REG - Alba Mineral Resrcs. - GreenRoc ML Application and Licence Changes

Alba Mineral ResourcesAnnouncement

07/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 2467C  Alba Mineral Resources PLC  07 February 2024

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

 

7 February 2024

 

Alba Mineral Resources Plc

("Alba" or the "Company") 

 

GreenRoc Update

Application Process for Amitsoq Exploitation Licence and Other Licence Changes

 

Alba Mineral Resources Plc (AIM: ALBA) notes the positive RNS today by its
portfolio company, GreenRoc Mining Plc ("GreenRoc"), regarding a modification
to Greenland's mining laws that became effective on 1 January 2024, as a
consequence of which GreenRoc expects to be in a position to apply for an
Exploitation Licence for its flagship Amitsoq Graphite Project in South
Greenland in the first half of 2024.

 

The GreenRoc announcement is set out below without material changes.

 

 

GreenRoc Mining plc

("GreenRoc" or the "Company")

 

Update on Application Process for Amitsoq Exploitation Licence and Other
Licence Changes

 

GreenRoc Mining plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the development of
critical mineral projects in Greenland, announces that, following a
modification to Greenland's mining laws that became effective on 1 January
2024, the Company expects to be in a position to apply for an Exploitation
Licence for its Amitsoq Graphite Project ("Amitsoq") in South Greenland in the
first half of 2024. The Company also announces certain other licence changes
affecting its project portfolio in Greenland.

 

Key Points

·     A change in Greenland's mining laws that became effective on 1
January 2024 is expected to significantly reduce the timeline for GreenRoc to
apply for and obtain an Exploitation Licence for Amitsoq.

·   As such, GreenRoc is now targeting H1 2024 for the filing of its
application for an Exploitation Licence, paving the way to a possible licence
grant before the end of 2024.

·      The prospect of an early Exploitation Licence award is expected
to assist GreenRoc in its endeavours to secure development finance for the
Amitsoq Project.

·      Application has been made to extend GreenRoc's existing
exploration licence package in South Greenland to encompass the last area of
significant graphite mineralisation in proximity to Amitsoq which is not
already under licence to GreenRoc.

·      The exploration licence for the Melville Bay Iron Project has
been surrendered.

 

Details

Amitsoq Exploitation Licence Permitting Process

A change in Greenland's mining laws, effective 1 January 2024, now allows an
Exploitation Licence to be applied for and granted prior to the final approval
of a project's Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA"), Social Impact
Assessment ("SIA") and Impact Benefit Agreement ("IBA"). Previously, an
Exploitation Licence could only be applied for once the lengthy EIA and SIA
processes had been completed and formally approved and an IBA between the
Government of Greenland, GreenRoc and the local Municipality had been
negotiated and signed.

This change, allowing the process for the grant of an Exploitation Licence to
run in parallel with the EIA and SIA processes, rather than having to wait for
the latter to be completed, means that the additional time required to achieve
an Exploitation Licence should be considerably reduced.

Under the new law, provided the holder of an Exploration Licence has
substantiated and delineated a viable mineral deposit which it intends to
exploit, and has complied with its licence obligations, the licence holder
will be entitled to be granted an Exploitation Licence.  Before an
Exploitation Licence can be granted, the licence holder must submit a Project
Description and Scoping Studies  for its EIA and SIA.  Those documents must
then be translated and published for public consultation for at least 35
calendar days. Once the applicant has addressed any pertinent issues raised in
the public consultation, it will then be entitled to the grant of an
Exploitation Licence.

GreenRoc believes this change in the law is likely to shorten the Exploitation
Licence permitting process for the Amitsoq Graphite Project by several months,
given that its has already formally submitted to the Greenland Government both
its draft Project Description for Amitsoq, in December 2023, and its draft EIA
and SIA Scoping Studies, in January 2024.  Further, GreenRoc has also
fulfilled the condition requiring a viable mineral deposit to be substantiated
and delineated at Amitsoq, as supported by the results of the independent
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") published in October 2023.  The
Company will therefore be in a position to submit an application for an
Exploitation Licence once the Project Description and EIA and SIA Scoping
Studies have been approved by the Government and are ready for translation,
and thus prior to the commencement of the public consultation. It is expected,
therefore, that this application will be submitted in the first half of 2024,
paving the way to the possible grant of an Exploitation Licence before the end
of 2024.

Changes to Exploration Portfolio Licences

The Company is also pleased to provide an update on certain licence-related
matters concerning its exploration portfolio in Greenland.

An application has been submitted to expand GreenRoc's exclusive Mineral
Exploration Licence ("MEL") 2022-03 near Nanortalik in South Greenland.
Covering approximately 50km², the expansion area applied for (Figure 1) is
the last remaining area in the vicinity of GreenRoc's existing mineral
exploration licence package in South Greenland which is known to host
significant graphite mineralisation and which is not already under licence to
GreenRoc.

The application area lies due east of Nanortalik and is immediately adjacent
to existing licence area MEL 2022-03. The area includes several historical
recordings of high-grade graphite mineralisation (Figure 2).  The target area
has become open for application due to the surrender of the area by the
previous licence holder in January 2024.

Subject to grant of the licence extension, GreenRoc will hold the exclusive
exploration rights to all prospective ground in the world-class Nanortalik
Graphite District, which hosts the Amitsoq Graphite Mine, the Kalaaq Deposit
and several other high-grade graphite prospects (See RNSs of 8 November 2021
and 11 October 2022).

Finally, in order to consolidate its resources and focus on developing the
Amitsoq Graphite Deposit into a producing mine, the Company has decided to
relinquish its exploration licence MEL 2017-41 in North Greenland,
encompassing the Melville Bay Iron Project. The Company has no outstanding
obligations in respect of the relinquished licence and the relinquishment has
been approved by the Greenland Government.

Figure 1. GreenRoc's exclusive licences MEL 2013-06 (including the Amitsoq
deposit) and MEL 2022-03 and the newly applied for area in light green (which
will form part of MEL 2022-03 upon grant). The red symbols mark the known
occurrences of graphite mineralisation.

Figure 2. Known graphite occurrences (Loc 2 and Loc 7) in the area of the new
licence application, and a geological marker horizon shown as white dotted
lines, as viewed from the north-west (SRK Report, 2015).

GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:

"The changes in the Greenlandic Mineral Law that came into effect on 1 January
2024 are very positive  for GreenRoc. The fact that our application for an
Exploitation Licence can now run in parallel with the Environmental and Social
Impact Assessment studies we are undertaking should significantly shorten the
processing time for the Exploitation Licence. It also futher illustrates
Greenland's commitment to simplifying its mineral administration in order to
establish a solid mineral extractive industry in the country."

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  

George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman
+44 20 3950 0725 

 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)   

Andrew Emmott 
                        +44 20 3368 3555 

CMC Markets plc (Broker)  

Thomas Smith / Douglas Crippen
     +44 20 3003 8632 

 

Alba's Projects and Investments

 Mining 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  37.49%
 Horse Hill (oil)                   England    11.765%

 

 

 

 

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