HIGHLIGHTS
· GreenX continued with its exploration work program to acquire up to 80% of the ARC copper project in Greenland:
o ARC is a significant, large-scale project (5,774km2 license area) with historical exploration results and recent analysis indicative of an extensive mineral system with potential to host world-class copper deposits.
o In August 2022, laboratory XRF analysis of native copper samples from ARC showed high purity consistently over 99% copper. Analysis also confirmed the presence of silver in one sample, and no significant deleterious elements in any of the samples.
o Despite adverse weather and ice conditions in Greenland affecting access to ARC during 2022, a site visit was made and limited samples were collected. GreenX was able to deliver the key exploration equipment into Greenland which should result in better efficiencies in the next field season.
o Results for the 2022 site visit to be released in the coming weeks.
· International arbitration claims against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty continue at pace:
o Statement of Reply for ongoing arbitration against Poland has been filed with a revised claim for compensation in the amount of £737 million (A$1.3 billion/PLN 4.0 billion) as prepared by external quantum experts.
o Claim includes an updated assessment of the value of GreenX’s lost profits and damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko mines, and accrued interest related to any damages.
o Following the lodgement of final substantive filings from both parties subsequent to the end of the quarter, the next step in the arbitration process is for the hearing to be conducted in front of the Tribunal.
o GreenX notes the recent success of AIM listed, Rockhopper Exploration plc’s Energy Charter Treaty claim against the Republic of Italy in relation to oil and gas licenses including a unanimous decision against the Republic of Italy to award €190 million in damages plus interest.
· Cash balance at 30 September 2022 of A$4.2 million to fund activities at ARC plus A$7.4 million available under the litigation funding facility to continue pursuing GreenX’s dispute against the Republic of Poland.
GreenX Metals Limited (ASX:GRX, LSE:GRX) (GreenX or the Company) is pleased to present its Quarterly Activities Report for the period during and subsequent to 30 September 2022.
LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL SAMPLES FROM ARC CONFIRMS UP TO 99.8% PURE NATIVE COPPER
During the quarter, GreenX and its joint-venture (JV) partner Greenfields Exploration Ltd (Greenfields) announced the results of preliminary analysis on three historical samples of native copper nodules from the ARC Project (ARC or the Project) in Greenland. The samples were obtained from a recently opened government geological storage facility in Copenhagen. Three native copper samples found at Discovery Zone, Neergaard Dal, and Neergaard South within ARC were subject to advanced micro-XRF scanning, a more precise and comprehensive technology when compared to more common portable XRFs.
The best analysis result was for a sample found immediately south of the Discovery Zone, which indicated median copper purity of 99.8%, with 255 g/t silver, 0.004% antimony and 0.000% arsenic.
The samples from Neergard Dal and Neergard South indicated copper purity of 99.7% and 99.4% respectively, with low to no deleterious elements detected in any of the samples. The high quality of the analysed samples is comparable to blister copper, a product typically produced by smelting prior to being sent to a refinery.
The results of the micro-XRF analysis are supportive of the potential quality of the mineralisation at ARC and will inform future field programs which will incorporate geochemical sampling, portable core drilling, and geophysics at high-priority targets within ARC. The Discovery Zone, where the highest-purity analysed sample was recovered, is the highest priority exploration target.
Despite adverse weather and ice conditions in Greenland affecting access to ARC during 2022, a site visit was made and limited samples were collected. GreenX was able to deliver the key exploration equipment into Greenland which should result in better efficiencies in the next field season.
ABOUT ARC
ARC is an exploration joint venture between GreenX and Greenfields. GreenX can earn 80% of ARC by spending A$10 million by October 2026. ARC is targeting large scale copper in multiple settings across a 5,774 km2 Special Exploration Licence in eastern North Greenland. The area has been historically underexplored yet is prospective for copper, forming part of the newly identified Kiffaanngissuseq metallogenic province.
GreenX and GEX consider the observed geological setting and features of ARC to be indicative of an extensive mineral system capable of hosting world-class copper deposits. The large scale of the mineral system, widespread copper anomalism, combined with dual mineralising events are analogous to the largest copper systems known worldwide. Accordingly, GreenX considers that ARC has the potential to be a globally significant metallogenic province.
Historical field programs identified widespread copper-silver occurrences at surface:
· geochemical sampling found that 80% of stream sediment samples contain native copper
· native copper is found in situ or as float, with individual clasts of native copper weighing up to 1 kg+
· high grade copper sulphides, grading up to 2.15% Cu and 35.5g/t Ag over 4.5m true width, are known from trench sampling of fault zones within sediments (see GreenX announcement dated 20 January 2022 entitled “New Copper Targets Identified at ARC”)
· assay results from individual samples are much higher grade, including:
|
o 53.8% Cu and 2,480g/t Ag |
o 7.9% Cu and 53 g/t Ag |
|
o 20.7% Cu and 488g/t Ag |
o 5.3% Cu and 112 g/t Ag |
|
o 12.5% Cu and 385g/t Ag |
o 5.0% Cu and 304 g/t Ag |
|
o 9.0% Cu and 112 g/t Ag |
o 4.0% Cu and 82 g/t Ag |
Very high-grade copper mineralisation identified at ARC is associated with the Minik Anomaly, a coincident magnetic-electromagnetic-gravity feature in an area where there is a change in oxidation state and widespread native copper in stream sediments. These features are presented as the footprint of a large-scale hydrothermal system.
The frequency and size of the native copper clasts, and the high grade of the copper-silver sulphides that are exposed at the surface, bode well for the prospectivity of copper deposits and will be a will be a key focus of the first field campaign.
There are multiple targets and favourable geological settings considered to be prospective within the ARC project area, including the following.
· The highly anomalous basalt is a high priority target that has not previously been the focus of commercial exploration. These basalts are the source of the native copper.
· The sulphide mineralised faults passing through these basalts into the overlying sediments have been subject to first pass exploration and shown to be rich in copper and silver. The high-grade sulphides in these faults will be the focus of further exploration.
· The permeable coarse-grained sandstone within the Jyske Ås Fm has high grade copper that is effectively unexplored. This stratiform mineralisation adds the potential for significant lateral extension of the known mineralisation exposed in the faults of the Discovery Zone.
As such, the extensive ARC mineral system is known to be prospective for basalt, fault, and sedimentary rock-hosted (‘sediment-hosted’) mineralisation that despite the attractive grades, is virtually unexplored.
CORPORATE
Financial Position
As at 30 September 2022, GreenX had A$4.2 million to fund activities at ARC plus A$7.4 million available under the litigation funding facility to continue pursuing GreenX’s dispute against the Republic of Poland.
DISPUTE WITH POLISH GOVERNMENT
During the quarter, the Company reported that as part of the ongoing international arbitration claims (Claim) against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) (together the Treaties), GreenX had filed its Statement of Reply in the BIT arbitration.
This is the final material filing that GreenX has made for the BIT arbitration, with the next step in the arbitration process, following the lodgement of Poland’s Rejoinder, is for the hearing to be conducted in front of the Tribunal.
Based upon revised external expert reports in response to Poland’s Statement of Defence, GreenX is now seeking compensation in the amount of £737 million (equivalent to A$1.3 billion or PLN 4.0 billion).
Details of the Claim
The Company’s Claim against the Republic of Poland is being prosecuted through an established and enforceable legal framework, with GreenX and Poland agreeing to apply the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Rules (UNCITRAL) rules to the proceedings.
The claim Tribunals have been constituted, with both Claims being registered with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. The BIT and ECT claim proceedings proceed at pace, with the Company now having filed a revised claim for damages against Poland with the Tribunal in the amount of £737 million (A$1.3 billion/PLN4.0 billion), which includes damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko projects, and accrued interest related to any damages. The Claim for damages has been assessed by external quantum experts appointed by GreenX specifically for the purposes of the Claim.
In July 2020, the Company announced it had executed a Litigation Funding Agreement (LFA) for US$12.3 million with Litigation Capital Management (LCM). The facility is currently being drawn down to cover legal, tribunal and external expert costs as well as defined operating expenses associated with the Claim. The LFA is a limited recourse loan with LCM that is on a “no win – no fee” basis.
In September 2020, GreenX announced that it had formally commenced with the Claim by serving the Notices of Arbitration against the Republic of Poland. In June 2021, GreenX announced that it had formally lodged its Statement of Claim in the BIT arbitration, including the first assessed claim for compensation. The Company’s Statement of Reply, the last significant filing to be made by the Company, has now been filed in both Arbitrations. The Statement of Reply addresses various points raised by the Republic of Poland in their Statement of Defence. The Statement of Reply also contains a re-evaluation of the claim for damages based on responses to Poland’s Statement of Defence.
GreenX’s dispute alleges that the Republic of Poland has breached its obligations under the applicable Treaties through its actions to block the development of the Company’s Jan Karski and Debiensko projects in Poland which effectively deprives GreenX of the entire value of its investments in Poland.
In February 2019, GreenX formally notified the Polish Government that there exists an investment dispute between GreenX and the Polish Government. GreenX’s notification called for prompt negotiations with the Government to amicably resolve the dispute and indicated GreenX’s right to submit the dispute to international arbitration in the event of the dispute not being resolved amicably. As of the date of this report, no amicable resolution of the dispute has occurred, since the Polish Government has declined to participate in discussions related to the dispute and accordingly the Company has formally proceeded with its Claim as discussed above.
GreenX’s investment dispute with the Republic of Poland is not unique, with international media widely reporting that the political environment and investment climate in Poland has deteriorated since the change in Government in 2015. As a result, there are a significant number of International Arbitration claims being bought against Poland.
Furthermore, GreenX notes the recent success of AIM listed Rockhopper Exploration plc’s (Rockhopper) ECT claim against the Republic of Italy in relation to oil and gas licenses.
On 24 August 2022, Rockhopper announced that an ECT arbitration panel had reached a unanimous decision against the Republic of Italy to award Rockhopper €190 million in damages plus interest at EURIBOR +4% compounded annually from 2016 until the time of payment.
All costs associated with the Rockhopper arbitration were funded on a non-recourse (“no win – no fee”) basis from a specialist arbitration funder, similar to GreenX’s litigation funding arrangements. After payments due to the arbitration funder, Rockhopper expects to retain approximately 80% of the award.