TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 3905Z
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
17 May 2019
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Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Drilling Commences at Alba's Limerick Base Metals Project in
Ireland
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA), the diversified mineral
exploration and development company, is pleased to report that
drilling has commenced on Alba's 100% owned Limerick Base Metals
Project (under Prospecting Licence ("PL") 3824) in the Republic of
Ireland.
Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:
"This excellent news that drilling has commenced at Limerick
means that we have now hit all our principal objectives for our
mining operations in this quarter (Q2 2019): we have announced a
maiden resource estimate for our 100% owned Thule Black Sands
Project; we have completed Phase 1 of our regional exploration
campaign at Clogau in Wales; and we have now commenced drilling in
Ireland.
The Irish Zinc Ore Field has been a major source of zinc
production since the 1960s and is host to some very significant,
high-grade zinc mines, not least the Tara Mine, with an ore body of
110 million tonnes at a grade of 9.8% zinc and 2.6% lead, making it
the largest zinc/lead deposit in Europe. Also, Glencore's Pallas
Green deposit which has a resource of 42 Mt @ 8% zinc.
Of the only five drill holes previously completed on Alba's
Limerick Project, one drill hole intercepted six metres of
semi-massive and disseminated pyrite within the target limestone,
including a two-metre mineralised interval containing zinc. The
presence of pyrite is encouraging since it often indicates the
presence of base metal sulphides at other properties in the
Limerick basin.
I will be on site in Limerick today to see the progress of
drilling for myself, and I look forward to reporting on the results
in due course."
Details of Drilling Campaign
Alba is pleased to report that drilling has commenced at its
Limerick Base Metals project. The drilling targets a number of
areas of identified soil and gravity anomalies identified during
Alba's previous field programmes. The drilling is being completed
by Mineral Exploration Drilling Ltd ("MEDL"), who have extensive
experience related to the Irish Zinc Ore Field, with the drilling
being supervised by the Ireland-based mineral exploration
consultancy firm, Aurum Exploration ("Aurum").
Alba's Technical Director, Howard Baker is in Ireland currently
to inspect the start of drilling operations, with Alba Chairman
George Frangeskides also due on site in Limerick later today. This
followed a site visit by the Chairman to Alba's Clogau Project
yesterday, 16 May, to inspect the progress to date of the ongoing
extensive rehabilitation works to the Clogau St-David's Mine.
The Limerick drilling programme follows a review of all
exploration results collected to date with the drill targets
identified considered to have the correct indicative geological
framework and associated geophysical and geochemical anomalies to
potentially host zinc-lead ("Zn-Pb") mineralisation. Diamond
drilling is now being undertaken that will test some of the targets
identified.
The geology of the licence area is dominated by Waulsortian Reef
Limestone Formation and the underlying Ballysteen Formation. This
sequence is inferred to subcrop in the west and south of Alba's
Project area. These units represent the host and footwall lithology
respectively for most of the Zn-Pb deposits in the Irish Midlands.
Historically, only five drillholes have been completed within
Alba's Project area, one by Alba and four by former JV partner Teck
Resources. These low levels of drilling are unusual in the Irish
context and for this reason, the area is considered
under-explored.
A total of five high-priority targets have been identified by
the Company from an examination of the available data, including
soil geochemistry and regional geophysical data. These targets are
presented in Figure 1 of the accompanying pdf to this announcement,
along with the interpreted exploration data and underlying
geology.
Figure 2 of the accompanying pdf to this announcement shows the
location of Alba's Project area and the surrounding licence holders
and projects. The Irish Zinc Ore Field has been a major source of
zinc production since the 1960s and is currently home to some of
Europe's largest zinc projects including the Navan (Tara) zinc-lead
mine (Boliden), the Pallas Green deposit (Glencore) and the past
producing Lisheen mine (Vedanta) and Galmoy mine (Lundin Mining).
The Stonepark zinc project (Group Eleven Resources) lies some 10 km
from Alba's Limerick Project.
Alba will provide updates on the drilling results as and when
these are available.
Clogau Regional Exploration and Mine Rehabilitation Update
Alba is pleased to report that the Company's dedicated field
exploration team have now completed Phase 1 of the regional
exploration programme over the Dolgellau Gold Belt in north Wales.
The team has now collected a total of 1200 samples over 7 miles of
the length extent of the Gold Belt. As previously reported on 29
April:
-- Results have been obtained from ALS Laboratories in Ireland
for the first 525 samples from the 1200 sample programme.
-- Multiple gold-in-soil anomalies have been identified away
from the existing mine area and not associated with historic mine
workings, averaging 0.006-0.17 ppm (at a 0.005 ppm cut-off),
including one sample at 0.65 ppm (0.65 g/t).
-- Average grades for two of the new anomalies are well above
the average gold-in-soil grades for Clogau-St David's and the other
historic mine areas.
-- Anomalies have been identified across multiple geological
units and outside of the traditional Clogau Shale target.
-- Gold mineralisation has now been confirmed across 4 miles
along the strike extent of the Dolgellau Gold Belt.
We look forward to reporting the results from the remaining 675
samples from the 1200 sample programme once these are available
from ALS Laboratories.
The Company can also report that Phase 1 of the Mine
Rehabilitation Programme at the Clogau-St David's Mine has also now
been completed, involving the following works at the Tyn Y Cornel
(Upper) Adit: the fencing off of void areas; the construction of
new floor platforms; and the installation of a 50 metre ladderway
within the vertical shaft connecting the Tyn Y Cornel (Upper) Adit
with the Llechfraith (Lower) Adit. Alba's contractors have now
demobilised from site temporarily while the construction and
delivery of a number of steel arches is awaited in order to enable
the Phase 2 rehabilitation works to commence at the Llechfraith
(Lower) Adit level. Phase 2 is currently expected to commence
sometime in June.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
For further information please contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3907 4297
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
James Caithie / Liam Murray / Richard Nash +44 20 7213 0880
First Equity Limited (Broker)
Jason Robertson +44 20 7374 2212
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to Exploration
Results has been reviewed by Mr Howard Baker, Technical Director of
Alba Mineral Resources Plc. Mr Baker is a Chartered Professional
Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
(Membership Number 224239) and a Competent Person as defined by the
rules of International Reporting Codes that are aligned with
CRIRSCO.
Howard Baker 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 targets, Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the JORC Code. The JORC
code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned with
CRIRSCO. Howard Baker consents to the inclusion in the announcement
of the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which they appear.
Alba's Project & Investment Portfolio
Mining
Amitsoq (Graphite, Greenland): Alba owns a 90 per cent interest
in the Amitsoq Graphite Project in Southern Greenland and has an
option over the remaining 10 per cent.
Clogau (Gold, Wales): Alba owns a 90 per cent interest in Gold
Mines of Wales Limited ("GMOW"), the ultimate owner of the Clogau
Gold project situated in the Dolgellau Gold Belt in Wales.
Inglefield Land (Copper, Cobalt, Gold): Alba owns 100 per cent
of mineral exploration licence ("MEL") 2017/40 and 2018/25 in
north-west Greenland.
Limerick (Base Metals, Ireland): Alba owns 100 per cent of the
Limerick base metal project in the Republic of Ireland.
Melville Bay (Iron Ore, Greenland): Alba is entitled to a 51 per
cent interest in MEL 2017/41 in Melville Bay, north-west Greenland.
The licence area benefits from an existing inferred JORC resource
of 67 Mt @ 31.4% Fe.
Thule Black Sands (Ilmenite, Greenland): Alba owns 100 per cent
of MEL 2017/29 in the Thule region, north-west Greenland.
Oil & Gas
Brockham (Oil & Gas, UK): Alba has a direct 5 per cent
interest in Production Licence 235, which comprises the previously
producing onshore Brockham Oil Field.
Horse Hill (Oil & Gas, UK): Alba holds an 11.765 per cent
effective interest in the Horse Hill oil and gas project (licences
PEDL 137 and PEDL 246 covering a total area of 142.9 km(2)) in the
UK Weald Basin.
Web: www.albamineralresources.com
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END
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