REG - Alba Mineral Resrcs. - Operational Update

Alba Mineral ResourcesAnnouncement

16/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1489Q  Alba Mineral Resources PLC  16 October 2023

Alba Mineral Resources Plc / EPIC: ALBA / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

16 October 2023

Alba Mineral Resources Plc

("Alba" or the "Company") 

 

 

Operational Update

Clogau Mine and Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project

Alba Mineral Resources Plc (AIM: ALBA) provides the following update regarding
the ongoing operations at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine ("Clogau" or the
"Mine") and across the Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project ("DGEP" or the
"Project") in north Wales.

Key points

Clogau Gold Mine

·     Emergency abstraction ongoing with Lower Llechfraith remaining
fully dewatered down to Level 3, thereby protecting the safety and access
works recently installed there.

 

·     Applications progressing for formal variations to the discharge and
abstraction permits and European Protected Species Licence ("EPSL").

 

·     Acoustic test blasting and sampling to be undertaken in order to
ensure that future exploration activities are within agreed noise levels.

Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project

·     Field exploration undertaken at Caerwych Gold-Base Metal Prospect.

 

·     Airborne geophysical survey now fully permitted by Civil Aviation
Authority ("CAA") and scheduled to commence in w/c 30 October 2023.

Details

Clogau Gold Mine

As announced in the Company's last operational update on 18 September 2023,
the Company has implemented emergency abstraction measures within the
reflooded Lower Llechfraith workings at Clogau in order to safeguard the
safety and access works installed there by the Company.  This ongoing
abstraction exercise has been successful in dewatering the flooded workings
back down to and including Level 3.  The Company intends to continue its
emergency abstraction operations pending the grant of the increased
abstraction and discharge thresholds applied for in August.

While the Company is not yet able to advise of the likely timeline for the
determination of its applications, the Company has responded fully to all
requests received to date from the appointed NRW case officers for both
applications, including submitting a detailed addendum to the previous
Hydrogeological Impact Appraisal ("HIA"). The Company has also submitted an
application for a licence modification to the existing European Protected
Species Licence ("EPSL") to enable the current bat exclusion measures to be
kept in place post 31 October so that, once the workings have been fully
dewatered, the Company may proceed with its envisaged exploration activities
at Level 4 of the Lower Llechfraith workings during the winter period.

Upon obtaining the revised approvals, the Company expects to proceed to a
successful completion of the dewatering process.

Following the dewatering of Level 3 by emergency abstraction, the Company has
accessed Level 3 in order to inspect the safety and access works installed
there and ensure that their integrity has not been compromised by the recent
reflooding. Further, as access to Level 4, the main focus of Alba's future
exploration activities within the Lower Llechfraith workings, has yet to be
secured, the acoustic testwork which the Company has committed to NRW to
carrying out will now be undertaken at Level 3. This will provide the Company
with noise data from activities such as blasting and sampling in order to
ensure that the Company's future exploration activities on Level 4 are within
the noise limits agreed with NRW, with or without further noise mitigation
measures.

Figure 1: Lower Llechfraith workings showing general location of test
activities planned being blasting (red circle) and sampling (yellow polygon).

 

Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project ("DGEP")

Following the grant of the north-west extension to Alba's licence areas over
the DGF in 2021 (see Figure 2, area outlined in red, top left), Alba has
recently conducted follow-up field reconnaissance at the historic Caerwych
mine site, where notable copper grades of up to 2.92 % Cu and structural gold
targets were previously identified.

Historical mining activity is present in the region, with several workings
centred around a series of NE-SW trending structures (Figure 3). Mining
activity has largely been within the Gamlan Formation, underlying the Clogau
Shales, with the focus of historic production being on base metals. Several
samples have been taken by Alba from spoil tips and outcropping veins in order
to confirm historic grades, with the Company now awaiting multi-element assay
results (see Figure 3 for sample locations).

Figure 2: Alba licence areas (red). Regional targets Afon Gain, Hafod Owen
& Caerwych (magenta).

 

The lode at Caerwych showed signs of chalcopyrite mineralisation, particularly
in association with wall-rock contacts with the host sedimentary rocks of the
Lower Gamlan Formation.

The Caerwych lode also lies within a notable topographic lineament that
visibly extends for several kilometres to the NE and is thought to cross
through the Clogau Shales and intrusive units, both critical controls on ore
formation at Clogau St. David's (Figure 3).  Future work at Caerwych is
planned and will focus on tracing this lineament and other sub-parallel NE-SW
structures further NE to where they intersect the Clogau Shales, to assess
whether these structures have the potential to host high-grade gold and base
metal mineralisation.

 

Figure 3: 2023 Caerwych sample locations taken from within Alba licence area
in the Dolgellau Gold Field (red). Caerwych lode mineralisation is associated
with NE-SW structures (black lineaments).

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4: Photos taken from Oct 2023 Caerwych field work: A) Spoil tip located
along NE-SW trending structure; B) Historic Caerwych adit.

 

 

 

 

Regarding the planned geophysical survey by unmanned aerial vehicle (or "UAV")
over some of the Company's key regional gold targets, the CAA has now provided
its formal approval to the survey area.  As a result, the Company's
contractors are preparing to mobilise to start for the commencement of
surveying, subject to weather conditions, in the week commencing 30 October
2023.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for
the release of this announcement.

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.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.albamineralresources.com
(http://www.albamineralresources.com/)  or contact:

 Alba Mineral Resources plc                 +44 20 3950 0725

 George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman
 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)    +44 20 3368 3555

 Andrew Emmott
 CMC Markets plc (Broker)                   +44 (0) 20 3003 8632

 Thomas Smith / Douglas Crippen

 

 Alba's Projects & Investments
 Projects Operated by Alba          Location   Ownership
 Clogau (gold)                      Wales      100%
 Dolgellau Gold Exploration (gold)  Wales      100%
 Gwynfynydd (gold)                  Wales      100%
 Investments Held by Alba           Location   Ownership
 GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining)       Greenland  42.97%
 Horse Hill (oil)                   England    11.765%

 

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