TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 2604O
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
07 October 2021
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Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
Clogau-St David's Gold Mine, North Wales
Development Plan Update
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to provide an
update on its development plans at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine
("Clogau" or the "Mine").
Key Points
-- Drilling campaigns completed by Alba over the past 12 months
at Clogau have successfully identified new development
opportunities, both along strike and down dip of areas of known
historic gold production.
-- Two clear targets have been defined for near-term development:
o the Llechfraith Payshoot ("LLP"), below the Llechfraith Adit,
where drilling has proven vein continuity up to 122 m below
existing workings; and
o the Main Lode System Extension ("MLS-EX"), where drilling has
defined a previously unknown Lode (termed the New Branch Lode)
whilst also intercepting the 7-10 Lode and Grandfathers Payshoot at
up to 60 m below existing workings.
-- Alba's preliminary conclusions regarding a development plan
for these high-priority areas of the Mine:
o Development at the LLP below the No. 4 Level will involve
either rehabilitating and extending the existing shaft or
developing a new inclined shaft from the Llechfraith Level, with a
current preference for a new inclined shaft.
o With the identification of the New Branch Lode in between the
7-10 and Jack Williams Lodes in the MLS-EX, a 48 m crosscut can be
driven from the Llechfraith Level to reach both the New Branch and
Jack Williams Lodes.
o From this drive, Alba will be able to gain on-reef exposure of
the target veins, allowing for gold grades to be better quantified
by bulk sampling.
-- Next steps: settle detailed engineering plans and budgets,
secure contractors and obtain regulatory consents.
Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:
"Having successfully established gold-bearing structures and
defined high-priority development opportunities through drilling,
we are now focused on putting the detailed plans in place to
undertake continuous exposure of those new structures by
underground development. This is the most effective method to
assess economic gold content in a project of this type."
"We will update the market again as soon as we have settled the
detailed engineering plan."
Progress of Development Plans
Alba continues to advance the development of its Clogau St.
David's Gold Mine in Wales, which includes an historic mine that
closed in 1998 when the gold price was only $300 per ounce and
produced at least 80,000 ounces of gold, making it the UK's largest
ever gold producer.
Accordingly, over the past 12 months the Company has undertaken
diamond drilling campaigns, which have successfully identified new
development opportunities, both along strike and down dip of areas
of known historic gold production. This work has given Alba two
clear targets for near-term development:
-- the LLP, below the Llechfraith Adit, where drilling has
proven that the vein continues up to 122 m below existing workings;
and
-- the MLS-EX, where drilling has defined a previously unknown
Lode (termed the New Branch Lode) whilst also intercepting the 7-10
Lode and Grandfathers Payshoot at up to 60 m below existing
workings.
As previously advised, the nature of the orebody at Clogau-St
David's, in particular its nugget effect, is such that drilling can
only be used for defining structure not grade. The only feasible
way to assess gold grade is to undertake continuous exposure of the
unworked veins by means of underground development. Such
development is still, therefore, in the nature of exploratory work,
albeit that it will now be much more focused on specific target
zones which have been defined by the drilling campaigns.
In conjunction with a senior independent mining engineering
consultant, Alba has produced a preliminary development plan for
these high-priority areas of the Mine. This is summarised
below.
Llechfraith Payshoot ("LLP") Development
Once the dewatering of existing workings has been undertaken at
Llechfraith, an assessment of the underground conditions alongside
mapping and sampling of key areas will be the first stage in a
wider-scale plan to expand operations in the LLP. Two possible
styles of development are envisaged below existing workings in
order to reach untapped depth extensions of the LLP (see Figures 1
and 2 in the PDF version of this RNS).
The first proposal involves the rehabilitation and extension of
the Llechfraith Shaft. From this shaft, sub-levels would be driven
out to meet the Lode, and it is from those areas that mining would
take place.
The second option is to develop a new inclined shaft from the
Llechfraith Level, connecting up to the lower levels in the LLP
before extending out to reach the drilled depth extensions of the
lode. The inclined shaft will be designed to be roughly parallel to
the line of intersection between the lode structure and the base of
the Llechfraith Sill (or "Sill 3"), which is thought to be a major
controlling factor on the development of the Llechfraith Payshoot.
By staying parallel to this intersection, the inclined shaft will
allow rapid access into an area of the lode with potential for
elevated gold grades.
Although each of these development options has its pros and
cons, the development of a new inclined shaft has the clear
advantages of being able to follow the drill-defined trend of the
vein, of involving simpler construction and control systems and of
being able to be quicker to implement (4-5m per week versus 3m for
the extension of the vertical shaft).
Main Lode System Extension ("MLS-EX") Development
With the recent discovery of the New Branch Lode only 22 m away
from the existing Llechfraith Level, the Company is well placed to
drive a crosscut out towards both this lode and the Jack Williams
Lode further to the north. This will require only 48 m of
development and will give Alba direct on-reef access to both lode
structures.
From this crosscut, bulk sampling and vein characterisation can
begin as exploration drives are made along both structures,
allowing for a more representative assessment of their potential
for Au grades than would be possible from diamond drilling alone.
This proposed development includes the potential for on-reef
development on the Jack Williams Lode to connect up with the
Llechfraith Level in the north-east (see Figure 3 in the PDF
version of this RNS).
The Company will now proceed to firm up on the engineering and
cost aspects of this preliminary development plan. The finalised
plans will be confirmed in due course.
Glossary
Mineralisation: Any single mineral or combination of minerals
occurring in a mass, or deposit, of economic interest. The term is
intended to cover all forms in which mineralisation might occur,
whether by class of deposit, mode of occurrence, genesis or
composition.
Nugget effect: A gold deposit exhibiting irregular and localised
occurrences of economic gold grades. Economic grade accumulations
are generally contained within discrete oreshoots, which are
surrounded by barren to low-grade material.
Quartz vein: A sheet-like body consisting predominantly of the
mineral quartz, which is known to host gold mineralisation in the
Dolgellau Gold Belt.
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.
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
uncertainties also exist in connection with the ongoing Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic which may result in further lockdown measures
and restrictions being imposed by Governments and other competent
regulatory bodies and agencies from time to time in response to the
pandemic, which measures and restrictions may prevent or inhibit
the Company from executing its work activities according to the
timelines set out in this announcement or indeed from executing its
work activities at all. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may
also affect the Company's ability to execute its work activities
due to personnel and contractors testing positive for COVID-19 or
otherwise being required to self-isolate from time to time.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
All activities and timelines in this announcement are subject to
the timely receipt of regulatory and other third-party consents and
to the timely availability of contractors, plant and equipment.
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to Exploration
Results has been reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member
of SACNASP (Reg. No. 400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society
and Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. He has a
B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years' experience.
Mark Austin 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. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of
the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which they appear.
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
ETX Capital (Broker)
Thomas Smith +44 20 7392 1494
St Brides Partners (Financial PR)
Isabel de Salis / Catherine Leftley alba@stbridespartners.co.uk
Alba's Projects and Investments
Mining Projects Operated Location Ownership
by Alba
Clogau (gold) Wales 90%
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Dolgellau Gold Exploration
(gold) Wales 90-100%
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Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
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Limerick (zinc-lead) Ireland 100%
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Investments Held by Alba Location Ownership
----------- ----------
GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining) Greenland 54%
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Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
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END
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