Technology Minerals #TM1 – Exploration Update on the Asturmet Cu-Co-Ni Project, Asturias, NW Spain

Technology Minerals Plc (LSE: TM1), the first listed UK company focused on creating a sustainable circular economy for battery metals, is pleased to announce the St Patrick licence has been extended for three years and that field operations are progressing with 164 new samples submitted for analysis at the 100% owned Aramo Copper-Cobalt-Nickel (“Cu-Co-Ni”) Project in Asturias, NW Spain.  

Highlights

·    The St Patrick Licence, on which the Aramo Mine Project is located, has been renewed for three years extending the licence to June 2025.

·    A total of 104 rock samples and 43 soil samples collected on the licence during the most recent field campaign, have been submitted for analysis.

·    A 3D laser survey has been completed at the Aramo Mine on the historical levels three and four with results exceeding expectations in quality and detail. This work will facilitate more intensive underground mapping and sampling on these levels.

·    A new licence application covering two historical copper mines workings termed Astur F covering 73km² has been submitted for application.

·    Field programmes are ongoing at the project with a more expansive exploration campaign planned for the St Patrick Licence in the coming months.

Alex Stanbury, Chief Executive Officer of Technology Minerals, said: “I would like to thank the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Economic Promotion of the Government of Asturias for granting us with the three-year extension for the St Patrick Licence.  The licence renewal was awarded following excellent and thorough work from our team who compiled comprehensive technical reports which covered work to date and our plans at St Patrick for the next three years.

“Exploration at St Patrick is progressing well, and we look forward to receiving the analysis of the samples collected during the recent field campaign after initial results at the historic Aramo mine within the St Patrick licence confirmed high grade Copper-Cobalt-Nickel mineralisation. The analysis will further enhance our understanding of the full potential of the project.

“The Asturmet Project forms part of our wider portfolio of mineral resource projects focused on cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, and lithium. Our exploration strategy is to advance projects up the value curve through prudent use of capital to attract partners and unlock significant potential value to be added to the Company’s portfolio.”

Licence Renewal

The St Patrick Licence on which the Aramo Mine Project is located has successfully completed its first three-year renewal process.  The Ministry of Industry, Employment and Economic Promotion of the Government of Asturias extended the St Patrick Licence (P.I. No. 30858) for a further three-year period to June 2025. 

As part of the application process, the Company submitted three-year technical reports on work completed to date along with proposed work programmes and associated budgets for the next three-year period. These were approved under the protection of the Law 39/2015, at 1 October, under the Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administrations. The official resolution of the three-year extension is dated 20 July 2022.

Field Sampling Sample Submission 

A total of 104 rock samples (plus 12 QAQC) and 43 soil samples (plus 5 QAQC) for a total of 164 samples were collected during the most recent field campaign and comprised of samples targeting a number of different localities detailed in the table below.

The samples were collected at two primary areas of interest. The first area lies across a 2.5km trend across the St Patrick Licence on the Aramo Plateau and were collected as part of a systematic mapping and sampling programme on a number of significantly altered and mineralised zones (total 83 samples). Secondly a further 20 due diligence samples were collected on the new licence application Astur F at a second historical copper mine site. A single verification sample was also collected within the Aramo Mine on the St Pedro vein system in association with planned petrographic analysis. In parallel with the mapping, 43 soil samples were collected across several anomalous areas identified through a remote sensing survey on the Aramo Plateau.  These samples will be used to validate and aid in the signature characterisation of the anomalies identified.

Table 1: List of geochemical samples collected and submitted for analysis.

All samples followed a strict sampling and chain of custody process and were analysed by ALS Laboratories in Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland. Samples were analysed by four-acid ICP-AES analysis.

Underground Laser Survey at Aramo Mine

The Company is pleased to report that phase 1 of the first modern and detailed 3D continuous laser survey of part of the Aramo mine has been completed on parts of levels 3 and 4. This work is integral to the upcoming detailed structural mapping and sampling programme to be conducted across several alteration and mineralised zones within the mine. The survey was conducted by respected mining engineers, Sociedad Asturiana de Diversificación Minera (SADIM), a part of Grupo Hunosa in association with Ingeniero Oscar Diez Regil.

The preliminary results have exceeded expectations in quality and detail. The maps produced from this work facilitating the accurate georeferencing of geological and geochemical data will enhance the understanding of the mineralising system and aid in identifying key aspects of the system critical to forward targeting of new zones. 

Further work

Field programmes are ongoing at the project with a full and expansive exploration programme planned for the St Patrick Licence in the coming months, which includes geological mapping and sampling, remote sensing analysis detailed geochemical alteration and mineralisation signature analysis through IOGAS and a review of appropriate geophysical techniques to enhance structural targeting for mineralization on the plateau. All of the aforementioned programmes are aimed at delineating drill targets both on the plateau and extending the known mineralization at the Aramo Mine. 

Licence Application Astur F

A new licence has been submitted by the wholly owned subsidiary Asturmet Recursos SL in an area in eastern Asturias and termed Astur F (73km²). This area covers several known historical copper mine workings, which initial due diligence sampling confirmed an association with cobalt and nickel which would not have been targeted by the historical operators. With the addition of the Astur F submission, the Company is currently undergoing the application procedure with the mining administration for seven licences (totalling 473km²).

Competent Person

All scientific and technical information in this announcement has been prepared under the supervision of EuroGeol Vaughan Williams M.Sc. P.Geo (a Principal of Aurum Exploration Services who currently provides exploration services to LRH Resources Limited (“LRHR”)), and a “qualified person” within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Vaughan Williams is also Company Secretary of LRHR.

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for this announcement.

For further information please visit www.technologyminerals.co.uk, @TechnologyMinerals on Twitter, or contact:

About Technology Minerals Plc

Technology Minerals is developing the UK’s first listed, sustainable circular economy for battery metals, using cutting-edge technology to recycle, recover, and re-use battery technologies for a renewable energy future. Technology Minerals is focused on extracting raw materials required for Li-ion batteries, whilst solving the ecological issue of spent Li-ion batteries, by recycling them for re-use by battery manufacturers. With the increasing global demand for battery metals to supply electrification, the group will explore, mine, and recycle metals from spent batteries. Further information on Technology Minerals is available at www.technologyminerals.co.uk.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements which are based on the Company’s expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts.  Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts.  Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’, ‘target’, ‘expect’, ‘estimate’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘goal’, ‘believe’, or other words of similar meaning.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.