REG - Altona Rare Earths - Operational Update

Altona Rare EarthsAnnouncement

05/07/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0367F  Altona Rare Earths PLC  05 July 2023

5 July 2023

 

 

ALTONA RARE EARTHS PLC

("Altona" or "the Company")

 

 

Monte Muambe Operational Update

 

Altona (LSE: REE), a resource exploration and development company focused on
Rare Earths in Africa, is pleased to provide an operational update on its
Mozambique rare earths project, Monte Muambe, which includes initial
Pre-Feasibility Study in-fill drilling activities.

 

The Monte Muambe camp was re-opened on 3 July 2023 by the operations team
under the direction of Project Manager, Luis Veloso Francisco. Drilling will
resume on or around 15 July and will be carried out by Spartan Drilling
Services Limitada, which has been engaged for the third consecutive season.

 

Drilling will initially focus on:

 

·    In-fill and down-dip drilling at Target 4, which is one of the two
orebodies being included in the maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE").

 

·    Exploration drilling at Target 3, which was discovered by Altona in
2021, but has not yet been explored, and has the potential to increase the
project's resource base for high-grade ore.

 

As referenced in the RNS of 22 June 2023, a number of laboratory assay results
from the 2022 drilling campaign have been returned to the Company from
Intertek's facility in Australia and are being integrated into the database
for the ongoing MRE work. The Board is pleased to report that these results
continue to be consistent with the Company's own preliminary findings, which
were analysed in-situ by pXRF and used in the preparation of the JORC
Exploration Target published in the RNS of 8 August 2022.

 

The Exploration Target included high-grade zones totalling 6.5 million tons at
2.47% TREO to 11.5 million tons at 2.41% TREO. After its publication, the
remainder of the 2022 drilling campaign was focused on on-strike and down-dip
extensions of Target 1's high-grade zone to build the database presently being
used in the preparation of the MRE.

 

Assay Results

 

The table below shows selected significant intercepts from the assay results
received to date and illustrates:

 

·    The correspondence between Altona's pXRF results and Intertek
Laboratory's results (the pXRF results are usually slightly underestimated).

 

·    The range of Magnet Metal concentrations for these intercepts,
expressed as NdPrO for Neodymium and Praseodymium, as Dy(2)O(3) ppm for
Dysprosium, and as Tb(4)O(7) for Terbium.

 

 

 

                                                 Altona pXRF  Intertek Laboratory
 Hole ID  Target Number  From Depth m  Length m  TREO % (1)   TREO % (2)  NdPrO % (3)  Dy(2)O(3) ppm  Tb(4)O(7) ppm
 MM048    Target 4       Surface       32        1.63         1.69        0.23         204            38
 MM059    Target 1       41m           43        3.45         3.52        0.45         74             16
 MM060    Target 1       Surface       38        2.17         2.47        0.40         97             19
 MM062    Target 1       54m           30        2.30         2.65        0.27         78             2
 MM063    Target 1       Surface       52        1.83         2.18        0.21         89             4
 MM096    Target 1       68m           32        2.85         2.78        0.36         67             13
 MM096    Target 1       110m          24        3.10         2.57        0.30         67             5
 MM098    Target 1       12m           108       1.95         2.24        0.33         84             16
 MM099    Target 1       59m           30        2.51         2.60        0.30         60             12
 MM101    Target 1       108m          40        1.57         1.70        0.20         65             12

 

(1)  Sum of La, Ce, Nd, Pr and Y from Altona's pXRF assays, in oxide percent.

(2)  Sum of all rare earth elements including Yttrium from Intertek
laboratory results, expressed in oxide percent.

(3)  Sum of Nd(2)O(3) and Pr(6)O(11) from Intertek laboratory results, in
percent.

 

The Company continues to work towards the publication of its MRE and Scoping
Study, with metallurgical and mineralogical testing also ongoing. The Company
has engaged the services of GeoAmbiante Limitada, a Mozambican environmental
consultant, to cover the environmental and social aspects of the Scoping
Study.

 

Cedric Simonet, CEO of Altona, commented, "We have a very busy second half of
2023 ahead of us, with a number of objectives to achieve; the MRE and Scoping
Study being our immediate focus. Considerable attention will be given to the
metallurgy of Monte Muambe, a key parameter for carbonatite hosted REE
projects.

 

"The 2023 drilling campaign will specifically aim at expanding the high-grade
orebodies in order to increase the resource base. Altona's strategy is to
focus its exploration on high-grade ore  to fast-track the project towards
production and help meet the ever-increasing gap between magnet metals supply
and demand."

 

For more information on Altona and its current mining projects please visit:
www.altonaRE.com (http://www.altonaRE.com)

 

 

Altona Rare Earths Plc

Cedric Simonet,
CEO
+44 (0) 7778 866 108

Christian Taylor-Wilkinson, Business
Development
+44 (0) 7795 168 157

 

Novum Securities Ltd

David
Coffman
+44 (0) 20 7399 9400

Daniel Harris

George Duxberry

 

Optiva Securities
(Broker)
                             +44 (0) 20 3411 1882

Daniel
Ingram

 

Yellow Jersey PR (Financial
PR)
+44 (0) 20 3004 9512

Sarah Hollins

Annabelle Wills

Jazmine Clemens

 

 

About Altona Rare Earths Plc

 

Altona is a resource exploration and development company focused on Rare
Earths in Africa. The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange.

 

Rare Earths are a group of 17 chemical elements, many of which are critical to
the World's on-going transition from carbon-based to renewable energies, and
to the defence and communication sectors.

 

The Company currently focuses on the development of Monte Muambe, its flagship
Magnet Rare Earths Project, located in Northwest Mozambique. The project was
acquired in June 2021, and the Company has so far drilled over 7,000m, to
support its maiden JORC Mineral Resource Statement which will be published in
the Third Quarter of 2023.

 

Altona continues to take advantage of its position in Africa to assess other
possible Rare Earths opportunities on the Continent.

 

For more information visit: www.altonaRE.com (http://www.altonaRE.com)

 

 

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