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#AYM Anglesey Mining PLC – UK 2024 Criticality Assessment

Following a study by the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC), commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and hosted at the British Geological Survey (BGS), Anglesey Mining plc (AIM:AYM), is pleased to announce that Zinc (Zn) has now been added to the UK Critical Minerals List. The report can be accessed via the following link:

 

https://www.ukcmic.org/downloads/reports/ukcmic-2024-criticality-assessment.pdf

 

Anglesey considers the classification of zinc as a critical mineral to be a significant positive step for the importance of its Parys Mountain resource in Anglesey, North Wales.  The current declared resources at Parys Mountain include over 200,000 tonnes of contained zinc along with other minerals including copper, silver, gold and lead, as can be seen in the following table:

 

Parys Mountain Resources, Combined March 2023 and January 2021
 

Classification

 

Tonnes

(Mt)

Grades Contained Metal
Cu Zn Pb Ag Au Cu Zn Pb Ag Au
(%) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (kt) (kt) (kt) (Moz) (koz)
  Measured 1.30 0.33 2.32 1.28 33 0.43 4.3 30.1 16.6 1.36 18.0
  Indicated 3.98 0.37 2.39 1.29 27 0.23 14.7 95.3 51.5 3.47 29.7
  Inferred 10.79 1.29 0.81 0.43 9 0.11 139.4 87.7 46.6 3.05 38.9
Total 16.06 0.98 1.33 0.71 15 0.17 158 213 115 7.9 86

Source: Parys Mountain Resource Update notification released by Anglesey on 3 April 2023 (link)

Copper (Cu) is currently on the critical minerals lists in China, USA, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea. Although not meeting their normal thresholds, it has been added this year to the Australian Critical Minerals list and has been listed on the EU critical minerals list as a “strategic mineral.” Copper is not at present on the UK Critical Minerals List; however, the report recognises (Section 4.2) that the latest Criticality Assessment represents the current picture of demand and supply risk based on data for 2018 to 2022. The report also suggests that new technologies are emerging which will lead to increasing demand for numerous materials which are already listed as critical, but also many that are not, such as Cu, Ag, Cr, Mo etc.

 

Section 4.3.1 involves a detailed analysis of the increasing demand for copper linked to emerging technologies and carbon net zero targets versus the possible supply chain risks in being able to increase mining output to meet the higher demand.  Section 4.3.1 ends with the comment “It is simply reasonable to acknowledge that, although Cu remains below the criticality threshold at present, this may change in the near future.”

 

Rob Marsden, CEO of Anglesey Mining, commented: “Whilst our recent focus at Parys Mountain has been to push forward with the planning and permitting for the new mining project, it is very encouraging to note that at the same time a number of the minerals making up our resource are becoming more widely recognised as being of major importance to emerging technologies and the drive for net carbon zero. We are hopeful that an increase in demand for those minerals will make the project more attractive to investors and will also provide stable commodity prices to support our business plan. The 4th annual Critical Minerals Conference, which took place on the 2nd of December in London, was very well attended and afforded me the opportunity to discuss with the MPs present the importance of the Parys Mountain deposit” 

 

 

About Anglesey Mining plc:

 

Anglesey Mining is traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and currently has 461,593,017 ordinary shares in issue.

 

Anglesey is developing the 100% owned Parys Mountain Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au VMS deposit in North Wales, UK with a reported resource of 5.3 million tonnes at over 4.0% combined base metals in the Measured and Indicated categories and 10.8 million tonnes at over 2.5% combined base metals in the Inferred category.

Anglesey also holds a 49.75% interest in the Grängesberg iron ore project in Sweden and 12% of Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited, which through its 52% owned subsidiaries, is engaged in the exploration and development of direct shipping iron ore deposits in Labrador and Quebec.

 

For further information, please contact:

Anglesey Mining plc

Rob Marsden, Chief Executive Officer – Tel: +44 (0)7531 475111

Andrew King, Interim-Chairman – Tel: +44 (0)7825 963700

 

Davy

Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker

Brian Garrahy / Daragh O’Reilly – Tel: +353 1 679 6363

 

Zeus Capital Limited

Joint Corporate Broker

Katy Mitchell / Harry Ansell – Tel: +44 (0)161 831 1512

 

LEI: 213800X8BO8EK2B4HQ71

 

 


#AYM Anglesey Mining PLC – Annual Report 2024

Anglesey Mining plc is a UK company engaged in the development of owned and managed mining projects.

 

Parys Mountain: 100% ownership of the Parys Mountain underground copper-zinc-lead-silver-gold deposit in North Wales, UK where an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment dated January 2021 included a financial model for a 3,000 tpd mining operation with a pre-tax NPV10% of US$120 million, (£96 million), 26% IRR and 12-year mine life.

 

Grängesberg: 49.75% interest in the Grängesberg iron ore project in Sweden where Anglesey has management rights.

An independent Pre-Feasibility Study announced on 19 July 2022 demonstrated Probable Ore Reserves of 82.4 million tonnes supporting a 16-year mine life with annual production of 2.5 million tonnes of high-grade concentrate grading 70% iron ore and a post-tax NPV8% of US$688 million with an IRR of 25.9% after tax.

 

Labrador Iron Mines: 11.9% shareholding in Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited which holds Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) deposits of iron in Canada where an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment of its Houston project published in 2021 showed potential for production of 2 million tonnes of DSO per year, with an initial 12-year mine life, for total production of 23.4 million tonnes of product at 62.2% Fe over the life of the mine.

 

 

The AGM will be held at the Geological Society, Burlington House,
Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG on 8 November 2024 at 11 am

 

 

Chairman’s statement

To Anglesey Shareholders

The 2023-24 financial year was another challenging year for Anglesey Mining plc which saw a number of board and management changes but also the ongoing advancement of the Parys Mountain project.

Board changes

At the 2023 Annual General Meeting long-time Chairman of Anglesey Mining, John Kearney, was not re-elected to the Board and as a result I was appointed into the role of Interim Chairman of your company. John had been Chairman for nearly 29 years, having been appointed in November 1994. On behalf of the Board and the shareholders I would like to thank John for his service to Anglesey Mining over the period of his tenure.

On 14th November 2023 the Board accepted the resignation of Danesh Varma. Danesh, like John, joined the Board in November 1994. It is with sadness that I report to you the death of Danesh on 8th August 2024.

Jo Battershill stepped down as Chief executive effective 31st December 2023 to take up a new executive role in Australia but remained on the board as a non-executive director.  I would like to thank Jo for all his effort during his time as Chief executive and his ongoing support of Anglesey Mining.

We were also sorry also to accept the resignation of Namrata Verma as a non-executive director on 6th September 2024 but understand her reasons for leaving and wish her every success in the future.

Parys Mountain

Important geological work has continued throughout the year at Parys Mountain with new exploration drilling into the Northern Copper Zone. We are very encouraged by the results and further work is continuing. We would like to firm up our knowledge and increase the tonnage of the declared geological resource, thus improving the business case for developing a long term mining operation at Parys Mountain.

Grängesberg and Labrador Iron Mines Holdings

During the financial year we maintained our shareholding in Grängesberg AB in Sweden and Labrador Iron Mines Holdings in Canada and continue to explore alternatives to optimise and realise value for Anglesey Mining’s interest in these assets.

Appreciation

I wish to recognise the dedication and enthusiasm of our small management team, led by Jo Battershill. After the financial year end, in May 2024, we were delighted to welcome Rob Marsden as our company’s CEO. I would also like to thank our board of directors for their leadership, as well as consultants and advisors for their contribution. Finally, I should welcome our new shareholders and thank them, and all our shareholders, for their continued support.

Andrew King

Interim Chairman

27 September 2024

 

 Strategic report – Operations

As the newly appointed Chief executive of Anglesey Mining it is my pleasure to report to you the activities that have been undertaken in the 2023-24 financial year; in doing so I must thank my predecessor Jo Battershill for providing a strong basis from which to build. It is to his immense credit that the first drilling campaign since 2012 into the Northern Copper Zone was able to be undertaken during the back half of the financial year with the assay results reported during the first half of calendar year 2024.

Under Jo’s direction the great bulk of the EIA scoping document was completed. I was grateful for the opportunity to review it and submit it to the planning authorities in the first weeks of my tenure. It is a detailed, robust assessment of the likely impacts that underground mining and processing of minerals on Parys Mountain will have. It is an essential report to guide the strategies which will be put in place to avoid, mitigate and where required, compensate for those impacts.

The geological resources form the basis for every other subsequent aspect in the planning and evaluation phase, from the mine design through to metallurgy and management of tailings. In addition to the new drilling into the Northern Copper Zone which I have already mentioned, new resource estimates were made of the White Rock and Engine Zones at Parys Mountain allowing the first inclusion of tonnes in the measured category of mineral resource reporting.

The combined mineral resource estimate for the White Rock and Engine Zones is now reported at 5.72Mt grading 0.36% Cu, 2.30% Zn, 1.24% Pb, 28/t Ag and 0.28g/t Au or 2.0% Copper Equivalent (CuEq) / 5.6% Zinc Equivalent (ZnEq). All the resources were reported above a cut-off based on a net smelter revenue of US$45.15/t, including 1.6Mt at 2.5% CuEq in the Engine Zone. The White Rock and Engine Zones have 5.28Mt (92%) of the resource now reporting to the Measured and Indicated categories with 23% Measured and 70% Indicated.

The overall mineral resource estimate for Parys Mountain, including the Northern Copper Zone, is reported at 16.1Mt grading 1.0% Cu, 1.3% Zn, 0.7% Pb, 15g/t Ag and 0.2g/t Au. (1.9% CuEq or 5.3% ZnEq) containing 486,000t of combined Zn/Pb/Cu, 7.9Moz silver and 86koz gold.

These two programs of work highlighted the outstanding exploration potential of the project. Several zones have been identified where mineralisation could potentially extend beyond the resource boundary, indicating that once mining commences at Parys Mountain the probability of finding more ore zones is very high, as with many volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits.

In May 2023, an equity placing and subscription raised gross proceeds of £1m and following this in July 2023, a further placing raised gross proceeds of £0.5m.

In December 2023 we reported the results of metallurgical test work carried out on a 340kg sample of White Rock and Engine Zone material, which, as it is shaft adjacent, is very likely to be among the first mineralisation to be mined at Parys Mountain. The highlight of this work was the demonstration that a successful pre-concentration stage would be applicable. Tests of two pre-concentration methods were conducted – Dense Media Separation (DMS) undertaken by Pesco and X-Ray Transmission sorting (XRT) completed by TOMRA. These showed the overall base metals only head-grade increasing from 7.5% ZnEq to 11.4% ZnEq from the DMS (+52%) with 35% mass rejection and metal loss of 5.2% and 11.7% ZnEq from the XRT (+55%) with 29% mass rejection and metal loss of 3.0%.

 

Licence to operate

It is well understood at Anglesey Mining that it is ultimately a combination of economic, regulatory, environmental and social aspects of developing and operating a mining operation that will provide us with a licence to operate, which is the enabler of realising a return on investment.

The group has publicly committed to updating the existing planning permissions that it holds for Parys Mountain and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been allowed for in the planning submission process. Work has been undertaken throughout the year to progress both the planning application and the EIA.

At the beginning of the financial year in April 2023 a pre-application consultation was held on the Parys Mountain site and in the town of Amlwch with a number of statutory consultees including Natural Resources Wales, Cadw, Anglesey County Council Departments (including Environmental Health, Highways & Transportation, Ecology & Environment and Heritage), Archaeological Planning Services, local councillors and members of both Westminster and Welsh governments.

Throughout the year, baseline surveys and ecological studies have continued, the results from which, taken together with the feedback from all stakeholders, enabled the EIA Scoping Report to be submitted to the North Wales Minerals and Waste Planning Service which assesses mineral planning applications on behalf of the Isle of Anglesey County Council and other county councils within the North Wales region.

The Scoping Report forms part of our first stage in the EIA process and comes after almost 2-years of extensive studies and work by the team on site. Cumulative expenditure on the EIA process in that timeframe is in excess of £300,000. The report sets out all the project’s perceived impacts, specifically identifying any crucial and significant factors which will be assessed as part of the final EIA report, the compilation of which will require further environmental and ecological work.  At this EIA Scoping stage, the project description remains indicative and will be refined following ongoing mining engineering studies, economic analysis and discussions with neighbours, the wider community and other stakeholders.

Preservation of existing heritage areas, sites of special scientific interest (SSSI’s) and scheduled historic monuments and buildings have been a major factor in determining the location of new proposed surface infrastructure and similarly other environmental and social considerations. The EIA Scoping Report considers how measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate would be identified to address the impacts of the project.

Grängesberg

The Grängesberg project is a substantial iron ore asset with an estimate of 82.4Mtpa of Probable Ore Reserves located in a very favourable jurisdiction. During the 1980s the mine, located about 200 kilometres north-west of Stockholm, had produced around 180Mt of iron ore and current plans envisage the production of high-grade ore at or above 70% Fe.  The group holds a direct 49.75% interest in the Grängesberg project, together with management rights.

Labrador

Anglesey Mining has a 11.9% holding in the OTC listed Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited (“LIMH”), which through its 52% owned subsidiaries Labrador Iron Mines Limited (“LIM”) and Schefferville Mines Inc. (“SMI”), is engaged in the exploration and development of iron ore projects in the central part of the Labrador Trough region, one of the major iron ore producing regions in the world, situated in the Menihek area in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in the Province of Quebec, centred near the town of Schefferville, Quebec.

 

Financial results and position

There are no revenues from the operation of the properties.

The loss before other comprehensive income for the year ended 31 March 2024 after tax was £1,213,279 compared to a loss of £961,288 in the 2023 fiscal year. The administrative and other costs excluding investment income and finance charges were £839,424 compared to £696,545 in the previous year. Higher salaries and corporate advisor charges accounted for a significant part of this increase. Some was due to one-off charges for Grängesberg expenses in respect of prior periods. There were also share based payments charges representing the value of warrants granted to subscribers to the group’s placings and subscriptions during the year, compared to none last year.

The value of the group’s holding in LIM is reported in other comprehensive income and effectively is based on its share price. This year there is a loss of £0.63 million as the share price declined. The outcome for the group is a total comprehensive loss for the year of £1,859,181, compared to a loss of £1,462,670 in the previous year.

During the year there were no additions to fixed assets (2023 – nil) and £679,475 (2023 – £460,118) was capitalised in respect of the Parys Mountain property, as the programme of geological and environmental work as well as drilling continued as described in this Strategic report.

At 31 March 2024 the mineral property exploration and evaluation assets had a carrying value of £16.9 (2023 – £16.2) million. These carrying values are supported by the results of the 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Parys Mountain project.

At the reporting date, as detailed in note 10, the directors considered the carrying value of the Parys Mountain exploration and evaluation assets to determine whether specific facts and circumstances suggest there is any indication of impairment. They carefully considered the positive results of the resource update completed in March 2023, the independent PEA and the plans for moving the project forward. Consequently, the directors concluded that there were no facts and circumstances which materially changed during the year which might trigger an impairment review and that there are no indicators of impairment.

In May and July 2023 £1.5 million was raised by means of investor placings. Directors participated in these placings and warrants were issued to subscribers. Further details are included in the directors’ report and note 20. Subsequent to the year-end, on 28 June 2024 and 25 September 2024, placings of equity were completed raising £415,000 and £220,000 gross. See note 29.

The cash balance at 31 March 2024 was £219,685, compared to £247,134 at 31 March 2023. At 17 September 2024 the group had cash resources of £113,602.

At 31 March 2024 there were 420,093,017 ordinary shares in issue (2023 – 295,220,548), the increase being due to the financing events referred to above. At 17 September 2024 there were 461,593,017 ordinary shares in issue.

 

Outlook

In the current year, we are:

  • Developing strategies to enable investment in the development of Parys Mountain to be, so far as practicable, incremental, thus allowing risks to be mitigated in stages, before considering the options for the next step of development.
  • Progressing the re-permitting of Parys Mountain, the key aspect of which is the assessment of environmental and social impacts. We are developing action plans to avoid, mitigate and where necessary compensate for the adverse impacts of the future mining and processing operations, communicating and setting these out publicly and responding to comments and questions. We are collaborating closely with stakeholders, communities, industry and supply chain participants, particularly around minimising potential environmental impacts and maximising economic development opportunities for local communities.
  • Consolidating and cross-referencing the plethora of data about the geology of Parys Mountain and the mineralisation occurrences within, that has been observed, measured and collected since the 1960s. Re-sampling and re-logging, and in some cases first time sampling, of exploration drill core obtained in pervious drilling campaigns. Re-examining the important work that was done mapping and sampling of the geology exposed in the excavated 280m (below surface) level in the modern underground mine when it was open in 1990.
  • Engaging with a range of potential partners to progress the development of the Grängesberg mine in Sweden which if successful will allow our management more time to focus on Parys Mountain.

 

Development of a new mine at Parys Mountain, producing copper, zinc and lead with gold and silver credits, can deliver economic growth in the UK, regional jobs for the community and business opportunities for local service providers. Importantly, these critical and strategic metals, essential for the decarbonisation of the economy, are primarily imported into the UK currently. This creates a unique and timely opportunity, both for Anglesey Mining and for the UK, to develop a new, modern, mine at Parys Mountain in an environmentally sustainable manner.

 

This report was approved by the board of directors on 27 September 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

 

Rob Marsden

 

Chief Executive

 

 

 

The full annual report is avalable on the company’s website at www.angleseymining.co.uk

 

CONTACT: For further information, please contact:

Anglesey Mining plc

Rob Marsden, Chief Executive – Tel: +44 (0)7531 475111

Davy

Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker

Brian Garrahy / Daragh O’Reilly – Tel: +353 1 679 6363

WH Ireland

Joint Corporate Broker

Katy Mitchell / Harry Ansell – Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666

LEI: 213800X8BO8EK2B4HQ71


#GRX GreenX Metals LTD – Acquiring Large Scale Copper Project in Germany

GREENX TO ACQUIRE LARGE SCALE SEDIMENT-HOSTED COPPER PROJECT IN CENTRAL GERMANY

GreenX Metals Limited (“GreenX” or “Company”) is pleased to advise that it has entered into an Earn-in Agreement through which GreenX can earn a 90% interest in Group 11 Exploration GmbH, a private German company which holds the Tannenberg exploration licence (“Project”) and is highly prospective for sediment-hosted (Kupferschiefer type) copper deposits.

The Project

·      The Tannenberg exploration licence covers 272 km2 in the State of Hesse in central Germany, encompassing the historical “Richelsdorf” copper – silver mines.

·      Prior to closure in the 1950’s, the Richelsdorf mines produced 416,500 t of copper and 33.7 Moz of silver from Kupferschiefer type deposits. These historic mines consisted of shallow underground workings originally accessed from surface outcrops.

·      The Project also contains multiple drill intercepts over the high priority 14 km-long Richelsdorf Dome target, including:

2.1 m at 2.7% Cu and 48g/t Ag from 365.48 m; 1.5 m at 3.7% Cu and 33 g/t Ag from 209.50 m; 2.5 m at 1.8% Cu and 19 g/t Ag from 339.5 m in the southwest of the license area.

2.0 m at 1.6% Cu and 19 g/t Ag from 268 m in the north-east of the license area.

Figure 1: The Project is located in the industrial centre of Europe.

·      Kupferschiefer style deposits are a well-known and prolific subtype of sediment-hosted copper deposit that:

are the second most prevalent source of copper production and reserves in the world; and

have been historically mined in Germany and are still mined in Poland where KGHM produced 592 kt of electrolytic copper in 2023.

·      Excellent potential for new discoveries of shallow (50 m to 500 m), large scale and high grade Kupferschiefer style copper and silver mineralisation, with much of licence area remaining untested by modern exploration whereby thicker sections of footwall/ hanging wall mineralisation will be targeted.

·      Modern understanding of Kupferschiefer mineralisation from prolific mining in Poland places new emphasis on hanging wall and footwall mineralisation, structural controls and metal zonation.

In Polish Kupferschiefer mines, mineralisation typically forms within the Kupferschiefer shale and in strata up to 60 m below and 30 m above the shale. E.g., KGHM’s Rudna Mine in Poland, where footwall sandstone hosts 80% of the total copper resource, hanging wall limestone hosts 15%, and Kupferschiefer shale hosts only 5%.

GERMANY & EU MINING INDUSTRY

·      Germany has been a significant mining jurisdiction in the past and continues its mining tradition, including:

The K+S potash mines which operate 4 km away from the license area and are located in the State of Hesse.

Anglo American are actively exploring the Löwenstern and Leine-Kupfer copper projects nearby. Löwenstern is 25 km away to the south in the German state of Thüringia, where drilling targeting the Kupferschiefer commenced in 2023. Leine-Kupfer was granted in January 2024 and is 60 km away to the north in the state of Lower Saxony.

AMG Graphite operates a graphite mining and processing complex at Kropfmühl near Passau, Bavaria

Vulcan Energy is successfully permitting lithium brine and geothermal power projects in the German states of Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse.

·      Copper is a designated a Strategic Raw Material (“SRM”) under the EU’s Critical Raw Material Act, that entered into force on 23 May 2024. The CRMA signals the EU’s political commitment to strengthen EU supply of SRM’s (including copper) by giving the European Commission the power to designate Strategic Projects that will benefit from easier access to financing, expedited permitting processes and matchmaking with off-takers.

·      The manufacturing sector, including the automotive, mechanical engineering, chemical and electrical industries, accounts for over 25% of Germany’s economic output, and 18% of GDP; these figures are significantly higher than in most other advanced economies

The manufacturing sector provides 16% of national employment, some 8 million jobs, with mechanical engineering being the largest segment and dominated by SMEs.

The automotive sector is a key industry and with around four million automobiles produced in 2023. Electric Vehicles are being adopted in Germany with numerous OEM’s investing in new production facilities and supply chains, such as Volkswagen’s Battery and Electric Drive production facilities and Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.

Many of these industries are reliant on critical raw materials such as copper.

·      German government recently announced creation of a EUR 1.1 billion (A$1.8 billion) investment fund to fortify Germany’s access to SRM’s (including copper) essential for high-tech and green projects. The fund will be managed by the state-owned KfW Development Bank.

GreenX Metals’ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ben Stoikovich, commented:

“We are very excited to be adding the Tannenberg project to our exploration portfolio. Kupferschiefer style deposits are widely acknowledged as the most prolific source of modern-day copper production, with copper mining from the Polish Kupferschiefer deposits (KGHM) presently being Europe’s largest domestic source of strategic copper supply. We believe that Tanneberg has the potential to host large scale and high-grade copper deposits located in the heartland of German industry in the vicinity of major OEM’s such as Volkswagen’s Battery and Electric Drive production facilities and Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.

Copper is officially recognised by the EU as a strategic raw material for European industry and ongoing decarbonisation in Europe. This acquisition comes at a time when the German government and the EU have recently announced major policy initiatives to enhance security of supply of strategic raw materials such as copper by facilitating expedited permitting processes and access to project development funding. Germany, and in particular the State of Hesse, has a well-established mining industry with practical and efficient mine permitting processes. Furthermore, we anticipate increased political support for new copper projects in accordance with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action critical raw materials policies and the EU’s newly introduced Critical Raw Material Act.

Tannenberg is complementary to our Arctic Rift Copper project in Greenland and provides GreenX shareholders with enhanced exposure to strategic raw materials that are now a policy priority in both Germany and the wider EU. We are looking forward to updating shareholders over the coming months as we commence our exploration activities in Germany.”

Classification:   2.2 Inside Information

2.5 Total number of voting rights and capital

ENQUIRIES

Ben Stoikovich
Chief Executive Officer

+44 207 478 3900

 

Sapan Ghai
Business Development

+44 207 478 3900

 

SUMMARY OF TERMS

GreenX has entered into an Earn-in Agreement (“Agreement”) through which GreenX can earn a 90% interest in Group 11 Exploration GmbH (“Group 11”). Key terms of the Agreement are as follows:

·      GreenX to issue the vendor 500,000 fully paid ordinary shares (“Shares”) upfront.

·      GreenX will fund a Work Program up to EUR 500,000 by 31 December 2025 (“Minimum Commitment”). The Work Program will be sufficient to satisfy requirements for the grant of an extension of the exploration license.

·      Once the Minimum Commitment has been discharged, GreenX can elect to acquire 90% of the fully diluted share capital of Group 11 on or before 31 December 2025 in return for:

GreenX paying A$3,000,000 to the vendor in Shares (based on the higher of the 10-day VWAP or A$0.30 per Share).

The vendors’ 10% interest in Group 11 will then be free carried until completion of a feasibility study by Group 11 or GreenX.

The Agreement also includes usual drag along and tag along rights, and an Area of Influence provision.

Once GreenX has earned its 90% interest, the vendor may elect to exchange their remaining 10% interest in return for a 0.5% Net Smelter Royalty.

·      If a Scoping Study is published by GreenX on the ASX regarding the license area or any area within the Area of Influence within 5 years of execution of the Agreement, GreenX will issue the vendor 5 million Shares on the completion of the first such Scoping Study.

·      GreenX will act as the project manager.

Project Geology

Historical drilling and mine workings confirm the widespread presence of the crucial Kupferschiefer sequence within the Tannenberg licence (Figure 2). The sedimentary sequence forms a broad dome that outcrops near the centre of the licence area and extends down to approximately 500 m at the periphery (Figure 3). Regional and small-scale faults cut the licence area with the dominant orientation trending northwest-southeast, perpendicular to the Variscan Orogen. Zones of copper enrichment within the licence area correspond to fault intersections. Structure is a key targeting consideration at the Project.

Figure 2: The Kupferschiefer is gently folded to form the Richelsdorf Dome that extends from surface down to 500 m depth within the licence area. Historical mining around Richelsdorf exploited mineralisation near the surface. Historical drilling intercepted mineralised Kupferschiefer down to 436 m. Much of the Kupferschiefer between 50 to 500 m remains untested.

 

Figure 3: Interpreted cross-section through Tannenberg exploration licence with simplified stratigraphy. The historical Richelsdorf District is located at the apex of a large-scale anticline, the Richelsdorf Dome. The approximate extent of historical mining is shown. The cross-section passes between drill holes Ro23 and Ro45.

 

In the south of the licence area near the town of Ronshausen, drill holes intersected mineralised Kupferschiefer sequence at depths ranging from 211 to 368 m below the surface (e.g., Ro18 and Ro23). Near the town of Nentershausen in the north, an isolated drill hole intersected 2 m at 1.6% Cu (Ro45).

Table 1: Selected Drill Holes.

Locality

Hole ID

Intersect (m)

Cu (%)

From

To

Interval

Ronshausen

Ro23

365.48

367.58

2.10

2.7

Ro18

209.50

211.00

1.50

3.7

Ro19

339.50

342.00

2.50

1.7

Ro15

285.86

289.31

3.45

1.0

Nentershausen

Ro45

268.00

269.63

2.00

1.6

 

Historical exploration and sampling might have been too focussed on the Kupferschiefer shale horizon. For example, in Ro45, the isolated drill hit near Nentershausen, the last sample from the footwall assayed at 1% Cu (Figure 4). In bothRo45 and Ro23 shown in Figure 4, the historical sampling only covers one mineralised interval. Drilling at the Rudna Mining in Poland shows that copper mineralisation can occur in multiple intervals, above and below the Kupferschiefer shale. 

Figure 4: Selected historical drill results from the Richelsdorf Dome target with comparison to drilling at the Rudna Mine, Poland. Sample coverage did not typically extend much above or below the shale unit. 

 

Kupferschiefer copper deposits feature a distinct metal zonation pattern. The zonation transitions from iron, to copper, lead then zinc (Figure 5). Adjacent to every known copper deposit is the iron rich zone known as “Rote Fäule”, or “red rot” in English. Within the Tannenberg licence, a distinct zone of red rot has been identified in the south near Ronshausen. As well as the copper, historical drill core was also assayed for lead and zinc. This data will allow the Company to identify important metal zonations in the Project area.   

A diagram of a red and blue color scheme Description automatically generated

Figure 5: Metal zonation pattern associated with Kupferschiefer type copper deposits. The zonation cuts across stratigraphy and progresses from iron to copper, lead, then zinc. Note: hem = hematite, cc = chalcocite, bo = bornite, cpy = chalcopyrite, ga = galena, sph = sphalerite, py = pyrite. Modified from Borg, 2017.

 

GreenX’s exploration hypothesis for the Project is that historical exploration was mainly based on an outdated deposit model that focussed on the 30-60 cm-thick Kupferschiefer shale horizon. Modern understanding of the Kupferschiefer deposit model now shows that up to 95% of mineable copper can be hosted in the footwall sandstone and hanging wall limestone.

Project History

Pre-industrial mining in central Germany dates back to the 12th Century. Copper was exploited from the Kupferschiefer in the Mansfield, Sangerhausen, and Richelsdorf mining districts. Most of the historical copper mining in central Germany was prior to the Industrial Revolution and well-before mechanised mining technology was widely available. Once surface accessible deposits were depleted, adits and shallow shafts were used to access deeper underground Kupferschiefer copper ores (Figure 6).

In the Richelsdorf district, historical production is estimated at 416,500 t of copper and 1,050 t (33.7 Moz) of silver. Production commenced in the 13th Century and ceased in 1955.

The Project area remains ostensibly undeveloped, comprised predominantly of small-holding farmland and woodland, since it was located in the Cold-War border zone between West and East Germany. During the Cold War (1947-1991), the Richelsdorf district sat within the strategically-important Fulda Gap. The Fulda Gap hosts two lowland corridors through which NATO military planners believed the Soviet Union could launch a land attack. The US military observation post “Romeo” was active at the Hesse-Thuringia border in the vicinity of the Project area during the Cold War and was only disbanded in 1991.

Between 1980 and 1987, St Joes Exploration GmbH (“St Joes Exploration”) were active in the region. St Joes Exploration’s drilling campaigns identified Kupferschiefer mineralisation near the towns of Ronshausen and Nentershausen (Appendix 1, Table 2).  

The major mining activity in Hesse is potash mining operated by K+S Group, an international fertiliser company with production sites in Europe and North America. The major potash mining complex “Werra” has been operating for over 100 years and produces some 19 Mtpa of crude salt from underground workings between 700 – 1000m depth. K+S Group’s Werra plant is recognised as an important pillar for the economic and demographic development of the region.

In 2021, Anglo American’s ‘Kupfer Copper Germany GmbH’ (“Anglo”) began exploration activities in Thuringia, 25 km from the Tannenberg licence. There, historical drilling intercepted 0.5 m at 1.4% Cu from 761.9 m. Anglo initiated seismic, gravity, and magnetic surveys in 2021 and exploratory drilling in 2023.

 

Figure 6: Left: Underground extraction of the Kupferschiefer shale at the Wolfsberg mine in 1954. Miners laid on their sides to excavate the ore-bearing material. Right: Schematic of pre-industrial underground mining in Germany.

Modified from Zientek et al., 2015.

 

EU CrITICAl RAW MATERIAL ACT

On 23 May 2024, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (“CRMA”), published as Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, entered into force following its adoption by the Council of the EU and European Parliament. The main objective of the CRMA is to maintain and establish a secure and sustainable supply of Critical Raw Materials to the EU. The CRMA lists Strategic Raw Materials (SRM’s), which are those most crucial for strategic technologies used for the green, digital, defence and aerospace applications. Copper is a designated a Strategic Raw Material (SRM’s) under the act

The CRMA sets benchmarks for domestic capacities along the strategic raw material supply chain and for diversifying EU supply by 2030:

·      EU extraction capacity of at least 10% of the EU’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials;

·      EU processing capacity of at least 40% of the EU’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials;

·      EU recycling capacity of at least 25% of the EU’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials; and

·      Not more than 65% of the Union’s annual consumption of each strategic raw material relies on a single third country for any relevant stage of the value chain.

The CRMA further demonstrates the EU’s political commitment to strengthening supply of SRM’s (including copper) by giving the European Commission the power to designate Strategic Projects that will benefit from easier access to financing, expedited permitting processes and matchmaking with off-takers.

In terms of permitting processes, under the CRMA EU Member States will be required to give priority to Strategic Projects in their administrative processes. The Act sets clear timelines for decisions to be taken on permitting applications linked to Strategic Projects. i.e., for Strategic Projects, the total duration of the permit granting process should not exceed 27 months for extraction projects or 15 months for processing and recycling projects.

To help companies through permitting, Member States are also required to designate single points of contact for critical raw materials projects. The single point of contact will provide guidance to project promoters on administrative issues and will serve as the sole contact point throughout the permit granting process.

Exploration Targeting Model

The Project is prospective for Kupferschiefer style copper-silver mineralisation. Kupferschiefer is a subtype of the sediment-hosted copper deposit model. Mineralisation typically forms around the Kupferschiefer shale, but is known to occur up to 60 m below and 30 m above the shale in Poland (Figure 7). In KGHM’s Rudna Mine in Poland, footwall sandstone hosts 80% of the total resource, hanging wall limestone hosts 15%, and Kupferschiefer shale hosts only 5%. Modern insights from mining the Kupferschiefer in Poland will be applied to our exploration strategy in Germany.

A diagram of copper mines Description automatically generated

Figure 7: Comparison of current-day Kupferschiefer mining in Poland with historical mining in Germany.

Note: Modified from Zientek et al., 2015.

 

Historical mining and exploration in Germany mainly focussed on the Kupferschiefer shale unit (Figure 6 & 7). The Company’s exploration hypothesis is that as in Poland, significant footwall and hanging wall accumulations of Kupferschiefer copper are potentially present at the Project.

The historical thinking about Kupferschiefer deposits in Germany was that mineralisation was syngenetic with the sediments. Meaning that the copper was deposited at the same time as the shale. Accordingly, historical mining and exploration was highly focussed on the shale. Modern mining and research challenges the historical deposit model. In Poland, copper is being mined up to 60 m below and 30 m above the Kupferschiefer shale.

The modern understanding of Kupferschiefer mineralisation recognises epigenetic deposition. This means that the copper mineralisation came after the sediments were deposited (Figure 8). Modern Kupferschiefer mining recognises the importance of structures, metal zonation patterns, and footwall and hanging wall host rocks.

A diagram of a soil layer Description automatically generated

Figure 8: Deposit model of Kupferschiefer mineralisation and alteration. Note: Compared to pre-industrial times, copper mineralisation is now known to extend from the hanging wall limestone, through the Kupferschiefer shale, and well into the footwall sandstone. Source: Zientek et al., 2015.

Regional Geological Setting

The Project is hosted in the Southern Permian Basin (“SPB”) of Europe. The SPB is an intracontinental basin that developed on the northern foreland of the Variscan Orogen. Two Groups make up the SPB, the Rotliegend and the Zechstein (Figure 9). The Lower Rotliegend Group marks the boundary between the Permian and Carboniferous and is comprised of bi-modal volcanics with interbedded sedimentary rocks. After a 20- to 30-million-year-long- hiatus, the Upper Rotliegend Group was deposited towards the end of the Permian. The Upper Rotliegend Group strata transitions from terrestrial to a shallow marine environment.

The Zechstein Group formed in the late Permian when the Barents Sea flooded the continental SPB. The organic-rich reduced Kupferschiefer shale marks the base of the Zechstein Group. “Kupferschiefer” is German for “Copper Shale” and is also called “T1” by geologists. The shale is typically 30-60 cm thick but can also be missing from the stratigraphy.

Very high-grade copper mineralisation is generally associated with the Kupferschiefer shale unit. However, minable copper mineralisation also occurs in the footwall sandstone and hanging wall limestone units in Poland. Mineralisation can also be offset from the shale by up to 30 m above and 60 m below. Pre-industrial mining in Germany focussed on the high-grade but thin shale. Modern mining in Poland extracts copper from the footwall sandstone, shale, and hanging wall limestone. Mining intervals at the Rudna mine is 3 m on average but reach over 12 m in places.

A diagram of a geological structure Description automatically generated

Figure 9: Generalised Kupferschiefer stratigraphic sequence from Germany and Poland. Mineralisation can extend below and above the T1 shale. Source: Borg, 2017.

 

In Poland, copper deposits are hosted in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline, a sub-basin of the SPB. KGHM’s current mining operations take place over multiple adjacent deposits at depths ranging from 844 m to 1,385 m below ground. In 2023, KGHM’s Polish operations produced 592 kt of electrolytic copper and 1,403 t of silver (45.8 Moz).

Upcoming Work Programs

Future work programs at the Project will aid drill targeting. Initially, an in-country search for additional historical drilling and mining records will be undertaken. Geophysical methods such as seismic and magnetic surveys will be evaluated for their effectiveness in delineating subsurface structures at the high-priority Richelsdorf Dome target. Historical drill assays will be used to identify metal zonation patterns useful for exploration targeting. The area of primary interest covers 14 km-long stretch of the Richelsdorf Dome where Kupferschiefer strata outcrop at surface in the centre and extend down to approximately 500 m at the periphery.

A European based technical team will be assembled to manage exploration activities at the Project.

Risk Factors

Whilst GreenX has undertaken a due diligence process (including title and other risks) with respect to the Project, it should be noted that the usual risks associated with companies undertaking exploration and development activities of projects in Germany will remain at completion of the acquisition.

A number of additional risk factors specific to the Project and associated activities have also been identified, including, but not limited to:

(a)        The Project is located in Germany, and as such, the operations of the Company will be exposed to related risks and uncertainties associated with the country, regional and local jurisdictions. Opposition to the Project, or changes in local community support for the Project, along with any changes in mining or investment policies or in political attitude in Germany and, in particular to the mining, processing or use of copper, may adversely affect the operations, delay or impact the approval process or conditions imposed, increase exploration and development costs, or reduce profitability of the Company.

(b)        The Company’s exploration and any future mining activities are dependent upon the grant, maintenance and/or renewal from time to time of the appropriate title interests, licences, concessions, leases, claims, permits and regulatory consents which may be withdrawn or made subject to new limitations. Maintaining title interests or obtaining renewals of or getting the grant of title interests often depends on the Company being successful in obtaining and maintaining required statutory approvals for its proposed activities (including a licence for mining operations) and that the title interests, licences, concessions leases, claims, permits or regulatory consents it holds will be maintained and when required renewed.

There is no assurance that such title interests, licences, concessions, leases, claims, permits or regulatory consents will be granted, or even if granted, not be revoked, significantly altered or granted on terms or with conditions not acceptable to the Company, or not renewed to the detriment of the Company or that the renewals thereof will be successful.

Shareholders should note that some of the risks may be mitigated by the use of appropriate safeguards and systems, whilst others are outside the control of the Company and cannot be mitigated. Should any of the risks eventuate, then it may have a material adverse impact on the financial performance of the Project, the Company and the value of the Company’s securities.

TENEMENT INFORMATION

Table 2: Tenement information.

Licence Name

Commodities

Area (km2)

Issue Date

Expiry Date

Tannenberg

 

1copper, silver

2antimony, arsenic, lead, gallium, germanium, gold, indium, cadmium, cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, selenium, thallium, vanadium, bismuth, and zinc

271.92

07.06.2022

07.06.2025

Notes

1 Target commodities

2 Commodities included in the licence

 

ISSUE OF SHARES

GreenX Metals Limited has today issued 600,000 Shares in relation to the Agreement.

An application will be made for admission of the Shares to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA (Official List) and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange for listed securities (LSE Admission). LSE Admission is expected to take place on or before 9 August 2024.

 

For the purposes of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTRs), following LSE Admission, the Company’s issued ordinary share capital will be 279,501,032 ordinary shares. The above figure of 279,501,032 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company following LSE Admission

 

Following the issue of Shares, GreenX has the following securities on issue:

·      279,501,032 ordinary fully paid shares;

·      4,775,000 unlisted options exercisable at A$0.45 each on or before 30 November 2025;

·      5,525,000 unlisted options exercisable at A$0.55 each on or before 30 November 2026; and

·      11,000,000 performance rights that have an expiry date 8 October 2026.

 

-ENDS-

Competent Persons Statement

Information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Mr Thomas Woolrych, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Woolrych is a Director Group 11 Exploration GmbH and will hold an indirect interest in GreenX shares and deferred consideration for the Project. Mr Woolrych 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 Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Woolrych consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Forward Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “projects”, “plans”, and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on GreenX’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of GreenX, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. GreenX makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that release.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (‘MAR’). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (‘RIS’), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain

1 Production numbers sourced from Zientek et al., 2015, Table 4.

Appendix 1: Exploration Results and JORC Tables

Table 1: Historical drill hole information

Hole ID

Easting

Northing

Elevation

(m MSL)

Dip (°)

Depth (m)

Assay available

Bebra-1

4346428

5649690

n/a

90

n/a

No

C/77-B10

4353728

5660165

235

90

68.2

No

Cornberg

4349990

5658105

302

90

151.6

No

Iba-1

4349160

5650548

n/a

90

n/a

No

Iba-3

4349120

5649684

n/a

90

n/a

No

Iba-4

4348366

5649523

n/a

90

n/a

No

KB1

4356129

5659867

288.83

90

15

No

Nesselroeden-1

4368324

5655767

252

90

193.7

No

Obergude

4339370

5662062

308.88

90

200.2

Yes

Ro1

4349714

5649065

n/a

90

n/a

No

Ro3

4348224

5648740

n/a

90

n/a

No

Ro6

4348997

5648337

n/a

90

n/a

No

Ro8

4348234

5648558

n/a

90

n/a

No

Ro10

4347033

5647996

n/a

90

n/a

No

Ro15

4348595

5647200

255

90

351

Yes

Ro18

4348389

5647549

235

90

227

Yes

Ro19

4349107

5647350

280

90

360.5

Yes

Ro21

4348105

5647941

203

90

211

Yes

Ro23

4347684

5647433

300

90

380

Yes

Ro26

4347272

5647775

270

90

400

Yes

Ro27

4346047

5649652

215

90

432

Yes

Ro30

4347604

5647936

240

90

292.3

Yes

Ro31

4346844

5651396

217

90

159.2

Yes

Ro33

4347521

5648340

205

90

251.9

Yes

Ro34

4347363

5651850

220

90

244.75

Yes

Ro36

4347359

5650524

310

90

320.45

Yes

Ro39

4358152

5656842

200

90

197.2

Yes

Ro41

4346982

5647411

250

90

426.2

Yes

Ro42

4348170

5647070

249

90

307

Yes

Ro45

4356946

5656716

407

90

289

Yes

Ro46

4358278

5658088

200

90

228

No

Note: Coordinates are DHDN / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 4.

Table 2: Historical drill hole assays

Hole

ID

Intersect (m)

Cu

(%)

Ag

(ppm)

From

To

Interval

Ro15

285.857

286.018

0.161

0.532

10

Ro15

286.018

286.068

0.05

0.846

15

Ro15

286.068

286.243

0.175

0.72

13

Ro15

286.243

286.288

0.045

0.919

16

Ro15

286.288

286.388

0.1

0.638

12

Ro15

286.388

286.438

0.05

0.681

13

Ro15

286.438

286.532

0.094

0.59

12

Ro15

286.532

286.619

0.087

0.562

11

Ro15

286.619

286.695

0.076

0.64

12

Ro15

286.695

286.812

0.117

0.707

13

Ro15

286.812

286.942

0.13

0.811

13

Ro15

286.942

287.043

0.101

0.737

11

Ro15

287.043

287.17

0.127

1.6

21

Ro15

287.17

287.272

0.102

1.437

19

Ro15

287.272

287.372

0.1

0.835

13

Ro15

287.372

287.463

0.091

0.499

11

Ro15

288.021

288.093

0.072

0.313

4

Ro15

288.151

288.206

0.055

0.441

5

Ro15

288.206

288.261

0.055

0.651

5

Ro15

288.261

288.281

0.02

0.506

5

Ro15

288.281

288.323

0.042

0.642

6

Ro15

288.323

288.388

0.065

1.573

12

Ro15

288.388

288.472

0.084

4.708

28

Ro15

288.472

288.51

0.038

3.837

24

Ro15

288.559

288.588

0.029

8.823

57

Ro15

288.588

288.623

0.035

4.774

30

Ro15

288.623

288.651

0.028

4.382

32

Ro15

288.651

288.721

0.07

3.554

98

Ro15

288.721

288.763

0.042

3.511

32

Ro15

288.763

288.793

0.03

2.814

28

Ro15

288.793

288.823

0.03

1.573

11

Ro15

288.823

288.865

0.042

2.313

17

Ro15

288.865

288.883

0.018

0.567

7

Ro15

288.883

288.901

0.018

0.469

7

Ro15

288.901

288.972

0.071

0.645

10

Ro15

288.972

289.004

0.032

0.617

8

Ro15

289.004

289.057

0.053

0.641

9

Ro15

289.057

289.117

0.06

0.523

9

Ro15

289.117

289.129

0.012

0.349

0

Ro15

289.151

289.159

0.008

1.033

18

Ro15

289.159

289.169

0.01

0.641

14

Ro15

289.169

289.179

0.01

0.477

15

Ro15

289.179

289.235

0.056

0.817

10

Ro15

289.235

289.257

0.022

0.312

4

Ro15

289.257

289.312

0.055

0.321

4

Ro18

209.5

210

0.5

0.9

20

Ro18

210

210.25

0.25

7.2

70

Ro18

210.25

210.53

0.28

8.6

50

Ro18

210.53

210.76

0.23

3.3

35

Ro18

210.76

211

0.24

0.3

-2

Ro19

339.5

339.71

0.21

7.6

80

Ro19

339.71

340

0.29

2.5

30

Ro19

340

340.5

0.5

1.5

15

Ro19

340.5

341

0.5

1

10

Ro19

341

341.5

0.5

1.3

10

Ro19

341.5

342

0.5

0.43

10

Ro21

199

199.18

0.18

0.94

10

Ro21

199.18

199.4

0.22

0.49

6

Ro23

365.48

366

0.52

2

21

Ro23

366

366.45

0.45

0.88

17

Ro23

366.45

367

0.55

3.2

78

Ro23

367

367.49

0.49

5

80

Ro23

367.49

367.58

0.09

0.97

12

Ro26

388.3

388.48

0.18

2.1

Ro26

388.48

388.72

0.24

0.88

Ro26

388.72

389

0.28

0.74

Ro33

242.5

243.1

0.6

1.2

35

Ro33

243.1

243.5

0.4

0.31

10

Ro34

196.75

197

0.25

0.45

10

Ro41

414.35

414.85

0.5

0.45

10

Ro45

268

268.5

0.5

0.35

2

Ro45

268.5

269

0.5

2.3

25

Ro45

269

269.28

0.28

4.8

75

Ro45

269.28

269.63

0.35

0.59

3

Ro45

269.63

270

0.37

1

5

Note: Only assay results equal to or greater than 0.3% copper are reported.

 

JORC Code, 2012 Edition – Table 1 Report

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections.)

Criteria

JORC Code explanation

Commentary

Sampling techniques

Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.

Due to the historic nature of the drilling results reported herein, it is not possible to comment on the quality of the sampling used to produce the results described. It is known from historic reports that the drill core was sawn. Sampling of ¼ core was conducted during multiple exploration phases between 1980 and 1987 within the licence area by St Joes Exploration GmbH (“St Joes Exploration”). The information shown here was collated from scans of hard copy reports from that era and a State Survey Database. Assays, geological logging and gamma ray logs were conducted by St Joes Exploration.

 

Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.

No QAQC was reported.

 

Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg ‘reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay’). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information.

Work was not conducted to modern industry standards.

Drilling techniques

Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc).

St Joes Exploration

·          10 cm drill cores were collected, further specifications are not known.

State Survey Database

·          Unknown drilling techniques.

Drill sample recovery

Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed.

 

Due to the historic nature of the drilling results reported herein, it is not possible to comment on the recoveries achieved at the time.

 

Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples.

Not reported.

 

Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material.

Not reported.

Logging

Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.

Information available is not appropriate for a Mineral Resource estimate.

 

Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography.

Available logs are qualitative only.

 

The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged.

The entire hole was logged, the target zone is typically 2 m thick.

Sub-sampling techniques

If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

A reference to ¼ core is reported by St Joes Exploration however this is not specific to every hole/phase.

and sample preparation

If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry.

N/A

 

For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

N/A

 

Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

N/A

 

 

Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

N/A

 

Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled.

N/A

Quality of assay data and laboratory tests

The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.

A St Joes Exploration reference reports that geochemical analysis was carried out by Robertson Research Ltd, Wales, however it is not specified if this was for each hole/phase.

 

For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.

N/A

 

Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established.

N/A

Verification of sampling and assaying

The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.

 

No verification carried out.

 

The use of twinned holes.

No twinned holes.

 

Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.

Limited data is available via hard copy reports. Data was digitised by Group 11 Exploration and merged with State/Federal databases.

 

Discuss any adjustment to assay data.

N/A

Location of data points

Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.

Location accuracy is unknown. The location of holes drilled by St Joes Exploration comes from collar tables in historical reports.  All other collar locations come from State/Federal databases.

 

Specification of the grid system used.

Latitude and Longitude in degree, minutes and seconds were provided by St Joes Exploration. All drill collar coordinates are reported here in the DHDN / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 4 grid system.

 

Quality and adequacy of topographic control.

N/A

Data spacing and distribution

Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.

Drillholes within the Ronshausen mineralised area are spaced between 400 – 700m. Outside of this area the drilling is sparce.

 

Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.

Not sufficient for the establishment of a JORC compliant resource.

 

Whether sample compositing has been applied.

N/A

Orientation of data in relation to geological structure

Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.

The target Kupferschiefer layer is flat to slightly dipping, vertical drilling therefore intercepts at right angles and is appropriate.

 

If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material.

No sampling bias.

Sample security

The measures taken to ensure sample security.

N/A

Audits or reviews

The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data.

N/A

 

Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

(Criteria in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

Criteria

JORC Code explanation

Commentary

Mineral tenement and land tenure status

Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.

The “Tannenberg” exploration licence is held 100% by Group 11 Exploration GmbH. The licence was granted on the 7th of June 2022 and is valid for 3 years. The licence is free from overriding royalties and native titles interests. There are historical mine workings within the licence area, but no known historical sites of cultural significance outside of mining.

Within and surrounding the licence area, there are environmental protections zones with differing levels of protections. There are small areas identified as Natura 2000 Fauna Flora Habitat Areas and Bird Sanctuaries. Other environmental protection designated areas include Nature Reserves, National Natural Monuments, Landscape Protection Area, and Natural Parks. Based on due diligence and discussions with various stakeholders and consultants, the presence of environmental protection areas does not preclude exploration or eventual mining if conducted in accordance with applicable standards and regulations.

The landform across the license area comprises mostly of farmland, forested areas, and small towns and villages.

 

The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area.

The licence is in good standing.

Exploration done by other parties

Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties.

Exploration was carried out by St Joes Exploration (in JV with the Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd later BHP-Utah) between 1980 and 1987. Two projects were undertaken. The Richelsdorf project within the licence area as well as the Spessart-Rhoen project 85 km to the south. Hole IDs starting with ‘Ro’ were drilled by St Joes Exploration.

All other drill holes come from State Survey databases with unknown history.

Historical mining took place within the licence area. Mining activities ceased in the 1950’s. Comprehensive records of all mine workings are not available to the Company (and may not exist).

Geology

Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation.

Mineralisation is of the classic Kupferschiefer type (copper slate) within the Permian Zechstein Basin of Germany and Poland.

The Zechstein Basin is hosted within the Southern Permian Basin (“SPB”) of Europe. The SPB is an intracontinental basin that developed on the northern foreland of the Variscan Orogen.

Very high-grade copper mineralisation is generally associated with the Kupferschiefer shale unit. However, minable copper mineralisation also occurs in the footwall sandstone and hanging wall limestone units in Poland. Mineralisation can be offset from the shale by up to 30 m above and 60 m below.

Drill hole Information

A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes:

easting and northing of the drill hole collar

elevation or RL (Reduced Level – elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar

dip and azimuth of the hole

down hole length and interception depth

hole length.

Appendix 1 contains all relevant drillhole information.

 

If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case.

All available drill collars are provided. The availability of historical assay results are listed in Appendix 1 Table 1.  Assay results less than 0.3% Cu are not reported.

Data aggregation methods

In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.

N/A

 

Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.

N/A

 

The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated.

N/A

Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths

These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results. If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

Drilling is perpendicular to mineralisation. Detailed sampling was done to lithological contacts on a range of scales from 1-50cm.

 

If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg ‘down hole length, true width not known’).

Intercepts are true width.

Diagrams

Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.

Appropriate diagrams, including a maps, cross sections, and tables are included in the main body of this announcement.

Balanced reporting

Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results.

All available results are reported. Only assays above or equal to 0.4% Cu are reported for practical reasons.

Other substantive exploration data

Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples – size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances.

All substantive results are reported. Geological logs and downhole gamma logs are not reported here.

Further work

The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

Infill and step out drilling required to assess the full potential of mineralisation near Ronshausen is planned. The search for additional archive material and historical records will continue. Desktop analysis and drill targeting will be conducted in consultation with subject-matter experts. Geophysical methods (such as seismic, magnetic, electrical, and gravity) will be evaluated and used if deemed appropriate for the project.

 

Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive.

These diagrams are included in the main body of this release.

 

#FCM First Class Metals PLC – Zigzag-Further Lithium & Critical Metal trend

First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals” “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK listed metals exploration company seeking economic metal discoveries across its extensive Canadian Schreiber-Hemlo, Sunbeam and Zigzag land holdings is pleased to announce the results of a mobile metal ion (MMI) soil sampling programme as well as accompanying rock-grab samples on the Company’s Zigzag Property , (the “Property”) located in the Seymour-Falcon corridor in northwestern Ontario, Canada.

Soil samples were collected along six north-north-west to south-south-east soil sample lines between 100-200m in length, with 12.5m sample station spacing (see Map 1). These included four lines along strike to the west and east of the main 400m ‘core zone’ which was subject to the drilling campaign in December 2023. A further two lines starting ~200m orthogonal to the dominant strike and to the south of the trend of the main zone were sampled. All soil samples were analysed using the Mobile Metal Ion (MMI) method of SGS Labs.

The sample results support the belief that the ‘core 400m zone’ is open along strike. As previously reported, both the most eastern and western holes of the recent drilling programme intersected pegmatite. The soil sample results further confirm the mineralisation is open.

HIGHLIGHTS

·      The results from 64 rock-grab and 68 soil samples collected late last year are now available.

·      Soil sampling lines to the east west of the core section show anomalous lithium (Li) ratios.

·      Results from soil lines 200m to the south of the ‘Main zone’ indicate the probability of a second subparallel structure.

·      Grab samples anomalous in Li and other pegmatite associated elements indicate a possible third trend.

·      Assay results from the recent drill programme are anticipated in the coming days.

Marc J Sale Chief Executive Officer Commented- The results from this combined sampling programme validate the belief by FCM that the ‘Main Zone’; is open along strike for a considerable distance. Furthermore, the strong evidence of a second structure to the south with the possibility of a third structure compels FCM to engage in discussions with the First Nations to initiate the application for an Exploration Permit to be able to fully evaluate these new zones”.

 

 

Map 1, showing the location of the MMI samples as well as the response ratio (RR) for caesium, (Cs) which overall is the most representative of the anomalism. Note[1]: values are generally considered anomalous when the response ratio is above 5.

RR Response Ratio Highlights from MMI sampling

·     Highest lithium (“Li”) response ratio (“RR”) of 11 obtained ~100m along strike to the east of the eastern most DDH from December 2023 (ZIG-23-07).

·     Highest caesium (“Cs”) RRs of 15 and 30 obtained at consecutive stations ~100m along strike to the west of the western extent of sampling on the main zone.

·     Li RRs up to 10 on the southern lines.

·     Multiple MMI anomalies in other elements, especially on the eastern and southern lines, zinc RRs up to 40, silver up to 50, molybdenum up to 51, copper up to 21.

 

[1] According to SGS Labs, response ratios generally need to be greater than 2-5 to be considered anomalous. https://www.sgs.com/en-ca/-/media/sgscorp/documents/corporate/brochures/sgs-minerals-mmi-tb-23-processing-and-presenting-mmi-geochemical-data.cdn.en-CA.pdf

Grab Samples

·      Grab samples of pegmatite at two sites 200-250m across strike to the south of the main zone returned up to: 2600 ppm Li; 4290 ppm Rubidium; 920 ppm Cs (highest value of 2023 sampling); and 686 ppm Tantalum. Sampled dykes could represent offshoots of a parallel zone to the main zone.

·      Grab samples of pegmatite ~500m across strike to the south of the eastern extension of the main zone, near the eastern property boundary, returned up to 186 ppm Li; 1240 ppm Rb; 102 ppm Cs, potentially a third structure.

Coleman Robertson, Project Geologist from Emerald Geological Services commented– “There is compelling geochemical evidence to indicate that a second subparallel trend at Zigzag could be present.

The combined results of both the soil sampling programme and the associated ‘grab’ samples support the belief that the ‘core zone/ Main zone’ that was drilled in December is open to both the west and east.

Furthermore, there is strong geochemical support for a sub parallel trend about 200m to the south of the Main Zone. Additional work is needed to expand and confirm the anomalism identified. As well follow up sampling is required to confirm the presence of a possible third trend currently identified in anomalous rare element results in grab samples.

A significant silver anomaly was identified over the two eastern most MMI lines off the Main Zone. This also requires further investigation.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

James Knowles, Executive Chairman

JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com

07488 362641

Marc J Sale, CEO

MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com

07711 093532

 

Novum Securities Limited

(Financial Adviser)

David Coffman/ George Duxberry

 www.novumsecurities.com

(0)20 7399 9400

Qualified Person

The technical disclosures contained in this announcement have been drafted in line with the  Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards and guidelines and approved by Marc J. Sale, who has more than 30years in the gold exploration industry and is considered a Qualified person owing to his status as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

#KAV Kavango Resources PLC – KCB – Acquisition of six new PLs completes

Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the Southern Africa-focused metals exploration company, is pleased to confirm completion of its acquisition of a 90% working interest in six Prospecting Licences (“PLs”) located in Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”) (the “Acquisition”)

The Acquisition provides the Company with an extensive single contiguous project area in the KCB covering 7,629km2. Kavango is now one of the KCB’s largest individual mineral rights holders.

Kavango believes its expanded project area is underlain by similar stratigraphy to that along strike of Sandfire Resources’ (ASX:SFR) A4 deposit and Motheo Mine. Analysis of existing exploration data by the Company suggests this could incorporate a regional system that contains domal structures with folded and sheared trap sites. These are key exploration targets in the search for large-scale copper/silver mineralisation.

Kavango plans to commence follow-up work in the KCB later this month, and an update on this programme will follow.

Figure 1: Kavango’s expanded, contiguous KCB land package

Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources, commented:

“These new licences grant us complete control of a contiguous, prospective system in an underexplored section of the KCB, a proven copper/silver region that hosts numerous mines and deposits.

I’d like to thank ENRG Elements for its support during our due diligence process. The mapping, soil geochemistry and drilling data it has provided has been highly valuable.

Kavango has strengthened its geological understanding of its new licences by mapping their lithological sequences and stratigraphy. Meanwhile, the presence of galena and sphalerite – two important pathfinder minerals for copper mineralisation – is also encouraging.

We will now continue to advance our understanding of the new licences’ mineral potential by investigating the potential sub-basin we have identified and interpreting their structure with satellite imagery.

Both of these workflows will help us to develop priority drill targets over the coming months.

Further details

Kavango’s six new PLs cover ground adjacent to its existing Karakubis Block next to the Namibian border. This is currently the priority focus area for the Company’s KCB copper/silver exploration programme. The new PLs are also adjacent to the Company’s South Ghanzi licence block.

In preparation for the completion of the Acquisition, Kavango carried out a detailed review of ENRG’s previous exploration work, including mapping, soil geochemistry and drilling together with historical exploration work.

As a result of this review, Kavango believes the lower D’Kar Formation it mapped across PL049/2020 & PL052/2020 (two of its Karakubis PLs) extends into PL203/2016, PL127/2017 & PL205/2016 (three of its six new PLs).

During the review, Kavango received drill samples and logs from 5,566m of historical drilling completed by Icon and Ashmead.

Kavango’s geologists have begun to interpret the lithological sequences on its new PLs by completing geological work on these drill logs in combination with systematic magnetic susceptibility measurements. The sequences comprise siltstones, carbonates and sandstones.

The Company’s geologists have also begun to compile a stratigraphy for the new PLs that they believe to match existing field mapping and conform to sequences in the lower D’Kar Formation present across other parts of the KCB.

During its review, Kavango identified visible galena and sphalerite hosted in quartz-carbonate veins in the drill core and chips taken from this area. These are two important pathfinder minerals for copper mineralisation.

Additionally, systematic pXRF analysis along the cores and drill chips has confirmed the presence of elevated copper, lead and zinc at correlatable intervals.

Finally, Kavango’s geologists and geophysicists believe they may have identified a gravity low likely related to a deeper sub-basin during a review of ENRG’s previously acquired Airborne Electromagnetic (“AEM”), Gravity and Magnetic data over the Kara Antiform. The margins of this sub-basin could provide priority targets for trap site development and deposit formation. They can be further prioritised when cross-referenced with ENRG’s historic magnetic, AEM, and soil geochemical datasets.

Background to the agreement

Kavango entered an agreement to acquire a 90% interest in the six new PLs earlier this year (announced >>> 25 September 2023) with Global Exploration Technologies (Pty) Limited (“GET”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENRG Elements (ASX:ENRG) (“ENRG”).

Under the terms of the agreement, Kavango has now paid a total of AUD$1.5 million in cash to acquire 90% of the issued shares of Icon Trading (Pty) Ltd (“Icon”) and Ashmead Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“Ashmead”), two of GET’s subsidiary companies. Kavango will pay GET two further instalments of AUD$500,000 within 90 days and 180 days of the acquisition’s completion.

The names of the six new PLs, along with their holding company, status, and expiry date, are found below.

PL Number

Company

Status

Expiry Date

PL127/2017

Ashmead Holdings (Pty) Ltd

2nd Renewal 

30/06/2024

PL128/2017

Ashmead Holdings (Pty) Ltd

2nd Renewal 

30/06/2024

PL129/2017

Ashmead Holdings (Pty) Ltd

2nd Renewal 

30/06/2024

PL203/2016

Icon Trading (Pty) Ltd

3rd Renewal 

30/09/2025

PL204/2016

Icon Trading (Pty) Ltd

3rd Renewal 

30/09/2025

PL205/2016[1]

Icon Trading (Pty) Ltd

3rd Renewal 

30/09/2025

Figure 2: Details of the GET PLs

Planned work

Kavango is currently procuring satellite imagery to advance its structural interpretation and mapping of alterations across the new PLs. The Company will share more details of its upcoming work plans in due course.

The Company is also in the final stages of awarding a contract for the flying of an AEM survey over its KCB PLs. The goal will be to map possible sub-basin and domal structures.

Further information in respect of Kavango and its business interests is provided on the Company’s website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.

For further information please contact:

Kavango Resources plc 

Ben Turney

+46 7697 406 06

First Equity (Broker)

Jason Robertson

+44 207 374 2212

Kavango Competent Person Statement

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geology and exploration have been read and approved by Brett Grist BSc(Hons) FAusIMM (CP).  Mr Grist is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with Chartered Professional status.  Mr Grist has sufficient experience that is relevant to the exploration programmes and geology of the main styles of mineralisation and deposit types under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’.

#FCM First Class Metals PLC- West Pickle Lake (Pezim II)Joint Venture Confirmed

First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals” “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK metals exploration company seeking economic metal discoveries across its extensive Canadian Schreiber-Hemlo, Sunbeam and Zigzag land holdings is pleased to announce that Palladium One Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (“Palladium One”) has completed the requirements of the earn in rights to gain an 80% interest in the West Pickle Lake Project (“West Pickle Lake Project” or the “Project”). A joint venture will now be instituted with Palladium One continuing to be the operator.

Highlights

·      Earn-in rights now completed by Palladium One which will now lead to the formal creation of a Joint Venture Agreement (“JV”).

·      The West Pickle Lake Project returned very high levels of nickel/copper sulphide drill intercepts during the 2022/23 Palladium One operated drilling campaign, including:10.4% Nickel, 3.4% Copper over 2.3m (TK-22-070) & 10.3% Nickel, 2.9% Copper over 1.8m (TK-22-073)

 

Figure 1. The West pickle Lake Project area (formerly knowns as Pezim II), and described by Palladium One as the ‘West Pickle Zone’ discovery (outlined in yellow), includes the high-grade nickel-copper sulphide within the wider Palladium One ‘Tyko’ project area extending to the east.

Marc Sale CEO Commented:

The obvious merit of the exploration potential of the Pezim II block and environs has been validated by Palladium One exercising their right to enact the JV. With a robust field programme in progress, we share their enthusiasm for the newly identified extensive anomalous nickel-copper zone. Furthermore, FCM is actively exploring the contiguous 100% owned areas for similar potential and this will include the OnGold area to the north.

 

Background

In July 2021, an ‘earn-in’ agreement with Palladium One was secured over the West Pickle Lake Project (comprising 33 single cell mining claims). Palladium One had the option to earn-in up to an 80% interest in the Project subject to a three-year work program commitment. The JV sits on the eastern flank of FCM’s Flagship North Hemlo Project. See Figure 2

 

Figure 2. The original claim blocks that formed the ‘North Hemlo Property’. Note Pezim II (33 claims) is now the renamed ‘West Pickle Lake Project’ constituting the Palladium One JV/earn in property. 

 

Palladium One had the option to earn up to an 80% undivided interest in the Project over a 3-year earn-in period by incurring aggregate C$325,000 as exploration expenses. This earn-in agreement has now been completed and a Joint Venture agreement with Palladium One remaining the operator will now be instituted.  

Palladium One has embarked on an ambitious work programme this season and we wish them continued success. The initial results which they posted today are very encouraging:

“Palladium One is pleased to announce it has discovered several highly anomalous nickel, copper, and cobalt soil anomalies potentially linking the West Pickle and RJ Zones, which are 2.5 kilometres apart.”

An important aspect of the viability of WPL and the area in general is confirmation of strike extent: volume.

Figure 3. Hemlo area FCM property map showing the West Pickle Lake Project (formerly known as Pezim II), now Palladium One JV area in the eastern portion of the 100% owned FCM North Hemlo Property. Also note the OnGold property to the north, now under an Earn-In agreement.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

First Class Metals PLC

James Knowles, Executive Chairman

JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com

07488 362641

Marc J Sale, CEO

MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com

07711 093532

Ayub Bodi, Executive Director

AyubB@Firstclassmetalsplc.com

07860 598086

 

First Equity Limited

(Financial Adviser & Broker)

Jonathan Brown

0207 3742212

Jason Robertson

0207 3742212

 

#GMET Golden Metal Resources – Publication of research note

Golden Metal Resources PLC (AIM:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, lithium, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, announces that First Equity Limited has released a research note, commissioned by Golden Metal, on the Company. The research note is available to view at https://tdy.lol/gujyS: For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:

Golden Metal Resources plc

Oliver Friesen (CEO)

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

Nominated Adviser

Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll

Tel: +44 20 7213 0880

First Equity Limited

Broker

Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson

Tel: +44 20 7374 2212

 

The Projects:

Pilot Mountain Project

The Pilot Mountain project is an advanced exploration and mineral resource definition stage project located in Mineral County in western Nevada. The project covers an area of 14.80 km2 (3,656.1 acres) and is located 200km southeast of Reno and 18km east of Mina, Nevada. It is well situated for the supply of power, water and skilled labour and proximity to transport infrastructure in Mineral County and is centred around four existing mineral deposits: Garnet; Good Hope; Gunmetal and Desert Scheelite, all of which possess significant skarn-style tungsten-copper-silver-zinc mineralisation. The Pilot Mountain project consists of 176 active lode mining claims and 4 filed mill site claims. The four mill site claims filed at the former Dunham mill site have secure access to groundwater supply sufficient for the proposed project.

Kibby Basin Lithium Project

The Kibby Basin Project covers two claim packages which are prospective for lithium brine mineralisation. The southern claim package is less than 250m from a 2022 drillhole which returned a significant interval (169m) of lithium brine mineralisation which was determined to be open in all directions. The Project is less than 5km to the southeast of the Company’s flagship Pilot Mountain Project.

Golconda Summit Project

Golden Metal is the operator of the Golconda Summit project, which is held under an earn-in right to acquire up to 100 per cent. of the project from the mineral claim owner pursuant to an option agreement. The Golconda Summit project is an exploration stage gold and silver project located in Humboldt County and situated at the confluence of the Getchell and Battle Mountain – Eureka metallogenic trends, and consists of 44 lode mining claims, covering a total area of approximately 3.22 km2 (795.4 acres) located approximately 27km east of Winnemucca.

Garfield Project

The Garfield project is an early exploration stage copper, gold and silver property consisting of 39 lode mining claims covering 3.23 km2 (797.9 acres) located in Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 14km due east of the town of Hawthorne and 120km due west-northwest of Tonopah.

Stonewall Project

The Stonewall project is an exploration stage gold-silver property prospective for epithermal gold-silver mineralisation. The property consists of 19 lode mining claims covering 1.59 km2 (392.5 acres) located on the northern flank of Stonewall Mountain, on the western edge of the Nellis Airforce Range Restricted Access Area, in Nye County, Nevada, approximately 24km south-east of the historic gold mining town of Goldfield and 60km due south of Tonopah.

Golden Metal Resources #GMET – US Funding Strategy

Golden Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, announces the Company’s strategy relating to funding opportunities that are available through the US Government.  The Company intends to pursue this strategy with a particular focus on seeking non-dilutive government supported grant funding for its flagship 100% owned Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain” or the “Project”).

Highlights:

–      The Company considers that Pilot Mountain hosts the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource in the US.

–      The US is currently without any domestic primary tungsten production with their largest import partner for the critical defense metal being China. Beginning January 2026, the US Department of Defense (DOD) is banning the use of mined tungsten from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in defence procurement.1

–      Golden Metal recently signed a tungsten concentrate off-take letter of intent with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, a leading United States supplier of tungsten powders and semi-finished parts.

–      As a result of the above, the Company believes it is in a strong position to seek out non-dilutive grant funding. If Golden Metal were to receive such funds, it would enable exploration and development at Pilot Mountain to be accelerated.

–      Golden Metal is actively working with Mrs. Chang Turkmani, who on 5 June 2023 was officially engaged as Strategic United States Government Advisor, on how to shape its general strategy as it relates to further increasing the profile of Golden Metal Resources and Pilot Mountain within the US and abroad.2

Next Steps:

–      Golden Metal has commenced the application process for a short list of relevant grant programmes identified by the Company’s management team, alongside Mrs. Turkmani, from the available Company-eligible funding opportunities.

–      Some grants targeted by the Company are applied for by way of an unsolicited application process, meaning Golden Metal can neither disclose which grants have or will be applied for nor the expected timing of an award.

–      Securing non-dilutive financial support for Pilot Mountain remains a priority of the Company, and all endeavours are being made in this respect to give Golden Metal the best chance of achieving this goal.

–      As soon as it is possible to do so, Golden Metal will provide the market with updates as it relates to progress made towards securing non-dilutive grant funding, which would allow the Company to fast-track exploration and development at its flagship Pilot Mountain Project – with the ultimate goal of establishing Pilot Mountain as the only domestic US primary mined source of tungsten.

Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented: 

“While at this time we cannot disclose many details about our strategy as it relates to government funding opportunities, the recent appointment of Mrs. Turkmani should clearly signify to the market the endeavours we are making on this front.

“The time for the United States to reduce its reliance on other countries for their imports of critical and defence metals is now, and we at Golden Metal strongly believe that as 100% owners of what we consider is the largest undeveloped tungsten deposit located on US soil, we can be a part of this urgent process.

“Targeting non-dilutive funding is a critical focus of the Company. However, minimal updates will be given for the time being, as such disclosure may interfere with our ongoing endeavours in this regard. However, it is important for our investors to know that, while this key part of the business ticks away in the background, we will continue pushing forward exploration and development across the portfolio at pace.”

Notes and References

1https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/department-of-defense-expands-scope-of-8754647/

2https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/GMET/appointment-of-strategic-advisor-issue-of-shares/15985547

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. 

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:

Golden Metal Resources plc

Oliver Friesen (CEO)

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

Nominated Adviser

Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll

Tel: +44 20 7213 0880

First Equity Limited

Broker

Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson

Tel: +44 20 7374 2212

Golden Metal Resources #GMET – Pilot Mountain: Significant Exploration Targets

Golden Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, is pleased to announce a significant outcome from the interpretation of results from the high-resolution induced polarisation (“IP”) geophysics survey completed over its 100% owned flagship Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain” or the “Project”) located within the prolific Walker Lake Mineral Belt in Nevada, USA.

Highlights:

–      Detailed analysis of the IP geophysics results have highlighted the presence of three significant undrilled exploration targets (1- Desert Scheelite Parallel West Zone; 2- Porphyry Depths Zone; and 3- Desert Scheelite East Extension Zone; collectively the “Targets”) which are highly prospective for further tungsten (“W”)-copper(“Cu”)-silver(“Ag”)-zinc(“Zn”) mineralisation.

–      The Company considers that Pilot Mountain hosts the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource in the USA (with the US currently without any domestic primary tungsten production), and these newly identified targets indicate the potential for a significantly greater in-ground resource than currently known marking a significant uplift in Project potential.

–      Any increase in potential mineralisation will further bolster the inherent value of the Project and its attractiveness as a target for non-dilutive grant funding for Project exploration and development, which the Company is actively working on at present.

Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented: 

“While it was the criticality and in-situ value of the W-Cu-Ag-Zn mineral resource that originally attracted us to Pilot Mountain, our due diligence highlighted considerable untapped exploration upside which is what ultimately led us to acquire 100% of the Project back in November 2021.

“Review of all historical data available highlighted several conceptual exploration targets, all of which lay under thin sand cover. As a result, we set out to complete IP geophysics over these targets and the results now received and presented herein have exceeded  our expectations with three significant high-priority untested zones now successfully identified on our flagship Project.

“The scale of the opportunity presented to us as 100% owners of this advanced tungsten Project is large, and with these three new exploration targets now identified the opportunity has grown significantly.”

Detailed Overview:

1)    Desert Scheelite Parallel West Zone (Figure 1)

 Mineralisation at Desert Scheelite (“DS”; Total Resource 10.7Mt @ 0.26% WO3, see Table 1) is hosted within a very well-defined resistivity low (conductivity high) geophysical feature that is mapped for approx. 500m in a generally east-west direction (see dark blue feature on Figure 1).

 The 2023 IP geophysical results have led to the discovery of the Desert Scheelite Parallel West Zone (“DSPW Zone”) which is defined by a resistivity low (conductivity high) with nearly identical geophysical characteristics to DS. The DSPW Zone is located approx. 200m to the north/north-west of DS and have never been drill tested. The 2023 IP results show that the DSPW Zone is larger than the DS Zone, and if drilling successfully proves that the DSPW Zone contains skarn-style W-Cu-Ag-Zn mineralisation, it would represent a highly significant discovery at Pilot Mountain.

2)    Porphyry Depths Zone (Figure 2)

 The Good Hope (“GH”) and Desert Scheelite (“DS”) Zones are located approximately 1,400m apart. The area in between these two zones is blanketed by a thin layer of post-mineral sedimentary and basaltic cover which historically precluded effective exploration between these two zones (despite both zones displaying very similar skarn-type alteration and mineralisation).

 The 2023 IP geophysical results have successfully highlighted a significant geophysical feature which appears to broadly connect the DS and GH zones at depth. This feature is defined by a resistivity and chargeability high and as a result it is postulated that it is related to a porphyry intrusion at depth. Skarn-type systems are ultimately spatially related to porphyry mineral deposits at depth, and this newly identified geophysical zone may represent the ultimate source of W-Cu-Ag-Zn mineralisation found across the entire Pilot Mountain Project. As a result, the discovery of the Porphyry Depths Zone (“PDZ”)may represent a significant development at Pilot Mountain.

3)    Desert Scheelite East Extension Zone (Figure 3)

 One of the furthest east historical drillholes completed at Desert Scheelite returned some of the strongest copper and tungsten mineralisation ever found at Pilot Mountain which includes 17.5m @ 1.8% Cu (incl. sub-interval of 13.9m @ 0.89% W03). Because of this, the previous operator in 2013 completed a two dimensional IP survey across and to the east of Desert Scheelite. The goal of this survey was to profile the eastern extension of mineralisation from the main Desert Scheelite Zone.

 Re-interpretation of these 2013 results by Golden Metal have clearly shown that the mineralisation at Desert Scheelite (Total Resource 10.7Mt @ 0.26% WO3) is strongly coincident with a resistivity low (conductivity high) signature which corroborates with the 2023 IP results (see DSPW Zone writeup). Review of the historical results highlight that the DS resistivity low signature extends for an additional  circa 500m towards the southeast (dipping under cover) where it remains untested by drilling. This similarly represents a very high-priority exploration target for Golden Metal going forward.

Further Project Information

Overview

The Pilot Mountain tungsten-copper-silver-zinc Project is located approximately 200km southeast of Reno, in Nevada. Nevada ranked first in overall mining investment attractiveness in the Fraser Institute 2022 annual survey 1. The Project is located entirely on United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) land – allowing for efficient and cost-effective permitting.

The 3,656-acre Project is centred around four existing mineral deposits including Garnet, Good Hope, Gunmetal and Desert Scheelite all which possess significant skarn-style W-Cu-Ag-Zn mineralisation.

The Desert Scheelite and Garnet deposits host a combined Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 12.53Mt at 0.27% tungsten trioxide (“WO3“) with significant Cu-Ag-Zn credits (see Table 1). This in-ground resource is believed to be the largest and most advanced undeveloped tungsten resource located in the USA.

Table 1: Pilot Mountain Project Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, dated 13 December 2018 2

Resource

Tungsten Tri-Oxide

Silver

Copper

Zinc

Mt

Grade (%)

Contained metal (t)

Grade (g/t)

Cont. metal (t)

Grade (%)

Cont. metal (t)

Grade (%)

Cont. metal (t)

Desert Scheelite

Ind.

9.01

0.26

23,400

20.73

187

0.15

13,200

0.41

37,100

Inf.

1.69

0.25

4,300

12.24

21

0.16

2,800

0.19

3,200

 

Total

10.7

0.26

27,700

19.38

207

0.15

16,000

0.38

40,300

Garnet

Ind.

0

0

0

Inf.

1.83

0.36

6,590

 

Total

1.83

0.36

6,590

Summary

Ind.

9.01

0.26

23,400

 

Inf.

3.53

0.31

10,890

Total

 

12.53

0.27

34,290

Notes:         All figures are rounded to reflect appropriate levels of confidence. Apparent differences may occur due to rounding.

·           Cut-off grade 0.15% WO₃

·           Garnet deposit resource reported 22 May 2017. Thor Mining stated it is not aware of any information or data which would materially affect this previously announced resource estimate, and all assumptions and technical parameters relevant to the estimate remain unchanged.

·           The estimates are considered by SRK Exploration Services Limited to be non-compliant with the JORC Code (2012) reporting standard due to insufficient disclosure of the technical and economic support for the cut-off assumptions applied and are therefore viewed as historical.

Development Potential

There is currently no known domestic United States primary tungsten production, and tungsten is classified as a strategic mineral by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) 3. Set against this backdrop, the Pilot Mountain Project is key strategic and defense metal deposit located on American soil.

Potential production viability was reinforced with a scoping study 4 commissioned by Thor Mining plc and completed in 2018 on the Project which indicated the potential for an initial 12-year operational life based on processing ore from an open pit at Desert Scheelite supplemented by potential production from Garnet.

Furthermore, previous independent metallurgical testwork on 694kg of mineralised rock from Pilot Mountain 5 highlighted strong metallurgical results including the successful production of two saleable concentrates (scheelite, and copper/silver) from a coarse grind treated by floatation or by flotation and wet high-intensity magnetic separators (“WHIMS”).

Shallow mineral resources at the Desert Scheelite and Garnet deposits may be amenable to shallow open-cut mining methods (as modelled in the 2018 scoping study) which would allow for rapid low-cost start-up costs.

Exploration Upside

The previous operator, Thor Mining plc, conducted a study which looked into exploration potential at Pilot Mountain. Thor Mining’s exploration targets were broken into Tier 1 and Tier 2 targets for which a total Exploration Target of 11.0 – 23.0Mt with an expected average grade of 0.3-0.5% WO3 was published 6 (see Table 2).

Table 2: Pilot Mountain Exploration Targets (stated by Thor Mining plc) 6

Target Type

Size (Mt)

Grade (WO3 %)

Description

Tier 1 Targets

7-5 – 13.5

0.3 – 0.5

Based on historical drill intersections

Tier 2 Targets

3.5 – 9.1

0.3 – 0.5

Based on favourable geology and proximity to known mineralisation

Total Exploration Target*

11.0 – 23.0

0.3 – 0.5

Combined Tier 1 & 2

*Exploration Targets are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the determine of a Mineral Resource.

Considering the current Mineral Resource tonnage equates to 12.53Mt 2, should the exploration targets postulated be converted to Resources they could deliver a significant increase to the potential Pilot Mountain project value. The IP geophysics results presented today have further corroborated and supported the likelihood of proving up some of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 targets published historically.

Media

High-resolution versions of the below three figures can be found at the link below:

https://www.goldenmetalresources.com/pmgeophysical-survey/

Figure 1 – Desert Scheelite Parallel West (DSPW) Zone Resistivity Map. Eastern resistivity low (conductivity high) or dark blue feature is strongly coincident to W-Cu-Ag-Zn mineralisation found at the Desert Scheelite Zone which hosts the majority of the in-ground resource at Pilot Mountain (10.7Mt at 0.26% WO3). The sub-parallel, larger, dark blue zone (resistivity low/conductivity high) represents the undrilled DSPW Zone.

Figure 2 – Resistivity and Chargeability Cross-Sections across Porphyry Depths (PD) Zone. PD Zone is characterised by a slightly concave up resistivity and chargeability high which broadly connects the Good Hope (GH) and Desert Scheelite (DS) zones at depth.

 

Figure 3 – Desert Scheelite (East Extension) Target Zone. White lines represent resistivity low (conductivity high) that extends from known mineralisation at Desert Scheelite towards the east under cover where it has never been drill tested.

 

Property Ownership

Golden Metal holds a 100% interest in the Pilot Mountain Project through its wholly-owned Nevada-based operating companies BFM Resources Inc and Pilot Metals Inc.

Reference Notes:

1:            Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2022, published 4 May 2023

                (https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/annual-survey-of-mining-companies-2022 )

 

2:            Thor Mining PLC, regulatory news announcement, ‘Increased Mineral Resource Estimate – Pilot Mountain Nevada USA’, dated 13 December 2018

                ( https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/LSE_news/2018/12/13/Thormining_14158543.pdf )

 

2:            News announcement: ‘The United States Geological Survey has released a new list of 50 mineral commodities critical to the U.S. economy and national security after an extensive multi-agency assessment’, 22 February 2022
(
 https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/us-geological-survey-releases-2022-list-critical-minerals )

 

4:            Thor Mining PLC, regulatory news announcement, ‘Twelve Year Open Pit Life for Desert Scheelite

Pilot Mountain Scoping Study’, dated 7 September 2018

                ( https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/LSE_news/2018/09/07/Thormining_14049369.pdf )

5:            Unpublished metallurgical testwork report by Guangzhou Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals commissioned by Black Fire Minerals Ltd: ‘The Development of Separation Technology from the Pilot, Mountain Tungsten Project, Nevada, USA: Process Mineralogy Mineral processing Preliminary Testing’, dated 31 August 2013.

6:            Thor Mining PLC, regulatory news announcement, ‘Development Plan Pilot Mountain Tungsten Project – Nevada USA’, dated 1 December 2014
(
 https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/LSE_news/2014/12/01/Thormining_13057433.pdf )

 

 

COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O’Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules – Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O’Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Golden Metal Resources plc to provide technical support.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).

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. 

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:

Golden Metal Resources plc

Oliver Friesen (CEO)

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

Nominated Adviser

Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll

Tel: +44 20 7213 0880

First Equity Limited

Broker

Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson

Tel: +44 20 7374 2212

 

The Projects:

Pilot Mountain Project

The Pilot Mountain project is an advanced exploration and mineral resource definition stage project located in Mineral County in western Nevada. The project covers an area of 14.80 km2 (3,656.1 acres) and is located 200km southeast of Reno and 18km east of Mina, Nevada. It is well situated for the supply of power, water and skilled labour and proximity to transport infrastructure in Mineral County and is centred around four existing mineral deposits: Garnet; Good Hope; Gunmetal and Desert Scheelite, all of which possess significant skarn-style tungsten-copper-silver-zinc mineralisation. The Pilot Mountain project consists of 176 active lode mining claims and 4 filed mill site claims. The four mill site claims filed at the former Dunham mill site have secure access to groundwater supply sufficient for the proposed project.

Golconda Summit Project

Golden Metal is the operator of the Golconda Summit project, which is held under an earn-in right to acquire up to 100 per cent. of the project from the mineral claim owner pursuant to an option agreement. The Golconda Summit project is an exploration stage gold and silver project located in Humboldt County and situated at the confluence of the Getchell and Battle Mountain – Eureka metallogenic trends, and consists of 44 lode mining claims, covering a total area of approximately 3.22 km2 (795.4 acres) located approximately 27km east of Winnemucca.

Garfield Project

The Garfield project is an early exploration stage copper, gold and silver property consisting of 39 lode mining claims covering 3.23 km2 (797.9 acres) located in Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 14km due east of the town of Hawthorne and 120km due west-northwest of Tonopah.

Stonewall Project

The Stonewall project is an exploration stage gold-silver property prospective for epithermal gold-silver mineralisation. The property consists of 19 lode mining claims covering 1.59 km2 (392.5 acres) located on the northern flank of Stonewall Mountain, on the western edge of the Nellis Airforce Range Restricted Access Area, in Nye County, Nevada, approximately 24km south-east of the historic gold mining town of Goldfield and 60km due south of Tonopah.

#GMET Golden Metal Resources PLC – First Day of Dealings

Golden Metal Resources plc, a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper, silver and zinc within Nevada, USA, is pleased to announce that, at 08:00 today, its ordinary shares will commence trading on AIM under the ticker GMET. As part of the process of admission to trading on AIM (“Admission”), the Company has raised gross proceeds of £1.98m through the issue of 23,317,643 new ordinary shares of £0.01 each at a placing price of 8.5 pence per share, equating to a market capitalisation of £7.16 million on Admission.

Overview

The key strengths and attributes of Golden Metal can be summarised as follows:

Location:

The state of Nevada is a well-regarded, mining investment friendly jurisdiction. It was ranked third in the Fraser Institute’s global mining investment attractiveness index survey in 2021 and has a long history of mining and a strong mining and ancillary business support network. Nevada is one of the principal producers of precious metals in the world, with 25 precious metal mines currently in production, accounting for approximately 70 per cent. of the United States total gold production in 2020. In 2018 Nevada accounted for 83 per cent. of the US’s total gold production.

According to the Nevada Mining Association (2022), as of November 2021, 11,000 people were employed by the metal mining sector within the state, with a Nevada Gross Domestic Product contribution of US$3.2 billion in 2020.

Projects with Critical and High-Demand Minerals:

The Company’s 100% owned Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain”) hosts a tungsten-copper-silver-zinc Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) which includes 12.53Mt at 0.27% W03 (tungsten tri-oxide) with significant copper-silver-zinc credits. Tungsten is an in-demand and critical metal as outlined below:

·         Tungsten is included in the British Geological Survey’s UK Critical Minerals list (2022), the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Critical Minerals list (2022) and the European Commission’s Critical Raw Materials list (2020).

·         The global demand for tungsten is forecast to rise annually (3-7 per cent. per annum according to the British Geological Survey) and is predicted to outstrip available supply, which is likely to place continued upward pressure on prices in the near-term.

Management Team:

A proven management team with:

·         a broad spectrum of knowledge and capabilities;

·         substantial technical and listed company experience; and

·         extensive North American operating experience with connections to various in-country consulting teams.

Diverse Project Base:

The Golden Metal portfolio consists of four Nevada based projects (collectively the “Nevada Projects”) comprising the Pilot Mountain Project and three exploration stage projects: the Golconda Summit Project (gold), the Garfield Project (copper-gold-silver) and the Stonewall Project (gold-silver).

The Nevada Projects are all well located within major metallogenic belts containing active, globally important precious- and base-metal mining operations. All the assets have favourable geology which is prospective for skarn, carlin, epithermal and porphyry deposit types.  The portfolio is focussed on tungsten, gold, silver and base metal mineralisation.

In particular, the Pilot Mountain Project offers significant exploration upside potential as well as the opportunity for Golden Metal to de-risk the Project on a number of fronts. These include building on the existing MRE, furthering and updating technical studies relating to the potential development of the known resources, further permitting, making relevant grant applications, including to the DOD Defence Production Act (DPA) Title III grant office as well as commodity marketing and further metallurgical studies.

In total, the Nevada Projects cover a combined area of approximately 22.83 km2.

Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented: 

Golden Metal’s admission to AIM comes at a time when it is clear that the world needs more critical, precious-and base-metals. This represents an exciting opportunity for a company such as ours with ownership of four diverse exploration and development assets located wholly within one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. I believe that our Pilot Mountain Project, with its tungsten MRE, offers the greatest potential for exploitation, given that the US currently has no domestic primary production of the metal and is looking to reduce its heavy reliance on imports of critical metals from China. We are looking forward to actively pushing forward various exploration and corporate developments both within the US and UK and will provide further updates to the market on these various plans in due course.

I would like to thank all of the Golden Metal team and pre-IPO investors for their patience as we methodically worked through the various exploration and corporate developments which have led the Company to the exciting position it is in now. “

Background

Golden Metal is a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper, silver and zinc within Nevada, USA. It was established for the purpose of holding all of the Nevada mining assets of Power Metal Resources plc (“Power Metal”) and progressing the exploration and development of those assets. The Company holds four mining assets comprising the 100% owned Pilot Mountain, Garfield and Stonewall Projects together with an earn in option over the Golconda Summit Project. Each Project consists of unpatented lode mining claims located entirely on land managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management.

The Directors believe that the combination of a suite of high-quality, diversified Nevada based mining assets within a single, US-focused AIM-quoted vehicle creates a compelling investment opportunity. It is their opinion that the Nevada Projects hold several underexplored, highly prospective tungsten, gold, copper, silver and zinc exploration targets. The Directors consider that the Pilot Mountain Project has the potential to increase its existing tungsten focused MRE and to expand on multiple tungsten, copper, silver and zinc-rich zones identified by minimal historical drilling. In addition, the Directors consider that the Golconda Summit Project has the potential for a major gold discovery to follow the identification of significant surface gold mineralisation during a 1989 trenching programme. Accordingly, the Company’s exploration focus will be on these two projects but the Directors also believe there is potential value to be realised at the Garfield and Stonewall Projects.

On 8 April 2022, the Company raised £750,000 through a pre-IPO Financing at a price of 6.67 pence per Ordinary Share, following which Power Metal held 83.13 per cent. of the existing ordinary shares. On Admission, Power Metal will hold 62.1 per cent. of the Company’s enlarged share capital.

Placing, Subscription, Acquisition and Use of Proceeds

The Company has raised gross proceeds of £1,982,000 through a placing and subscription through the issue of 12,449,208 Placing Shares and 10,868,435 Subscription Shares at a price of 8.5 pence per share.

The net proceeds from the Placing and Subscription will be used by the Company to:

·         provide funding for the Company to further explore and develop the Nevada Projects; and

·         provide the Company with ongoing working capital to support its business operations.

Warrants

Together with every two Placing Shares and every two Subscription Shares, each Placee and Subscriber will also be granted one warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one further new Ordinary Share at 10.75 pence per Ordinary Share, for a period of 12 months from Admission, and one warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one further new Ordinary Share at 17 pence per Ordinary Share, for a period of 24 months from Admission. Further details of the warrants are set out in Part VI of the Company’s AIM admission document.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).  

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. 

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:

Golden Metal Resources plc

Oliver Friesen (CEO)

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

Nominated Adviser

Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll

Tel: +44 20 7213 0880

First Equity Limited

Broker

Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson

Tel: +44 20 7374 2212

 

The Projects:

Pilot Mountain Project

The Pilot Mountain project is an advanced exploration and mineral resource definition stage project located in Mineral County in western Nevada. The project covers an area of 14.80 km2 (3,656.1 acres) and is located 200km southeast of Reno and 18km east of Mina, Nevada. It is well situated for the supply of power, water and skilled labour and proximity to transport infrastructure in Mineral County and is centred around four existing mineral deposits: Garnet; Good Hope; Gunmetal and Desert Scheelite, all of which possess significant skarn-style tungsten-copper-silver-zinc mineralisation. The Pilot Mountain project consists of 176 active lode mining claims and 4 filed mill site claims. The four mill site claims filed at the former Dunham mill site have secure access to groundwater supply sufficient for the proposed project.

Golconda Summit Project

Golden Metal is the operator of the Golconda Summit project, which is held under an earn-in right to acquire up to 100 per cent. of the project from the mineral claim owner pursuant to an option agreement. The Golconda Summit project is an exploration stage gold and silver project located in Humboldt County and situated at the confluence of the Getchell and Battle Mountain – Eureka metallogenic trends, and consists of 44 lode mining claims, covering a total area of approximately 3.22 km2 (795.4 acres) located approximately 27km east of Winnemucca.

Garfield Project

The Garfield project is an early exploration stage copper, gold and silver property consisting of 39 lode mining claims covering 3.23 km2 (797.9 acres) located in Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 14km due east of the town of Hawthorne and 120km due west-northwest of Tonopah.

Stonewall Project

The Stonewall project is an exploration stage gold-silver property prospective for epithermal gold-silver mineralisation. The property consists of 19 lode mining claims covering 1.59 km2 (392.5 acres) located on the northern flank of Stonewall Mountain, on the western edge of the Nellis Airforce Range Restricted Access Area, in Nye County, Nevada, approximately 24km south-east of the historic gold mining town of Goldfield and 60km due south of Tonopah.

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