completed the groundwork
necessary for a much more focussed exploration strategy going
forward. Drilling is expected to commence in May 2020.
Highlights - Exploration
- Regional synthesis ('Big Think') conducted over the last few
years, is now substantially complete
- Stonepark (76.56% interest) and PG West (100%) projects, in the
Limerick basin, have emerged as
the clear 'flagship' and value-driver assets for Group Eleven (all
ground will be kept in good standing)
- Smaller core prospects at the Ballinalack, Silvermines and
Tralee projects will also be maintained
- All remaining licenses (majority of the Company's ground
position) will be surrendered
- Focussed drilling at the PG West and Stonepark projects is
planned to begin in May and August
2020, respectively (subject to COVID-19 restrictions)
- All fieldwork (including drilling) for the remainder of 2020 is
fully-funded
Highlights - Corporate
- Significant head count and overhead cost reductions were put in
place a number of months ago
- In order to expand and accelerate exploration, discussions
continue with third parties in relation to potential strategic
investments
"Our goal continues to be a world-class zinc discovery," stated
Bart Jaworski, CEO. "The
Limerick basin has all the
hallmarks of the next Navan1-scale zinc system in
Ireland. We've narrowed our first
immediate target area to a two-by-five-kilometre swath of prime
ground in the Kilteely area, representing the geological mirror
image of the Pallas Green system on the opposite side of the
volcanic complex. By surrendering non-core licenses, we'll be
better able to focus on our 1,200-square kilometre ground position
in the Limerick basin, with a view
to conducting larger, more sustained drilling campaigns in the
future."
Key Accomplishments Since IPO
Group Eleven has accomplished a number of key milestones in
Ireland since the Company's
initial public offering on the TSX-V in December 2017. These accomplishments include a
maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the
Stonepark2 Project in Co.
Limerick ("Stonepark"; 76.56% interest: Group Eleven; 23.44%
interest: Arkle Resources plc) and an updated MRE at
the Ballinalack3 Project in Co. Westmeath ("Ballinalack"; 60% interest:
Group Eleven; 40% interest: Nonfemet). Equally important, key new
exploration models have been developed and recently corroborated by
drilling, including (i) the Pallas Green Corridor and
(ii) the Ballinalack antiform crest4. The Company
has also continued data compilation and analysis of two zones which
were identified prior to the IPO: the Cooleen
prospect at the Silvermines Project ("Silvermines"; 100%
interest: Group Eleven) and the Castlemaine prospect at
the Tralee Project ("Tralee"; 100% interest: Group Eleven).
Platinum and palladium potential was also recently identified for
the very first time at Ballinalack, showing the best such drill
intercepts ever achieved in Ireland5.
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1 Boliden Summary Report on Tara Mine
(December 31, 2019): Navan orebody is over 130 million tonnes in
size, excluding depletion; current 2P reserves total 17.4 million
tonnes of 6.0% Zn and 1.6% Pb)
|
Limerick Basin – Hallmarks
of a Navan-Scale Zinc System
Boliden's Navan zinc-lead mine
("Navan"), located in eastern Ireland (see Exhibit 1), represents one of the
largest zinc deposits in the world, with over 130 million tonnes of
current resources plus historically mined material1. The
Limerick basin, located in central
Ireland, is quickly becoming one
of the most prospective – if not the most prospective -
parts of Ireland in which to
search for the next Navan-scale
zinc discovery. In part, this reflects the mineral endowment of the
Limerick basin which is already
the largest in Ireland outside of
Navan itself, despite the basin
being a relatively new camp.
The Limerick basin hosts the
Pallas Green6 and Stonepark2 deposits, as
well as, a number of smaller prospects, all of which are not yet
fully defined. Besides mineral endowment, key geological
similarities between the Limerick
basin and Navan area include: (i)
age of mineralization; (ii) host rocks (limestones; albeit
different stratigraphic units); (iii) style of mineralization
(Irish-Type MVT); and (iv) regional setting (both occur in large
trans-tensional basins along the Iapetus suture (see Exhibit
1).
Group Eleven's Stonepark and PG West projects cover the majority
of the prospective host rocks (Waulsortian limestone) within the
Limerick basin. The prospectivity
of the region, together with the Company's recent drill results
(described below), justify the Company's recent decision to focus
primarily on the Limerick basin
going forward.
Resource Expansion – Low Hanging Fruit, Ripe for the
Picking
The third-party consultants7 who prepared the
Ballinalack and Stonepark MREs, stated that each deposit is open
along and across strike, has significant exploration potential and
warrants further drilling2,3. However, systematic
step-out drilling around the current resource estimates has not yet
been conducted. During the Company's 'Big Think' phase of
exploration, the emphasis was on testing high-level conceptual
targets, with resource expansion drilling kept to a minimum. It is
important for investors and shareholders to know, however, that
these relatively easier, 'lower hanging fruit' targets will
feature more prominently in the Company's exploration plans
going forward, now that the large-scale structural corridors have
been identified.
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2 News release (April 17, 2018):
Stonepark Maiden Resource Estimate totals 5.1 million tonnes of
8.7% Zn and 2.6% Pb (Inferred Category)
|
3 News release (November 28, 2018):
Ballinalack Updated Resource Estimate totals 5.4 million tonnes
grading 7.6% Zn and 1.1% Pb (Inferred Category)
|
4 News release (March 19, 2020):
"Shallow, Thick, Highly-Anomalous Zn-Pb Zone, 5km from Ballinalack
Deposit"
|
5 News
release (January 14, 2020): "Identifies Anomalous Palladium, Nickel
and Cobalt at Ballinalack"
|
6 Resources and Reserves Report
(Glencore, December 31, 2019) – 45.4 million tonnes of 7% Zn + 1%
Pb (Inferred)
|
7 CSA
Global (UK) Ltd. and SLR Environmental Consulting (Ireland)
Ltd.
|
Pallas Green Corridor – The Big Upside Case, More and More in
Focus
The Pallas Green Corridor, identified by Group Eleven in
2018/2019 as a 20-kilometre-long mineralized
corridor extending from Glencore's Pallas Green zinc
deposit6 towards the southeast, was tested by two holes
drilled by the Company8. The Kilteely hole, located
mid-way south along the corridor (on the Stonepark project),
intersected 230 metres of an extensive hydrothermal system with
considerable multi-textured iron sulphides (pyrite and suspected
marcasite) and other geological features (brecciation, silica
flooding and locally elevated zinc levels) indicative of
proximity to a new major zinc system. The Ballywire hole,
located on the southern end of the corridor, intersected 36.5
metres of intermittent, high-grade zinc mineralization (e.g.
0.75 metres of 10.6% Zn + 2.5% Pb and 39 g/t Ag)
representing a 260-metre step-out from historic drilling and the
best results to date at the Ballywire prospect.
The above two drill holes opened up two specific areas of
very high prospectivity: (i) an area measuring approximately
two kilometres by five kilometres trending northwest of Kilteely
towards the Pallas Green deposit; and (ii) an area roughly 300
metres by 1,200 metres to the east and adjacent of the Company's
recent drilling at Ballywire.
In addition to the above, the Company verified that the existing
Stonepark deposit itself is open to expansion. In mid-2018, an
angled hole drilled by Group Eleven through the resource
intersected a thick zone of high-grade mineralization (5.40
metres of 25.0% Zn + 7.2% Pb and 12.2 g/t silver9).
Importantly, the hole did not encounter a fault previously thought
to truncate the eastern side of the resource estimate, hence
demonstrating the deposit remains open in this direction (towards
the nearby Pallas Green deposit6). Follow-up drilling
aimed at resource expansion is yet to be done in this area and many
other areas of the Stonepark resource remain open.
The Company's significant financial contribution towards the
Geological Survey of Ireland's
Tellus airborne geophysical survey covering Group
Eleven's entire Silvermines and Stonepark (and PG West) projects
led to a much clearer picture of the regional geology and
structural corridors in the two camps. Major new lineaments and
anomalies were identified in the Limerick basin, including a
40-kilometre-long WNE trend (suspected fault structure)
and large new circular features (suspected buried
intrusives) on the PG West and Stonepark properties,
respectively10. These features are yet to be drill
tested.
Strategy for 2020 and Beyond – More Nimble and
Focussed
Group Eleven's large ground position (approximately 3,000 square
kilometres; the largest in Ireland) will be significantly reduced over
the next few months now that first-pass, regional synthesis ('Big
Think') is substantially complete and high-priority targets have
been identified. The focus going forward will be on the
Limerick basin (Stonepark and PG
West projects) with other smaller, core holdings to be retained at
Ballinalack, the Cooleen prospect at Silvermines and the
Castlemaine prospect at Tralee. All other licenses will be
surrendered. Note, the Ballinalack property was reduced by
approximately half in late 20194.
With a much smaller ground position, Group Eleven will be more
nimble and be able to focus significantly more attention to each
target with a view to conducting larger, more sustained drilling
campaigns in the future. With regards to cost minimization, the
Company began taking steps in mid-2019 to significantly lower
overhead costs, including moderating staff levels to reflect a more
focussed stage of exploration.
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8 News release (May 7, 2019):
"Intersects Significant New Mineralization Along Pallas Green
Corridor"
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9 News release (June 18, 2018):
"Stonepark Deposit Open Towards Glencore's Neighbouring Pallas
Green Deposit"
|
10 News release (November 13, 2019):
"Identifies Previously-Unknown Features from Airborne Survey at
Stonepark"
|
Next Steps – A Fully Funded Program Starting Soon
An exploration program, including approximately 1,000 metres of
drilling, is anticipated to begin at the 100%-interest PG West
project in May 2020, subject to
COVID-19 restrictions. This drilling will include follow-up
drilling in the Kilteely area. At the 76.56%-interest Stonepark
project, exploration is anticipated to begin in August 2020 and include at least 800 metres of
drilling. The above fieldwork is fully funded and does not require
any further financing by the Company. In order to expand and
accelerate exploration and drilling in the Limerick basin, however, Group Eleven
continues to look for strategic partners. Discussions continue with
interested parties.
In order to increase the Company disclosure on more in-depth
technical information, Group Eleven has made available on its
website, detailed compilation presentations on key target areas, as
well as, pertinent mineral exploration information on Ireland.
Qualified Person
Technical information in this news release has been approved by
David Furlong, P.Geo., Chief
Operating Officer, and 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian
National Instrument 43-101.
About Group Eleven Resources
Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSX.V: ZNG; OTC: GRLVF and FRA:
3GE) is a mineral exploration company focused on advanced stage
zinc exploration in Ireland. The
Company's key project in Ireland
is a 76.56% interest in the Stonepark project (joint ventured with
Arkle Resources plc) and a 100% interest in the adjacent PG West
Project, located near Limerick,
next to one of the world's largest undeveloped zinc deposits:
Pallas Green deposit.
Additional information about the Company is available at
www.groupelevenresources.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bart Jaworski, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer
E: b.jaworski@groupelevenresources.com | T:
+353-85-833-2463
E: s.heinrichs@groupelevenresources.com | T:
+604-630-8839
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such statements
include, without limitation, statements regarding the future
results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company,
including the timing, content, cost and results of proposed work
programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral
deposits/resources/ reserves and geological interpretations.
Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable,
it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be
correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by
words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate,
postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their
nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that
any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of
future results or performance, and that actual results may differ
materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of
various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the
nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be
located. All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be
accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these
materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to
the Company's mineral properties.
SOURCE Group Eleven Resources Corp.