REG - Aterian PLC - Operational Update: Jafra Project, Morocco

AterianAnnouncement

15/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 2877Z  Aterian PLC  15 May 2023

15 May 2023

 

Operational Update:

High Silver and Base Metal Grades,

Jafra Project, Morocco

 

Aterian Plc

("Aterian" or the "Company")

 

Aterian Plc (LSE: ATN), the critical and strategic metal-focused exploration
and development company, is pleased to announce the results, including 170 g/t
and 159 g/t silver ("Ag"), from initial geological reconnaissance work
completed on the Company's Jafra Project (the "Project"). The Project covers
29 km(2) and is located 35 km northeast of Marrakech within the Marrakech-Safi
Region of the Kingdom of Morocco ("Morocco"). The Project is one of 15 copper,
silver and base metal projects owned by Aterian, covering a total area of 762
km(2) in Morocco, within established current and historic mining districts.

Highlights:

·      Sampling reports high silver and lead grades of 170 g/t Ag, 22.2
% Pb and 157 g/t Ag, 21.2 % Pb.

·    Project hosts a historically mapped lead ("Pb") occurrence, and
several historical workings have been identified.

·      Situated on the eastern margin of a Hercynian-age granite.

·      Located 35 km east of the former Roc Blanc silver mine.

·      The project lies 14 km south of the Company's Jebilet Est Copper
Project.

·      Project located close to good infrastructure.

 

Charles Bray, Chairman of Aterian, commented:

"These preliminary results from the initial reconnaissance at Jafra are very
encouraging with much of the area targeted covered by loose, surface scree
material on the hillside, which obscures visible outcrop. These results
further support our project portfolio's strong and broad potential in Morocco.
Jafra demonstrates the metal diversification of our Moroccan projects and is
well located, close to power and rail links and only 35 km outside Marrakech.
The high silver values supported by very high lead grades are an excellent
starting point for further exploration of the Project. At Aterian, we firmly
believe that our existing asset portfolio has the potential to deliver
tremendous value to the Company, its shareholders and other stakeholders. We
will continue exploring this Project along with the other assets within our
portfolio, which from the work reported thus far, are showing significant
upside potential. I look forward to updating shareholders with the results
from this as well as the other exploration programmes in due course."

 

Project Summary:

The Jafra Project covers 29.0 km(2) and comprises two license blocks in the
western Meseta, north-central Morocco, approximately 36 km northeast of
Marrakech, 35 km east of the former Roc Blanc silver mine, and 32 km from the
rail line to the port of Casablanca. The project is located at the eastern
margin of the pluton within the metamorphic aureole. It hosts a historically
mapped lead occurrence, coincident with apparent former artisanal mining
associated with fault zones and a quartz-carbonate vein system. The Project
lies 14km south of the Company's Jebilet Est Copper Project (an update on this
project was released on 14(th) March 2023). Access to the Project is via
asphalt roads and a network of smaller tracks. The Company holds a 100 %
interest in the project.

 

 

Jafra is located in the highly prospective Jebilet Massif, which comprises
part of the Jebilet-Guemassa Metallogenic Province. The Jebilet Massif
includes deformed Hercynian age basement rocks surrounded by discordant
Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations. The region hosts several base metal VMS
deposits, including the polymetallic Draa Sfar (Zn-Cu-Pb), Hajar
(Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag), Koudiat Aicha (Zn-Pb-Cu), and Kettara (Cu) deposits (note the
mineralisation hosted at these deposits is not necessarily indicative of
mineralisation at Jafra).

 

The project targets the Lower Carboniferous (Namurian) age Sarhelf series and
a Hercynian age pluton, of which the license encompasses the eastern margin.
The metamorphic aureoles of Hercynian age granites are known to host base
metal deposits and occurrences in the region. There is a historically mapped
lead occurrence in the suspected aureole of the granite pluton, which
coincides with former artisanal workings and a reportedly 1.75km
quartz-carbonate veins system.

 

 

Aterian Reconnaissance Exploration Results

Reconnaissance has focussed on two areas within the centre of the project,
where several artisanal workings were identified on El Marassa Hill, a
prominent topographic feature trending across the project. All mapped workings
appear to exploit quartz veins and a fault zone breccia showing visible
sulphide mineralisation. However, several quartz and carbonate veins were
recorded on the western part of the same hill, hosting minor mineralisation.

 

The abandoned artisanal workings are clustered on the ESE-WNW trending ridge
close to the contact between granite rocks to the south and folded
metasedimentary units. The workings are located on the slope of the hill where
the surface scree material obscures the mappable outcrop. Consequently,
exposure of these mineralised structures is limited to shallow workings.
Sulphide mineralisation is observed in situ within the historical workings,
and surface quartz-rich float containing galena is frequently observed in the
old artisanal dumps.

 

However, individual structures can be traced over 100 m along strike from the
workings. Several breccia zones with variable widths up to 3 m have been
identified and are typically composed of roughly parallel quartz-carbonate
veins and breccia. Veins range from 1 to 30 cm wide with a general NE trend,
cross-cutting the metasiltstones.

 

A total of 39 rock chip samples (37 outcrop rock chip samples, one surface
float sample and one surface grab sample collected from a historical mining
dump) have been collected from the Project. From these, 13 samples (33 % of
this batch) reported greater than 10 g/t Ag, with 5 (or 13 % of the batch)
greater than 50 g/t Ag.

 

Nine samples reported Pb values greater than 1%, with two samples greater than
20%. Zn is generally low in the samples with six samples greater than 0.25 %
Zn. Anomalous copper was identified in only one sample, returning 0.34 % Cu.
Antimony (Sb), listed as a critical metal in 2022 by the USGS, returned 12
samples greater than 100 ppm Sb, with five samples greater than 500 ppm Sb.
The maximum sample was 862 ppm Sb.

 

Several of the more significant anomalies reported from the surface grab
sampling include:

 

·   170 g/t Ag, 22.2 % Pb, 0.12 % Zn reported from a quartz-siderite vein
sample from a historical dump sample, with abundant galena.

·    159 g/t Ag, 21.3 % Pb reporting from quartz veins hosted in
leucogranite.

·    127 g/t Ag, 3.03 % Pb reporting from a fault zone breccia.

·    89.5 g/t Ag, 6.67 % Pb, 0.34 % Cu, 0.41 % Zn reporting from a fault
zone breccia.

·    61.9 g/t Ag, 3.96 % Pb reporting from a brecciated fault gouge

 

 

*A rock chip or grab sample cannot be taken as a representation of the overage
grade average and potential deposit size. A float sample is collected from
loose pieces of rock not connected to an outcrop.

 

Work Plan for the Jafra Project

Future work programmes at the Jafra project will include further geological
mapping supported by trenching and geophysics to determine the extent of the
high-grade breccia and vein system that is poorly exposed on the flanks of El
Marassa Hill.

 

Sampling Methodology and Analysis

ALS Limited, an accredited laboratory in Sevilla, Spain, undertook all sample
preparation and analysis from these reported samples. Given the early-stage
nature of these programmes, no QA/QC samples were included. Rock samples were
crushed with 70 % passing -2 mm. The less than 2 mm fraction was pulverised,
with 85 % of the sample passing <75 microns. All samples were analysed
using four-acid digestion for a multi-element suite of 33 metals by
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). In
addition, all samples were analysed for their gold content by a 50g Fire Assay
method with an atomic absorption finish.

Illustrations
The following figures have been prepared by Aterian and relate to the
disclosures in this announcement.

 A: View NE towards the working at JF-AB-001 shows structure within the fault
 zone; B: Galena observed within the breccia; C: Minor malachite and sulphides
 in 10cm-wide quartz-carbonate rich breccia.

 

Qualified Person

The technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement has been approved by
Simon Rollason, Chief Executive Officer of Aterian Plc. A graduate of the
University of the Witwatersrand in Geology (Hons). He is a Member of the
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, with over 30 years of experience
in mineral exploration and mining.

 

- ENDS -

 

This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was
inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended).

 

For further information, please visit the Company's website:
www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com) or contact:

 

Aterian Plc:

Charles Bray, Executive Chairman - charles.bray@aterianplc.com
(mailto:charles.bray@aterianplc.com)

Simon Rollason, Director - simon.rollason@aterianplc.com
(mailto:simon.rollason@aterianplc.com)

 

Financial Adviser and Broker:

Novum Securities Limited

David Coffman / George Duxberry

Tel: +44 (0)207 399 9400

 

Financial PR:

Yellow Jersey PR - aterian@yellowjerseypr.com

Charles Goodwin / Bessie Elliot

Tel: +44 (0)20 3004 9512

Notes to Editors:

About Aterian plc

www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com)

 

Aterian plc is an exploration and development company with a diversified
African portfolio of critical and strategic metals projects.

Aterian plc is actively seeking to acquire and develop new critical and
strategic metal resources to strengthen its existing asset base whilst
supporting ethical and sustainable supply chains. The supply of these metals
is vital for the development of the renewable energy, automotive and
electronic manufacturing sectors that are playing an increasing role in
reducing carbon emissions and meeting climate ambitions globally.

 

The Company has three partnerships in Rwanda exploring and developing
tantalum-niobium-tin-lithium mining operations, and recently acquired Aterian
Resources Limited, a wholly owned and battery metals-focused subsidiary of
Elemental Altus Royalties Corp (formerly Altus Strategies plc). Aterian owns a
portfolio of 15 copper-silver and base metal projects with a project area of
762 km(2) in the Kingdom of Morocco.

 

The Company's strategy is to seek new exploration and production opportunities
across the African continent and to develop new sources of strategic and
critical mineral assets for exploration, development, and trading.

Geological Setting of the Jebilet Est Project

The Jafra Project is located within the Jebilet Massif in the Marrakech-Safi
Region of western Morocco, which comprises a block of Carboniferous
sedimentary rocks that were extensively deformed and metamorphosed during the
Hercynian-Variscan orogeny. The Jebilet Massif extends for 170 km east to west
and 40 km in a north-south orientation. It is interpreted as an
intracontinental Devonian-Carboniferous rift-basin formed during a period of
extension during rifting of the continental crust in a back-arc geodynamic
environment. The Jebilet Massif consists of three litho-tectonic domains, the
Western, Central, and Eastern Domains, which are separated by major shear
zones. The Project area is within Palaeozoic metamudstones and quartzites
proximal to Hercynian-age granite and mafic intrusive bodies in the Eastern
Domain of the highly prospective Jebilet Massif.

 

The Roc Blanc silver mine, located 35k west of Jafra, was discovered in 1925
with an indicated and inferred resource, estimated at c.200,000 t at 297 g/t
Ag and >56,000 t at 234 g/t Ag, respectively. Resources contain about 0.8%
Pb and 1.01% Zn and a significant amount of copper and gold. The Roc Blanc
deposit's mineralisation occurs as veins displaying banded or brecciated
structures. It consists mainly of pyrrhotite, pyrite, arsenopyrite,
chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, Ag-tetrahedrite, Pb-Ag-Sb sulphosalts,
argentite, native silver, Ag-Au amalgam, and Ni-Co minerals. The mineralogy of
the Roc Blanc ore corresponds to an intermediate- to low-sulphidation deposit.

Glossary of Terms

The following is a glossary of technical terms:

 

 "Ag"                              means  Silver
 "Au"                              means  Gold
 "Breccia"                         means  a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones cemented by finer materials
 "Cu"                              means  Copper
 "Ferruginous"                     means  containing iron oxides
 "Float sample"                    means  loose pieces of rock that are not connected to an outcrop
 "g/t"                             means  grams per tonne
 "Hercynian or Variscan Orogeny"   means  an orogenic belt that evolved during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods,
                                          from about 419 to 299 million years ago
 "km"                              means  Kilometres
 "m"                               means  Metres
 "mm"                              means  Millimetres
 "Mt"                              means  millions of tonnes
 "NI 43-01"                        means  National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects of the
                                          Canadian Securities Administrators
 "Outcrop"                         means  a rock formation that is in situ and visible on the surface
 "Qualified Person"                means  a person that has the education, skills and professional credentials to act as
                                          a qualified person under NI 43-101
 "Sb"                              means  Antimony is used in alloys and in lead-acid storage batteries. The U.S.
                                          Government has considered antimony a critical mineral mainly because of its
                                          use in military applications.
 "Stratiform"                      means  parallel to the bedding planes of the surrounding rock
 "Vein"                            means  a distinct sheetlike body of crystallised minerals within a rock
 "Zn"                              means  Zinc

 

 

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