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#KAV Kavango Resources PLC – KSZ: B Conductor Drill Contract Signed

Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals exploration company, is pleased to announce a drilling campaign on its Kalahari Suture Zone North (“KSZ North”) project.

The Company has signed a contract with Mindea Exploration and Drilling Services Pty (“Mindea”) to drill the cluster of three “B Conductors” it has identified in the project area.  Kavango’s technical team prioritised the B Conductors for drill testing after remodelling their conductance to be in the range of possible nickel, copper, platinum group element (“PGE”)-bearing massive sulphides (announced >>> 02 March 2023).

OVERVIEW

–     Drill rig mobilisation

·    Mindea will deploy a diamond drill rig capable of drilling beyond target depth.

·    Kavango selected Mindea, after it successfully drilled two holes into the B Conductors last year as part of the Company’s Proof of Concept campaign (announced >>> 18 August 2022).

–     Drill programme details

·    Mindea will drill up to 4 holes, targeting the B Conductors at a depth of 600-700m.

·    The primary target will be the B1 Conductor, which was recently remodelled with a conductance of 28,700 Siemens using Downhole Electromagnetic (“DHEM”) survey data.

§ This is well into the range accepted by nickel-copper specialised geophysicists for pyrrhotite-bearing massive sulphides.

§ Pyrrhotite is very highly conductive iron sulphide mineral often associated with the nickel-bearing mineral pentlandite in nickel/copper/PGE massive sulphide bodies.

·    Secondary targets comprise the B3 and B4 conductors. These have been modelled at 4,100 and 2,760 Siemens respectively, also in the range of possible massive sulphides.

–     Preparations underway

·    Kavango has mobilised its exploration camp for the drilling campaign.

·    The Company is also preparing an access road to the proposed drilling site and preparing the water borehole for the drilling of the B1 Conductor.

·    Drilling expected to commence within 3 weeks.

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

We are delighted to return to drilling the Kalahari Suture Zone. Following last year’s ‘near miss’ of the B1 Conductor, we’ve made thorough preparations for our return to this target.

Mindea successfully drilled two holes in the area last year for us, overcoming difficult ground conditions. We learned a lot together from that campaign and are confident Mindea’s team will give us the greatest chance of making a successful intersection of the 28,700 Siemens B1 Conductor. 

This high level of conductance is among the stronger geophysical indicators in nickel/copper exploration, and we look forward to proving the causative source with physical drill core.”

Further information in respect of the Company 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)

+44 207 374 2212

Jason Robertson

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’.

#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.

#TYM Tertiary Minerals PLC – Chairman’s AGM Statement

TYMI look forward to welcoming shareholders at our AGM today where, after the close of formal  business, I will be giving a presentation on the Company’s projects. This presentation is now live on the Company’s website.

Our focus is fixed firmly on copper exploration in Zambia and Nevada, USA. Copper is the number one energy transition metal, yet, being an established industrial metal, it is often overlooked in the scramble for other battery metals such as lithium. Copper is the workhorse of the energy transition where its properties of high conductivity, ductility, efficiency and recyclability are essential in wind turbines, solar energy installations, energy storage and, of course, electric vehicles. It is our view that copper is most likely to survive the evolution of battery technologies which may be at the expense of some of the more novel commodities.

To underline this view, we were pleased to see late last year the Gates, Bezos and Branson backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures company Kobald Metals announce a £150m investment at the end of 2022 into the development of the Mingomba copper deposit adjacent to our Konkola West Project in Zambia.

Konkola West is one of five copper projects in Zambia where Tertiary has an interest and is targeting deep down-dip extensions of the contiguous Musoshi-Lubambe-Mingomba-Konkola copper deposits which host the Musoshi Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Lubambe Mine and Konkola mines in Zambia. Together these deposits define a continuous zone of mineralisation over 15km long with a pre-mining endowment of over 775 million tonnes grading 2-3% copper.

The Company’s interests in Zambia have been acquired in an agreement with local Zambian company, Mwashia Resources Ltd. The portfolio includes the Jacks Copper Project where the Company completed soil sampling and drilling in 2022 and where further drilling is planned in 2023. It also includes the Mukai and Mushima North project areas where the Company has a Data Sharing and Technical Cooperation Agreement with major Zambian and global copper producer First Quantum Minerals (“FQM”).

FQM has now completed the transfer to the Company of its extensive and valuable historical data for these two projects and we are set to benefit from FQM’s extensive and in-depth country experience, gained over many years of exploration and mine development in Zambia.

The Mukai Project Exploration Licence is located in Zambia’s North-Western Province and is directly adjacent to FQM’s Trident Project, which includes the large Sentinel Copper Mine and the recently opened Enterprise Nickel Mine. The Mushima North Exploration Licence, in the Kasempa District, is also in an active FQM exploration area and is prospective primarily for iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation.

Now that we have started work to evaluate the FQM datasets, a number of exciting exploration targets are emerging. We hope to reveal more about this in the near future and in the meantime we are busy planning field programmes to start within the next couple of months  as soon as the wet season ends.

 

The Zambian government has big ambitions for its copper industry and is instigating a more attractive fiscal regime to promote these ambitions. As a result, a number of other major mining companies, such as Anglo-American and Rio Tinto, are once again exploring in Zambia.

In Nevada our focus in 2023 is on our drill-ready Brunton Pass Project. Here low-grade copper values occur over substantial widths together with gold indicator elements and define a target for copper skarn and porphyry copper mineralisation, as well as epithermal gold.

We believe that companies exploring for copper offer excellent value in the market compared with companies involved in other battery metals and with multiple drill programmes budgeted for 2023 we anticipate strong news flow.

We also believe that the Company is well positioned to achieve a substantial rerating for shareholders, and we look forward to seeing shareholders at the AGM and to reporting on further progress.

 

Patrick Cheetham

Executive Chairman

 

For more information:

Website: www.tertiaryminerals.com

Contacts:

Tertiary Minerals plc:

Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman

+44 (0) 1625 838 679        

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Nominated Adviser and Broker

Richard Morrison

+44 (0) 203 470 0470

Harry Davies-Ball

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Joint Broker

Lucy Williams

+ 44 (0) 207 469 0930

Duncan Vasey

 

Tertiary Minerals #TYM – Lab Results Confirm Prospectivity of Jacks Copper Project, Zambia

Further to its announcement of 8 November 2022, Tertiary Minerals plc is pleased to advise that laboratory check analytical results on soil samples from the Jacks Copper Project in Zambia have confirmed and enhanced the provisional results previously reported based on portable XRF (“pXRF”) analyses taken in the field.

Key Points:

  • Laboratory check multielement analytical results now received for 107 soil samples from 4 sample grids.
  • Laboratory results show excellent correlation with previously reported field pXRF results.
  • New scandium analyses (not available with pXRF analysis) allows evaluation of key copper:scandium (“Cu:Sc”) ratios. High Cu:Sc ratios are considered indicative of hydrothermal copper sulphide mineralisation elsewhere in Zambia.
  • The high Cu:Sc ratios obtained from the soil samples taken over copper sulphide mineralisation intersected in Company’s 2022 drill programme at Area D validate the application of the Cu:Sc ratio and both enhance and extend the Area D soil anomaly beyond the area drilled.
  • Laboratory analyses for 27 contiguous soil samples along a check profile in Area C exhibit high Cu:Sc ratios for a strike length of approximately 1 km and make Area C another priority for drill testing.

Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said:

“These check analyses, and the scandium results in particular, have materially enhanced the previously reported results and confirm the prospectivity of the priority copper soil anomalies outlined to date at the Jacks Project.”

“These results build on a number of recent positive announcements for our Zambian copper projects that highlight the prospectivity of the portfolio we have built over the past 18 months. We are looking forward to an exciting field season in 2023.”

For more information please contact:

Tertiary Minerals plc:
Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman +44 (0) 1625 838 679
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Nominated Adviser and Broker

Richard Morrison +44 (0) 203 470 0470
Harry Davies-Ball
Peterhouse Capital Limited

Joint Broker

Lucy Williams + 44 (0) 207 469 0930
Duncan Vasey

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

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 which forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (‘MAR’). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service (‘RIS’), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Detailed information

Background

The Jacks Copper Prospect lies within Exploration Licence 27069-HQ-LEL which covers 141.4 km2 and is located 85 km south of Luanshya in Zambia. Tertiary has earned a 90% interest in the licence from local company Mwashia Resources Limited (“Mwashia”) and recently signed a joint venture and shareholder agreement with Mwashia, details of which are given in the Company’s announcement of 4 November 2022.

Following a successful drilling programme at the main Jacks Prospect in 2022, the Company conducted a sampling programme in October 2022 where a total of 1,807 soil samples were collected over four separate areas covering 11.5 km². Samples were analysed in the field using a portable x-ray fluorescence (“pXRF”) analyser on a near real-time basis, allowing daily definition of soil anomalies which were then sampled in more detail on infill lines.

Multiple soil anomalies were defined by pXRF analysis and results compared favourably with soil anomalies in the vicinity of various ore zones at current and past producing mines on the Copperbelt. An anomaly threshold of 80ppm copper was reported.

Field pXRF analytical results are considered semi-quantitative, while scandium cannot be analysed by pXRF but is considered to be an important reference element in discriminating soil anomalies due to copper sulphide mineralisation.

Check samples from key soil lines on all four grids (Areas A-D) were sent to the ALS Laboratory in Johannesburg for multielement analysis by ICP-MS (Method code: ME‑MS61). A total of 107 samples were analysed.

Analytical Results

The laboratory results for copper in soil samples show an excellent correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.98) with field pXRF results and when samples above the 80ppm anomaly threshold are considered, the average difference between ICP-MS copper results and pXRF copper results is just 4%.

The new analytical results therefore substantiate the details of the copper soil anomalies discussed in the Company’s news release of 8 November 2022. Furthermore, the results of scandium analysis have allowed further discrimination of the anomalies and enhanced the priority anomalies as discussed below.

Copper:Scandium Ratios

Published data (2Halley et. al., 2016) from soil sampling by first Quantum Minerals (“FQM”) at the Sentinel Copper Mine in Zambia shows that a soil copper:scandium (Cu:Sc) ratio greater than 8 successfully delineated the now operating giant Sentinel Copper Deposit and suggested that high Cu:Sc ratios are indicative of hydrothermal copper mineralisation of economic interest rather than high background copper levels of no economic interest. This threshold has been used in evaluating the Company’s new analytical results. A map showing the location of soil grids Areas A-D can be found on the Jacks Project page of the Company’s website.

A total of 34 samples were analysed by ICP-MS at Area D along a profile which covered the soil anomaly associated with the original Jacks Copper Prospect which was successfully drilled by Tertiary during the Phase 1 Drill Programme in 2022. The purpose of this work was to obtain the geochemical footprint over known mineralisation. Above threshold anomalous Cu:Sc ratios were obtained across the full width of the Area D soil anomaly, confirming the relevance of the Cu:Sc ratio to mineralisation in the wider Jacks Copper Project.

Area C was originally targeted by FQM based on regional soil sampling which identified samples with high copper and above threshold Cu:Sc ratios. Tertiary’s more detailed follow-up field pXRF analysis had defined a 1,100m long and 400m wide north-northeast striking copper anomaly. A total of 31 samples from one soil profile along the anomaly have now been analysed by ICP-MS and 27 contiguous samples show above threshold Cu:Sc ratios indicating a possible mineralised strike length of approximately 1km. Area C is now a target for immediate follow‑up work.

At Area B a 600m long x 600m wide copper-in-soil anomaly was defined by pXRF analysis during the soil sampling programme with peak copper values higher than in Area C. However, of 22 samples now analysed by ICP-MS only 2 samples had anomalous Cu:Sc ratios. This downgrades the copper anomaly in Area B and illustrates the value of scandium analysis in discriminating and prioritising copper anomalies. A new map illustrating the differences between Area B and C anomalies can be found on the Jacks Project page of the Company website.

A total of 20 samples were analysed from Area A and were selected as a baseline due to the relatively low-level and narrow width of the copper-in-soil anomalism compared to areas B, C and D. The majority of samples had a Cu:Sc ratio below threshold confirming that this area remains a low priority.

The Company plans to carry out further drilling at Jacks in 2023 to test the soil anomaly at Area C and extend the drilling along strike at Area D (the original Jacks Prospect).

Notes:

  1. Samples were analysed by ALS in Johannesburg by method code ME-MS61, a 4-acid digest ICP-MS multielement suite. Internal company and laboratory QA/QC samples were inserted into the sample run and returned satisfactorily results.
  1. Halley, S.W., Wood, D., Stoltze, A., Godfroid, J., Goswell, H. and Jack, D.,  2016 – Using Multielement Geochemistry to Map Multiple Components of a Mineral System: Case Study from a Sediment-Hosted Cu-Ni Camp, NW Province, Zambia: in  SEG Newsletter,   No. 104, January, 2016, pp. 1, 15-21.
  1. The information in this release has been reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, M.Aus.IMM), Executive Chairman of Tertiary Minerals plc, who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr. Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. 

The news release may contain certain statements and expressions of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which relate, inter alia, to the Company’s proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions of the Company’s directors. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely on any forward-looking statements and save as required by the AIM Rules for Companies or by law, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions to such forward-looking statements

Clean Energy Metals – Dealing with the Supply Squeeze

#TM1- Technology Minerals

 

Clean Energy Metals – Dealing with the Supply Squeeze

Critical window of opportunity to create a circular ecosystem for battery metals

The failure of national governments to reach a major agreement at the COP27 Summit this year underlined the difficulty and urgency in reaching net zero. The lack of progress from the governmental side means that it falls to the private sector to provide meaningful solutions. Resource efficiency, energy, and mobility transition are crucial strategies to mitigate climate change. The focus is on reducing the consumption of resources, especially energy and raw materials.

While raw materials are the basis of our material world, their excessive consumption over recent decades has also contributed significantly to climate change. However, raw materials, and, in this case, especially metals, play a key enabling role for climate protection technologies, such as electro mobility, the hydrogen economy, and solar and wind power plants, and also for digitalisation. It is now vital to make the use of raw materials much more resource-efficient and to use them as purposefully as possible.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13563-022-00319-1

Source: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/battery-recycling-market

There is overwhelming evidence to show that advanced circular economy systems and sophisticated recycling technologies can build the backbone for the development of a resource efficient and sustainable society. Closed metal cycles are a key part of this equation, securing relevant parts of the raw material supply for high-tech products and reducing CO2 emissions in their production at the same time.

Many mineral-producing countries that supply critical minerals are politically unstable, making them risky to invest in and to rely on as a source. This underscores the importance of developing sources of domestic supply, which offers greater political stability, greater safety for workers, and can provide a pipeline of young talent. These provide a foundation for the sector to build innovative solutions in response to the demands of the green transition.

The sources of many critical minerals for energy use are much less diversified than for hydrocarbons and sometimes concentrated in geographies that are highly problematic from an environmental and social perspective, such the Congo. The Congo accounts for almost 80% of the global supply of cobalt, much of which comes from so called ‘artisanal mining’ with its attendant exploitative labour conditions and environmental degradation.

 

The Delivery Challenge

To deliver on the green revolution and minimise emissions that contribute to climate change, industries will need access to significant quantities of critical minerals.

If you can’t make it or grow it, you have to mine it, so there will be an inevitable growth in the mining of critical raw materials, such as lithium-containing minerals. Source: https://britishlithium.co.uk/lithium-market/

 

Source: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/battery-recycling-market

The production of lithium in 2030 will need to be 60 times the market size of 2015, if production of the internal combustion engine becomes a reality within the 2030 to 2035 timescale. Electric vehicles are the primary driver of lithium demand and given lithium’s unique properties of light weight and high energy storage potential, it is highly likely to remain the material of choice in non-stationary batteries, whether in wet electrolyte or solid-state form.

The sustainable supply of the battery metals cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, and copper is a decisive factor for the success of electro mobility. Given the current global availability of resources and the imminent tsunamic surge in demand to sustain surging production levels recycling and reuse of batteries represents an increasingly important component of the future raw material supply. An effective circular economy for batteries can only be achieved if—in contrast to the current situation with many consumer goods — spent batteries can be fed into a comprehensive, technically advanced recycling network to re-enter the supply chain.

 

 

Source: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/battery-recycling-market

A London listed company Technology Minerals (LON: TM1) is seeking to meet these challenges head on. Billed as the UK’s first stock market listed ‘circular economy’ company, Technology Minerals combines a fast-growing lead acid and lithium-ion battery recycling network through its wholly owned subsidiary Recyclus Group with a series of battery metal mining projects sited strategically around the globe. Technology Minerals Chairman Robin Brundle explains: “The strategy of Technology Minerals is to build out its IP protected battery processing capacity in Europe while evaluating its portfolio of early-stage critical minerals projects. The current European market for Li-ion and lead-acid batteries totals 1.2mte pa of which some 72% are lead-acid and of which the automotive market consumes 70%. Within automotive, Li-ion currently accounts for just 10% but that is set to grow exponentially in line with increased EV penetration.”

The global recycling batteries market size was valued at $11.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach to $66.6 billion by 2030.

While EVs don’t emit CO2, lithium-ion batteries are made from raw materials, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel. With the coming supply squeeze, the mining of many of these materials can also raise ethical and environmental concerns.

Currently, there are very few lithium-ion battery recycling centres, due in part to lithium-ion batteries being both costly and difficult to recycle. According to some estimates, the current recycle rate is less than 5%. According to a recent Wired article, “While you can re-use most parts in EVs, the batteries aren’t designed to be recycled or reused.” And if the batteries are disposed into landfill sites, the battery metals can contaminate both water and soil.

Source: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/battery-recycling-market

 

The Size of the Problem

  • Global stock of electric vehicles (EVs) could reach 245 million units by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.
  • While EVs emit less CO2, their batteries are tough to recycle.
  • Ming cobalt, lithium, and nickel can raise ethical and environmental concerns.
  • Creating a circular supply chain by recycling the batteries’ raw materials will be vital in reducing their environmental impact.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/electric-vehicle-battery-recycling-circular-economy/

Lithium-ion batteries are also used for 90% of grid energy storage around the world, especially for wind and solar energy. Initiatives such as the EU’s plan to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas by two-thirds, which relies in part on accelerated generation of renewable energy, will significantly increase demand for battery storage.

Source: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/the-lithium-supply-crunch-doesnt-have-to-stall-electric-cars

The sustainable supply of battery metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper is a decisive factor for the success of electro mobility and clean technologies. The current targets set by governments at home and abroad for the switch to EVs and clean technology leaves recycling and reuse of batteries as the only practical step available to meet demand based on current forecasts for sourcing new battery metal production hubs. This circular economy for batteries can only be realised if—in contrast to the current situation with many consumer goods—there is a global network to collect spent batteries allied to large scale, high-quality recycling facilities.

 

Does the UK offer practical battery metal / clean-tech project opportunities?

Accelerating the shift to zero-emission vehicles is a key element if the 68% reduction in carbon emissions targeted by the Government by 2030 is to be achieved. The UK’s EV market is growing rapidly, with EV registrations increasing by approximately 173% from 2019 to 2020.

Current projections state that approximately 1.4 million EV battery packs will be coming to the end of their “useful life” every year by 2040. This roughly equates to 203,000 tons of batteries for recycling annually (based on a 60% recycling rate) at that point.

The UK currently lacks industrial capacity for lithium-ion battery recycling, resulting in the current costly reliance on mainland Europe when supplying batteries for material recovery after their useful life. With the average value of materials contained in an end-of-life automotive pack in 2018 being £1,200 for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and £260 for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), there is a huge opportunity in the UK to recycle lithium-ion batteries.

Source: https://hvm.catapult.org.uk/news/automotive-battery-recycling-an-opportunity-the-uk-cant-afford-to-miss/#

Technology Minerals Chairman Robin Brundle comments; “The automotive sector is doing its part to pivot to all-electric, but it needs an effective and competitive ecosystem that will be largely self-sustaining, with job creation, skillset expansion and support for COP27 goals, both domestically and abroad, coming to the fore. This way, our automotive industry will continue to advance our extraordinary UK R&D and engineering skillsets so that they are fit for purpose well into the next sustainable decade.  Recycling is forecast to only be able to provide 22% of the supply that’s needed to power the transition. 78% will need to be extracted or brought in from elsewhere and each continent is facing this challenge – with many places creating barriers to export.”

 

Right Under Our Feet?

The UK has a rich history of mining, yet exploration and mine development have been neglected since WWII, with no new metalliferous mine being successfully built for 45 years.

Large-scale mining and modern processing can extract minerals that were not previously economic, safely, and with improved protection of the environment and community. New deposits could be found near old, narrow-veined, high-grade mines or in unexplored areas. Modern environmental controls, surveys, management, and remediation techniques can ensure that mineral production limits environment impact.

Technology Minerals Chairman Robin Brundle points out that the markets are very much aware that recycling alone will not generate sufficient raw materials and believes an ethical mining programme is critical: “We were once a prolific mining nation and those mines are still there – dormant, but in 2022, many appear to be economic once again due to the advancement in technology and commodity prices.”

Some steps have already been taken in this direction. After listing on London’s AIM market, Cornish Lithium #CUSN has assembled a large portfolio of mineral rights in Cornwall and has begun exploration for lithium-rich geothermal fluids.

 

Gigafactory Investment is Coming to the UK

There is progress in at least one area of the electro mobility and clean-tech supply chain: the British government is in talks with several companies to build gigafactories in the UK. Envision AESC has announced a new gigafactory next to its facility in Sunderland, while AMTE Power has also announced plans for a megafactory in Dundee. Further gigafactory and several supply chain announcements are expected in the coming months.
These developments are vital in maintaining a strong and prosperous automotive industry in the UK. On top of the global challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the rising costs of living, the challenges facing the UK automotive industry are very real and specific. 

“We all need not one but several gigafactories in the UK,” said Brundle. “Not having the ability to create batteries at home puts the future of the UK automotive sector in jeopardy—and the 823,000 direct and indirect jobs that go with it.  We need to secure more lithium for the UK and Europe, to create a flexible, sustainable supply chain that could also include developing domestic sources of key battery metals.”

 

How the Macro Backdrop and Supply Squeeze Will Make Recycling Increasingly Important

The Committee for Climate Change has suggested that 50% of new car and van sales would be battery electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035. Bringing forward deadlines for zero emission vehicles means we are now looking at 100% of new cars and vans being zero emission at the tailpipe by 2035.

The supply crunch will not hit immediately. Even though the price of lithium has surged more than tenfold over the past two years, there’s enough capacity to meet anticipated demand until around 2025—and potentially through 2030 if enough recycling operations come online. After that, chronic shortages are expected. Even assuming that all the new lithium-mining projects that the industry currently regards as probable or possible resources go into operation, as well as a significant expansion of lithium-recycling projects, lithium supply in 2030 is expected to fall around 4% short of projected demand, or by around 100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (the processed form of raw lithium). By 2035, that supply gap is projected to be acute—at least 1.1 million metric tons, or 24% less than demand.

 

Source: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/the-lithium-supply-crunch-doesnt-have-to-stall-electric-cars

It is more vital than ever that metals are recycled responsibly and effectively. This will:

  • Contribute to the conservation of raw materials, complementing the primary supply of important and partially critical metals for our society.
  • Significantly improve supply security, especially for many technology metals which currently are imported from outside Europe. Many metal imports derive from regions with higher geopolitical risks, hence making the European economy vulnerable to supply disruptions. Exploiting the European “urban mine” built from our end-of-life (EoL) products, infrastructure, and other residue streams reduces import dependence, improves the resilience of crucial value chains, and hence supports economic activities and jobs in Europe. The need for more supply chain resilience has become even more obvious in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.
  • Contribute to cushion volatile metal prices as the additional supply of recycled metals can help to overcome demand–supply imbalances and increases the number of metal sources beyond the primary producers.
  • Reduce the CO2 footprint and overall environmental impact of raw materials supply. If taking place in state-of-the-art recycling facilities, in most cases the energy efficiency (per kg of metal) is better and the impact on water, air, soil, and biosphere is considerably lower than in mining operations. The main reason for this is that the metal concentration in most products is much higher than in geological deposits.
  • Be one pillar of responsible sourcing by providing transparent and clean supply chains.
  • Protect the environment as non-recycling or landfilling of end-of-life products, such as batteries, can emit hazardous substances.

 

How the Technology Minerals #TM1 Blueprint for Lithium-ion and Lead-acid Battery Recycling Will Be a Vital Part of the Supply Chain

The battery recycling market is growing at an accelerated rate, driven by automotive and industrial sectors transitioning to more environmentally friendly and sustainable electric solutions. The UK needs industrial-scale battery recycling technologies. There is currently no major UK capability to recycle lithium-ion batteries. Technology Minerals’ plants in Tipton and Wolverhampton aim to provide a national capability to recycle lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. As a first-mover in the battery recycling sector, the company expects to open 10 plants over the next six years, with its innovative IP in the lithium-ion sector a driving factor in the expansion strategy.

Technology Minerals has developed a unique frontend process that can safely break open Li-ion batteries which are not suitable for repurposing, to recover the battery mineral rich ‘black mass’ they contain as well as other battery components. This is the only process currently capable of handling all five li-ion battery compositions simultaneously on an industrial scale. The solution is also modular and can be easily built on-site at OEMs, minimising transportation costs.Technology Minerals has also developed a significantly improved process to recover the lead from end-of-life lead-acid batteries as well as recovering the acid for re-use as electrolyte or for the manufacture of fertiliser or gypsum, subject to the preferred economics.

 

Conclusion

As the world races to decarbonise, industry needs a secure source of critical minerals to fuel the transition. Brundle said, “The only ways this can be achieved is creating new mines, opening old mines, and building a secondary source of supply through recycling.”

It is necessary to dramatically escalate new production of battery metals to allow industry to make the green switch. This must be coupled with the implementation of a circular ecosystem so that each mineral mined is used to its full potential. The urgency and scale of the transition means that nothing less than a maximal approach will suffice.

On the strategic level, there are two temporal considerations. Brundle explained, “We have a very narrow window of opportunity so there is a necessity to take action to avert the incoming supply crunch in the short-term, but there is also a longer-term need to create a sustainable, circular ecosystem for battery metals.” Urgent action is required to avoid the immediate shortfall of supply, but there is also a wider structural shift to circularity needed to ensure a decarbonised economy can continue to grow sustainably.

 

#KAV Kavango Resources plc – KCB – CSAMT breakthrough

Botswana focussed metals exploration company Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV) is pleased to announce an important breakthrough in its use of Controlled-Source Audio Magnetotelluric (“CSAMT”) surveys as an exploration tool in the Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”).

Over the last 12 months Kavango has refined and calibrated its use of CSAMT, across its project portfolio. The Company has now completed a programme of CSAMT surveys on KCB prospecting licence PL082/2018 (announced >>> 12 October 2022).

Line 4A is the longest line of CSAMT on PL082/2018 and extended beyond the licence boundary to the southeast, onto ground that hosts the Kronos occurrence (the “Line 4A Survey”) with the permission of holder Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR).  As Kronos is known to lie at the D’Kar/Ngwako contact zone, Kavango’s objective was to use this occurrence as a calibration point of known geology. The goal is to confirm the D’Kar/Ngwako Pan contact signature in the CSAMT data and then extrapolate this onto PL082/2018. This formational contact is recognised as the primary regional control of copper/silver mineralisation across the KCB.

Initial results of inversions of the CSAMT data from the Line 4A Survey appear to provide high quality vertical resistivity sections that identify sedimentary strata with good resolution, down to 4000m depth. This far exceeds expectations. Previously, at the Company’s Kalahari Suture Zone and Ditau projects, Kavango had achieved detailed resolution of sedimentary strata down to roughly 1000m depth. As such, the Company believes it has achieved a significant breakthrough in its proprietary application of CSAMT technology in the KCB.

If drilling demonstrates that Kavango can accurately map the D’Kar/Ngwako Pan contact from surface, using CSAMT, the Company believes this should substantially enhance its exploration programme in the KCB.

Further updates will be made, as Kavango interprets and analyses inversions of data taken from the lines 3, 4A, 6A and 8 surveys. The Company intends to use these results to calibrate its future use of CSAMT and enhance the ongoing drill programme on licence PL082/2018, which is targeting copper/silver mineralisation.

Jeremy S. Brett, Senior Geophysicist at Kavango Resources, commented:

CSAMT applied to the Kalahari Copper Belt is showing impressive promise as a geophysical tool to detect the primary bedding and secondary brittle controls that are well known to control mineralization in the belt. 

This method provides the detection of structure in vertical section and meshes well with the regional folding and faulting that can be interpreted very well from aeromagnetic surveys. 

The combination appears to be very powerful for exploration targeting, and Kavango hopes to prove this via diamond drilling.

Further information in respect of the Company 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

bturney@kavangoresources.com

First Equity (Joint Broker)

+44 207 374 2212

Jason Robertson

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)

+44 1483 413500

Nick Emerson

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’.

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geophysics have been read and approved by Mr. Jeremy S. Brett, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Geophysical Consultant, Jeremy S. Brett International Consulting Ltd. in Toronto, Canada.  Mr. Brett is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society, and the Society of Economic Geologists.  Mr. Brett has sufficient experience that is relevant to geophysics applied to the styles of mineralization and types of deposits under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined under the Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

#TYM Tertiary Minerals plc -Update -Copper Projects, Zambia

Tertiary Minerals plc is pleased to announce that it’s local partner and licence holder Mwashia Resources Ltd (“Mwashia”) has now received approval of Environmental Project Briefs (“EPBs”) from the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (“ZEMA”) for the Konkola West and Lubuila Copper Projects where the Company is earning up to a 90% interest.

The Company is also providing a project update for the Mukai and Mushima North Projects following a preliminary data review and first meetings with global copper producer First Quantum Minerals Ltd (“FQM”) with whom the Company has a data sharing and technical cooperation agreement (the “Data Sharing and Technical Cooperation Agreement”) .

Key Points:

EPB Approvals

·    ZEMA has now approved EPBs for the Konkola West & Lubuila Licences.

 

·    The approval process for the Mukai & Mushima North Project EPBs is at an advanced stage.

 

·    EPB approval is required before exploration can take place.

Project Updates

·    Initial prospectivity reviews completed by consultant Remote Exploration Services (RES) of South Africa, based on historical data.

 

·    First meetings held with FQM under the Data Sharing and Technical Cooperation Agreement. Data transfer from FQM to the Company is currently in progress.

 

·    Exploration targeting underway with initial priority areas already defined by RES at:

 

Ø Mukai, where the host stratigraphy for FQMs nearby Enterprise Nickel Mine and giant Sentinel Copper Mine can be traced into the Mukai Licence where there are both copper and nickel geochemical anomalies.

 

Ø Mushima North, where historical drilling in the 1960s encountered wide zones of low-grade copper-sulphide mineralisation and which is prospective for iron-oxide-copper-gold (“IOCG”) deposits.

Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said:

I am delighted to report that, following a recent series of positive updates for the Jacks Copper Project in Zambia where we have now earned a 90% interest, the necessary EPBs are now starting to be issued for the other Zambian projects where we have similar earn-in rights.

I am also pleased and excited to be reporting progress in our data sharing and technical cooperation agreement with FQM along with the definition of several exploration targets from a desktop study of historical exploration results commissioned with RES prior to our agreement with FQM.

 

For more information please contact:

Tertiary Minerals plc:

Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman

+44 (0) 1625 838 679        

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Nominated Adviser and Broker

Richard Morrison

+44 (0) 203 470 0470

Caroline Rowe

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Joint Broker

Lucy Williams

+ 44 (0) 207 469 0930

Duncan Vasey

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

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 which forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (‘MAR’). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service (‘RIS’), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Additional Information

Background

Tertiary is exploring in Zambia through its local subsidiary Tertiary Minerals (Zambia) Limited (“TMZ”) which is 96% owned by Tertiary Minerals plc. TMZ now holds 90% of the Jacks Copper Project with the remaining 10% held by local company and licence holder Mwashia Resources Ltd (“Mwashia”). TMZ holds an option to purchase Mwashia’s 10% interest in the Jacks exploration licence for US$3.5 million at any time.

TMZ also holds options to earn up to a 90% interest in four other licences held by Mwashia, namely the Mukai, Mushima North, Lubuila and Konkola West exploration licences.  Further details of Tertiary’s agreements with Mwashia are given in the Company’s news releases of 2 August 2021 and 18 November 2021.

The Mukai and Mushima North licences are covered by a Data Sharing and Technical Cooperation Agreement with First Quantum Minerals Limited (“FQM”). Further details of the Agreement can be found in in the Company’s news release of 15 September 2022.

EPB Approvals

Before exploration can be carried out on a licence in Zambia, an Environmental Project Brief (“EPB”) must be submitted for approval by the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (“ZEMA”).  

An approved EPB is already in place for the Jacks Copper Project and Mwashia has now advised that EPBs have been approved for the Lubuila and Konkola West Licences and that the process for EPB approvals for Mukai and Mushima North is at an advanced stage within ZEMA.

Project Updates

The Company and FQM have now held their first meeting and data transfer is underway from FQM’s proprietary regional exploration programmes that included the Mukai and Mushima North project areas. This includes extensive geological, geophysical and geochemical data.

Prior to reaching its agreement with FQM the Company had commissioned South African company Remote Exploration Services (“RES”) to conduct a desktop study on the exploration history and prospectivity of the four Mwashia licences held under option.

The following information is intended as a preliminary update of the prospectivity of the two licences that are covered by the FQM agreement and is based on the earlier RES project review which has already defined priority targets. Target generation is ongoing and will incorporate the FQM data. The Company aims to be in a position to commence field exploration as soon as possible.

Mukai Copper Project, 27066-HQ-LEL

Exploration Licence 27066-HQ-LEL covers 55.4 sq. km. and is located 125km west of Solwezi in the north-western Province of Zambia. Geologically it is in the Domes Region of the Central African Copperbelt and it encompasses Lower Roan Group rocks on the southern flank of the highly prospective Kabompo Dome.

The licence is directly adjacent to FQM’s Trident Project licences which includes the recently opened Enterprise Nickel Mine and the giant producing Sentinel (Kalumbila) Copper Mine, located 8km south and 18km southeast of the licence, respectively. FQM has invested US$2.1 billion in the Sentinel copper mine where the plant has the capacity to treat 55 million tonnes of ore per annum.

Enterprise is a sediment-hosted nickel-sulphide deposit with a total measured and indicated resource of 40 million tonnes of ore containing 431,000 tonnes of nickel from which FQM envisages processing some 4 million tonnes per year of nickel ore making Enterprise the largest nickel mine in Africa.

Just west of Mukai is Arc Minerals Ltd.’s Zambia Copper-Cobalt Project where Anglo American plc has the option to earn a 70% interest from Arc Minerals through expenditure of US$88.5 million including US$14.5 million in cash payments to Arc Minerals.

Historic exploration in the Mukai licence area has been carried out for copper by Roan Selection Trust (“RST”) in the 1960s, for uranium by Agip in the 1980s, and by an Equinox- Anglo American JV (“Zamanglo”) in the early 2000s. Most of this work was of a regional nature comprising stream sediment sampling and soil sampling.

To date, FQM has provided Tertiary with licence-wide geophysical data including magnetic data, radiometric data and electromagnetic data. FQM’s mapping, in part based on this data, has traced the Enterprise and Sentinel host rocks into the Mukai Licence where they occur in similar proximity to the deep seated Kalumbia Fault Zone.

A copper soil anomaly was identified within the Mukai licence by RST in the 1960s close to the boundary with FQM’s licences and is seen to continue into FQM’s adjacent licence as a copper and copper:scandium anomaly (high copper:scandium ratios are seen as an indicator of copper sulphide mineralisation as opposed to enhanced background level of copper in the rock). This is a high priority target for follow-up exploration.

Nickel anomalies have also been identified in the licence area, in soils by Zamanglo and in stream sediments by the Zambian Geological Survey. Data interpretation and targeting is ongoing.

The Mukai Licence contains an area of designated forest, which, although affording a higher level of environmental protection, does not exclude exploration or mining.

Mushima North Copper Project, 27068-HQ-LEL

Exploration Licence 27068-HQ-LEL covers 701.3 sq. km. and is located 100km east of Manyinga.

The licence encompasses basement rocks outside of the traditional Copper Belt and the region is a focus of exploration for copper-gold in so called Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (“IOCG”) deposits, best exemplified by the giant Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium deposit in South Australia.

The past producing Kalengwa Copper Mine is situated approximately 20km west of the licence and is believed to be one of the highest-grade copper deposits ever mined in Zambia. In the 1970s high grade ore in excess of 26% copper, making up approximately 20% of the orebody, was trucked for direct smelting at Copper Belt mines.

Historical exploration at Mushima North has been carried out by RST in the 1960s, African  Minerals Corporation in the early 2000s and by BHP Group Limited later in the 2000s. BHP flew their proprietary Falcon gravity gradiometer over the licence area, defining geological structures and targets for further exploration.

Historical exploration has focused on the eastern margin of a series of syenitic-granitic intrusives. A number of historic copper prospects occur within the licence and soil anomalies have been identified in RST soil sampling programmes in the 1960’s. One of these anomalies was followed up with a 154m deep drill hole, RKN 800, which intersected pyritic siltstone and sandstone containing chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) in association with calcite veins. Sampling of drill cores was very rudimentary with random samples taken at the end of each core run. Nevertheless, copper values were anomalous throughout with many samples grading more than 0.3% copper (0.3% being the upper limit on the graphical scale of analytical results presented with the drill log). This is an immediate target for follow-up exploration.

FQM has so far provided the Company with airborne magnetic and VTEM electromagnetic survey data for the Mushima North licence. This data will be processed with a view to additional target generation and data compilation and reviews are ongoing.

#GRX GreenX Metals Limited- Result of AGM

GreenX Metals Limited (GreenX or the Company) advises, that the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company was held today, 16 November 2022, at 10.00am (AWST).

The resolutions voted on were in accordance with the Notice of AGM previously advised to shareholders.

All resolutions were decided on and carried by way of a poll.

In accordance with Section 251AA of the Corporations Act 2001 and ASX Listing Rule 3.13.2, the details of the poll and the proxies received in respect of each resolution are set out over page.

The Company has also released a new Constitution which will be available to view at www.greenxmetals.com.

 

For further information please contact:

Dylan Browne                                                                                             

Company Secretary

+61 8 9322 6322                                                                                                                                

info@greenxmetals.com

 

Resolution

Number of Proxy Votes

Number of Votes cast on the Poll

Result

For

Against

Abstain

Proxy’s Discretion

For

Against

Abstain

1.    Remuneration Report

3,645,078

6,500

15,062,316

25,000

3,670,078
(99.
8%)

6,500
(0.0
2%)

15,062,316

Carried on vote by poll

2.    Re-election of Mr Mark Pearce as a Director

18,711,578

2,316

25,000

18,736,578
(100%)


(0%)

2,316

Carried on vote by poll

3.    Adoption of New Constitution

18,711,578

2,316

25,000

18,736,578
(
100%)


(
0%)

2,316

Carried on vote by poll

4.    Approval of Additional 10% Placement Capacity

18,511,578

200,000

2,316

25,000

18,536,578
(9
9%)

200,000
(
1%)

2,316

Carried on vote by poll

 

#GRX GreenX Metals Limited – Quarterly Activities Report September 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

·      GreenX continued with its exploration work program to acquire up to 80% of the ARC copper project in Greenland:

 ARC is a significant, large-scale project (5,774km2 license area) with historical exploration results and recent analysis indicative of an extensive mineral system with potential to host world-class copper deposits.

 In August 2022, laboratory XRF analysis of native copper samples from ARC showed high purity consistently over 99% copper. Analysis also confirmed the presence of silver in one sample, and no significant deleterious elements in any of the samples.

 Despite adverse weather and ice conditions in Greenland affecting access to ARC during 2022, a site visit was made and limited samples were collected. GreenX was able to deliver the key exploration equipment into Greenland which should result in better efficiencies in the next field season.

 Results for the 2022 site visit to be released in the coming weeks.

·      International arbitration claims against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty continue at pace:

 Statement of Reply for ongoing arbitration against Poland has been filed with a revised claim for compensation in the amount of £737 million (A$1.3 billion/PLN 4.0 billion) as prepared by external quantum experts.

 Claim includes an updated assessment of the value of GreenX’s lost profits and damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko mines, and accrued interest related to any damages.

 Following the lodgement of final substantive filings from both parties subsequent to the end of the quarter, the next step in the arbitration process is for the hearing to be conducted in front of the Tribunal.

 GreenX notes the recent success of AIM listed, Rockhopper Exploration plc’s Energy Charter Treaty claim against the Republic of Italy in relation to oil and gas licenses including a unanimous decision against the Republic of Italy to award €190 million in damages plus interest.

·      Cash balance at 30 September 2022 of A$4.2 million to fund activities at ARC plus A$7.4 million available under the litigation funding facility to continue pursuing GreenX’s dispute against the Republic of Poland.

 

GreenX Metals Limited (ASX:GRX, LSE:GRX) (GreenX or the Company) is pleased to present its Quarterly Activities Report for the period during and subsequent to 30 September 2022.

LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL SAMPLES FROM ARC CONFIRMS UP TO 99.8% PURE NATIVE COPPER

During the quarter, GreenX and its joint-venture (JV) partner Greenfields Exploration Ltd (Greenfields) announced the results of preliminary analysis on three historical samples of native copper nodules from the ARC Project (ARC or the Project) in Greenland. The samples were obtained from a recently opened government geological storage facility in Copenhagen. Three native copper samples found at Discovery Zone, Neergaard Dal, and Neergaard South within ARC were subject to advanced micro-XRF scanning, a more precise and comprehensive technology when compared to more common portable XRFs.

The best analysis result was for a sample found immediately south of the Discovery Zone, which indicated median copper purity of 99.8%, with 255 g/t silver, 0.004% antimony and 0.000% arsenic.

The samples from Neergard Dal and Neergard South indicated copper purity of 99.7% and 99.4% respectively, with low to no deleterious elements detected in any of the samples. The high quality of the analysed samples is comparable to blister copper, a product typically produced by smelting prior to being sent to a refinery.

The results of the micro-XRF analysis are supportive of the potential quality of the mineralisation at ARC and will inform future field programs which will incorporate geochemical sampling, portable core drilling, and geophysics at high-priority targets within ARC. The Discovery Zone, where the highest-purity analysed sample was recovered, is the highest priority exploration target.

Despite adverse weather and ice conditions in Greenland affecting access to ARC during 2022, a site visit was made and limited samples were collected. GreenX was able to deliver the key exploration equipment into Greenland which should result in better efficiencies in the next field season.

ABOUT ARC

ARC is an exploration joint venture between GreenX and Greenfields. GreenX can earn 80% of ARC by spending A$10 million by October 2026. ARC is targeting large scale copper in multiple settings across a 5,774 km2 Special Exploration Licence in eastern North Greenland. The area has been historically underexplored yet is prospective for copper, forming part of the newly identified Kiffaanngissuseq metallogenic province.

GreenX and GEX consider the observed geological setting and features of ARC to be indicative of an extensive mineral system capable of hosting world-class copper deposits. The large scale of the mineral system, widespread copper anomalism, combined with dual mineralising events are analogous to the largest copper systems known worldwide. Accordingly, GreenX considers that ARC has the potential to be a globally significant metallogenic province.

Historical field programs identified widespread copper-silver occurrences at surface:

·      geochemical sampling found that 80% of stream sediment samples contain native copper

·      native copper is found in situ or as float, with individual clasts of native copper weighing up to 1 kg+

·      high grade copper sulphides, grading up to 2.15% Cu and 35.5g/t Ag over 4.5m true width, are known from trench sampling of fault zones within sediments (see GreenX announcement dated 20 January 2022 entitled “New Copper Targets Identified at ARC”)

·      assay results from individual samples are much higher grade, including: 

 53.8% Cu and 2,480g/t Ag

 7.9% Cu and   53 g/t Ag

 20.7% Cu and 488g/t Ag

 5.3% Cu and 112 g/t Ag

 12.5% Cu and 385g/t Ag

 5.0% Cu and 304 g/t Ag

 9.0% Cu and 112 g/t Ag

 4.0% Cu and   82 g/t Ag

 

Very high-grade copper mineralisation identified at ARC is associated with the Minik Anomaly, a coincident magnetic-electromagnetic-gravity feature in an area where there is a change in oxidation state and widespread native copper in stream sediments. These features are presented as the footprint of a large-scale hydrothermal system.
The frequency and size of the native copper clasts, and the high grade of the copper-silver sulphides that are exposed at the surface, bode well for the prospectivity of copper deposits and will be a will be a key focus of the first field campaign.

There are multiple targets and favourable geological settings considered to be prospective within the ARC project area, including the following.

·      The highly anomalous basalt is a high priority target that has not previously been the focus of commercial exploration.  These basalts are the source of the native copper.

·      The sulphide mineralised faults passing through these basalts into the overlying sediments have been subject to first pass exploration and shown to be rich in copper and silver. The high-grade sulphides in these faults will be the focus of further exploration.

·      The permeable coarse-grained sandstone within the Jyske Ås Fm has high grade copper that is effectively unexplored. This stratiform mineralisation adds the potential for significant lateral extension of the known mineralisation exposed in the faults of the Discovery Zone. 

As such, the extensive ARC mineral system is known to be prospective for basalt, fault, and sedimentary rock-hosted (‘sediment-hosted’) mineralisation that despite the attractive grades, is virtually unexplored.

CORPORATE

Financial Position

As at 30 September 2022, GreenX had A$4.2 million to fund activities at ARC plus A$7.4 million available under the litigation funding facility to continue pursuing GreenX’s dispute against the Republic of Poland.

DISPUTE WITH POLISH GOVERNMENT

During the quarter, the Company reported that as part of the ongoing international arbitration claims (Claim) against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) (together the Treaties), GreenX had filed its Statement of Reply in the BIT arbitration.

This is the final material filing that GreenX has made for the BIT arbitration, with the next step in the arbitration process, following the lodgement of Poland’s Rejoinder, is for the hearing to be conducted in front of the Tribunal.

Based upon revised external expert reports in response to Poland’s Statement of Defence, GreenX is now seeking compensation in the amount of £737 million (equivalent to A$1.3 billion or PLN 4.0 billion).

Details of the Claim

The Company’s Claim against the Republic of Poland is being prosecuted through an established and enforceable legal framework, with GreenX and Poland agreeing to apply the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Rules (UNCITRAL) rules to the proceedings.

The claim Tribunals have been constituted, with both Claims being registered with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. The BIT and ECT claim proceedings proceed at pace, with the Company now having filed a revised claim for damages against Poland with the Tribunal in the amount of £737 million (A$1.3 billion/PLN4.0 billion), which includes damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko projects, and accrued interest related to any damages. The Claim for damages has been assessed by external quantum experts appointed by GreenX specifically for the purposes of the Claim.

In July 2020, the Company announced it had executed a Litigation Funding Agreement (LFA) for US$12.3 million with Litigation Capital Management (LCM). The facility is currently being drawn down to cover legal, tribunal and external expert costs as well as defined operating expenses associated with the Claim. The LFA is a limited recourse loan with LCM that is on a “no win – no fee” basis.

In September 2020, GreenX announced that it had formally commenced with the Claim by serving the Notices of Arbitration against the Republic of Poland. In June 2021, GreenX announced that it had formally lodged its Statement of Claim in the BIT arbitration, including the first assessed claim for compensation. The Company’s Statement of Reply, the last significant filing to be made by the Company, has now been filed in both Arbitrations. The Statement of Reply addresses various points raised by the Republic of Poland in their Statement of Defence. The Statement of Reply also contains a re-evaluation of the claim for damages based on responses to Poland’s Statement of Defence.

GreenX’s dispute alleges that the Republic of Poland has breached its obligations under the applicable Treaties through its actions to block the development of the Company’s Jan Karski and Debiensko projects in Poland which effectively deprives GreenX of the entire value of its investments in Poland.

In February 2019, GreenX formally notified the Polish Government that there exists an investment dispute between GreenX and the Polish Government. GreenX’s notification called for prompt negotiations with the Government to amicably resolve the dispute and indicated GreenX’s right to submit the dispute to international arbitration in the event of the dispute not being resolved amicably. As of the date of this report, no amicable resolution of the dispute has occurred, since the Polish Government has declined to participate in discussions related to the dispute and accordingly the Company has formally proceeded with its Claim as discussed above.

GreenX’s investment dispute with the Republic of Poland is not unique, with international media widely reporting that the political environment and investment climate in Poland has deteriorated since the change in Government in 2015. As a result, there are a significant number of International Arbitration claims being bought against Poland.

Furthermore, GreenX notes the recent success of AIM listed Rockhopper Exploration plc’s (Rockhopper) ECT claim against the Republic of Italy in relation to oil and gas licenses.

On 24 August 2022, Rockhopper announced that an ECT arbitration panel had reached a unanimous decision against the Republic of Italy to award Rockhopper €190 million in damages plus interest at EURIBOR +4% compounded annually from 2016 until the time of payment.

All costs associated with the Rockhopper arbitration were funded on a non-recourse (“no win – no fee”) basis from a specialist arbitration funder, similar to GreenX’s litigation funding arrangements. After payments due to the arbitration funder, Rockhopper expects to retain approximately 80% of the award.

 

#KAV Kavango Resources Plc – KCB Drilling Update

Botswana focussed metals exploration company Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV) (“Kavango”) is pleased to announce an operational update from the Company’s  Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”) project area.

Following interpretation of results from the ongoing Controlled Source Audio Magnetotelluric (“CSAMT”) surveys (announced >>> 12 October 2022), Kavango’s exploration team has decided to complete the holes in the current drill campaign at PL082/2018 using diamond drilling. Each hole will now first be drilled with a reverse circulation ‘pre collar’ and then completed with a diamond ‘tail’.

The multipurpose rig can be used for both reverse circulation and diamond drilling equipment. The latter is now being mobilised to site.

Diamond drilling will enable Kavango to test properly the interpretation of the CSAMT data to target depth and retrieve drill core samples to evaluate the target lithology, structure, alteration, geochemistry and mineralization.

Hole KCBRC001 has been pre-collared to 153m using reverse circulation drilling and the multipurpose rig has been moved to the site of Hole KCBRC002.

KCBRC002 will test the Northern Zone target, which is an 8km long soil sampling copper anomaly that coincides with the edge of a magnetic high, which Kavango believes could represent a fault.

Kavango has interpreted the CSAMT inversion over KCBRC001 & KCBRC002 to indicate the presence of the crucial D’Kar/Ngwako Pan formational contact within 150m-300m of surface. This formational contact is the primary control for economic copper-silver deposits across the Kalahari Copper Belt. Kavango is keen to test its interpretation of the CSAMT results with diamond drilling to (i) prove that the inverted CSAMT data is effective in identifying the D’kar/Ngwako Pan contact, (ii) to verify interpreted fault structures, and (iii) determine if these targets are mineralized.

Jeremy S. Brett, Senior Geophysical Consultant to Kavango Resources, commented:

The CSAMT survey is providing a potential breakthrough in the Kalahari Copper Belt for Kavango. We are fortunate to be able to test this immediately with drilling. 

The CSAMT data over 3 test lines has been inverted and interpreted to show the contact between the D’Kar and Ngwako Pan formations, which is the main target horizon in the KCB. 

A very high degree of resolution has been achieved with the inversions on the known folding in the belt, and has verified Kavango’s hypotheses on variable wavelengths of the folds and brittle fault accomodations within the fold patterns to accomdate strain.  The faults are postulated to have acted as conduits for mineralizing fluids, that could host deposits where they intersect the D’Kar / Ngwako Pan contact.

The results from the CSAMT inversions are providing us with estimated depths for the D’Kar / Ngwako Pan contact in the range of 150m to 300m from surface.  This has led to the decision to switch to diamond drilling, in order to reach target depths with confidence and return drillcore for analyses.

Next Steps:

The northernmost CSAMT Line 4A is currently completed on Kavango’s ground and the geophysical team is ready to deploy across the part of Sandfire’s ground that hosts the Kronos deposit.  This calibration point for the CSAMT survey is expected to confirm the signature for the D’Kar / Ngwako Pan contact.

Kavango had mobilised a multipurpose rig to give maximum operational flexibility as the drill campaign progressed. The ability to switch between reverse circulation and diamond core drilling is a strength of this programme and the Company is now able to take full advantage of this. The results of the CSAMT survey necessitate the switch to diamond drill core in order to test the interpreted contact between the D’Kar and Ngwako Pan rocks, which is the critical target horizon in the KCB.

Kavango has now decided to pre-collar its current planned holes on PL082/2018 with cost-effective reverse circulation drilling and then to return to each of them to complete with the diamond tails. The Company’s expectation is that the core samples will provide valuable geological data that confirms the presence of the crucial D’kar/Ngwako Pan formational contact in Kavango’s licence area and, hopefully, copper-silver mineralisation.

Further information in respect of the Company 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

bturney@kavangoresources.com

+46 7697 406 06

First Equity (Joint Broker)

+44 207 374 2212

Jason Robertson              

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                                                                          

+44 1483 413500

Nick Emerson

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’.

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geophysics have been read and approved by Mr. Jeremy S. Brett, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Geophysical Consultant, Jeremy S. Brett International Consulting Ltd. in Toronto, Canada.  Mr. Brett is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society, and the Society of Economic Geologists.  Mr. Brett has sufficient experience that is relevant to geophysics applied to the styles of mineralization and types of deposits under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined under the Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

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