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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’.
#TYM Tertiary Minerals PLC – Chairman’s AGM Statement
I 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: |
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Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman |
+44 (0) 1625 838 679 |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker |
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Richard Morrison |
+44 (0) 203 470 0470 |
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Harry Davies-Ball |
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Peterhouse Capital Limited Joint Broker |
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Lucy Williams |
+ 44 (0) 207 469 0930 |
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Duncan Vasey |
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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 |
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Richard Morrison | +44 (0) 203 470 0470 | |
Harry Davies-Ball | ||
Peterhouse Capital Limited
Joint Broker |
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
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: |
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Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman |
+44 (0) 1625 838 679 |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker |
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Richard Morrison |
+44 (0) 203 470 0470 |
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Caroline Rowe |
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Peterhouse Capital Limited Joint Broker |
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Lucy Williams |
+ 44 (0) 207 469 0930 |
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Duncan Vasey |
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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.
#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.