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

AterianAnnouncement

13/09/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 2107M  Aterian PLC  13 September 2023

13 September 2023

 

Operational Update:

Zaer 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 2.34 %
copper ("Cu") and 33.3 g/t silver ("Ag"), from geological reconnaissance work
completed on the Company's Zaer Project (the "Project"). The Project covers 96
km(2) and is located 70 km south of Rabat and 80km east of Casablanca within
the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra and the Casablanca-Settat regions of the Kingdom of
Morocco ("Morocco"). The Project is one of 17 copper, silver and base metal
projects owned by Aterian, covering 897 km(2) in Morocco within established
current and historic mining districts.

Highlights:

·      Sampling reports up to 2.34 % Cu and 33.3 g/t Ag.

·      Project hosts several historically mapped copper occurrences.

·      Situated on the margins of the Hercynian-age granitic Zaer
intrusive complex.

·      Reconnaissance rock chip and stream sediment sampling completed.

·      Several stream sediment geochemical anomalies for follow-up work.

·      Project located close to good infrastructure.

 

Charles Bray, Chairman of Aterian, commented:

"These reconnaissance results from the initial survey on the Zaer Project have
provided strong indications for copper mineralisation occurring on the
licences. The stream sediment survey has outlined several encouraging
anomalies, which provide focused target areas for our field teams to explore.
As we continue to work on our portfolio of projects in Morocco, we are
demonstrating the high quality and great potential of these assets. We believe
our assets in Morocco have the potential to deliver tremendous value to the
Company, its shareholders and other stakeholders, especially as exploration of
Morcocco increases as it becomes an established critical metal mining
destination. We remain committed to exploring this Project along with the
other assets within our portfolio, which, thus far, are showing significant
upside potential. I look forward to updating shareholders with the results
from this and the other exploration programmes in due course."

 

Project Summary:

The Zaer Project comprises six 16 km(2) permits totalling 96 km(2) located
approximately 70km south of the capital city of Rabat and 80 km east of the
commercial and port city of Casablanca. The project is accessible via two
asphalt roads and contains a network of tracks.

 

Zaer is located in the Central Moroccan Hercynian Massif of the Central
Meseta, which contains several large granitic plutons that intruded into a
sequence of Ordovician to Devonian-aged sediments. The region hosts numerous
active and historic mines and development projects for copper, tin, tungsten,
lead, zinc and fluorite. Nearby operations include ONHYM's Rhouirat N'Has
tungsten-copper project and the Sokhret Allal tin-tungsten deposit, with
active projects elsewhere in the region, including Managem's El Hamman
fluorite mine and Atlantic Tin's tin development projects at Achmmach (22.2 Mt
grading 0.70 % SnO(2)) and Bou El Jaj, where the mineralisation is reportedly
hosted in veins, stockworks, skarns and greisens within granites and the
surrounding metamorphic aureoles.

 

The project targets 20 km of the Zaer granite's metamorphic aureole on the
western and northern margins. The host geology comprises highly foliated and
contact-metamorphosed metasedimentary rocks, including quartzites, phyllites
and schists that host several copper, lead, zinc, tungsten and tin
occurrences.

 

The Company holds a 100 % interest in the project.

 

 

Aterian Reconnaissance Exploration Results

Reconnaissance has focussed on two areas within the project, with limited
outcrop sampling over the northern licences and stream sediment sampling over
the western block of three licences.

 

 

Eleven rock chip samples (10 outcrop* and one surface float sample) have been
collected from the northern licences. Three samples reported greater than 0.25
% Cu, with a maximum of 2.34 % Cu and 7.91 g/t Ag, reporting from a brecciated
metasediment outcropping near a historic copper anomaly. Two samples reported
0.4 % Cu and 0.29 % Cu from similar brecciated outcrops close to the mapped
anomaly. A sample from a northeast trending quartz vein, up to 2m wide,
reported 33.3 g/t Ag and 0.62% Pb.

 

A total of 25 stream sediments were collected from the western Zaer licences.
The objective of the survey was to undertake an initial reconnaissance
sampling programme to identify areas for later groundwork and follow-up. Based
on the results, it is possible to outline four target areas based on anomalous
metal associations reporting from the stream sediment geochemical analysis.
Anomalies A (W-Ag) and B (Ag-As-Pb-Zn) are considered more prospective, with
anomalies C and D lower priority.

 

The single eastern licence was not investigated at this stage due to
agricultural cover, although earlier work reported 0.53 % Cu from a quartz
vein outcrop.

 

 

 

 

 

*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 Zaer Project

Future work programmes at the Zaer Project will include further geological
mapping on the northern licences, prospecting over the geochemical anomalies
identified on the western licences and reconnaissance over the eastern
licence.

 

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 due to the earlier
nature of the reconnaissance work. Rock chip samples from the northern
licences were fine crushed with 70 % passing -2 mm. The less than 2 mm
fraction was pulverised, with 85 % of the sample passing <75 microns. The
stream sediment samples were screened to -180 microns (80 mesh). All samples
were analysed using four-acid digestion for a multi-element suite of 48
elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). In
addition, all rock chip 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.

 

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:

Bald Voodoo - ben@baldvoodoo.com

Ben Kilbey

Tel: +44 (0)7811 209 344

Notes to Editors:

About Aterian plc

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

 

Aterian plc is an LSE-listed exploration and development company with a
diversified African portfolio of critical and strategic metals/minerals
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 as the world transitions to a
sustainable, renewable future. 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 recently entered into a joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto
Mining and Exploration Limited for Rio Tinto to earn into the HCK project in
southern Rwanda and holds two further partnerships in Rwanda exploring and
developing lithium-tantalum-niobium-tin mining operations. In October 2022,
the Company acquired Aterian Resources Limited, a wholly owned battery
metals-focused subsidiary of Elemental Altus Royalties Corporation. Aterian
currently holds a portfolio of 17 copper-silver and base metal projects with a
project area of 897 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.

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 who 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 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
 "W"                               means  Tungsten
 "Zn"                              means  Zinc

 

 

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