REG - Cobra Resources PLC - Commencement of Resource Focused Aircore Drilling

Cobra ResourcesAnnouncement

17/12/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 2857Q  Cobra Resources PLC  17 December 2024

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
REGULATION 2014/596/EU WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET
ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK MAR"). UPON THE
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17 December 2024

 

Cobra Resources plc

("Cobra" or the "Company")

 

Commencement of Resource Focused Aircore Drilling

 

Start of 2025 programme to define a scalable resource of valuable rare earths

 

Cobra (https://cobraplc.com/) (LSE: COBR)
(https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/COBR/cobra-resources-plc/company-page)
, the mineral exploration and development company advancing a potentially
world-class ionic Rare Earth Elements ("REEs") discovery at its Boland Project
in South Australia, is pleased to announce it has commenced resource focused
aircore drilling at Boland.

 

This follows the completion of highly successful bench scale metallurgical
studies which demonstrated the potential for the recovery of critical rare
earth metals from Boland through low-cost and low impact in situ recovery
(ISR) mining.

 

Highlights

 

·    Initial drilling of 20 holes (~1,000m) before Christmas aimed at:

 

o  Extending the mineralisation footprint peripheral to the established
Boland Wellfield where high grade mineralisation (0.44% TREO) delivered high
recoveries (68%) of valuable magnet rare earths ("MREOs") at pH3 with low acid
consumption and low levels of impurities in the bench scale ISR studies

 

o  Testing and improving the Company's model that interprets this favourable
ionically bound REE mineralisation within permeable sands across a sizeable
footprint

 

·    This month's activity comprises part of Stage 1 of a funded 12,000m
programme to support a maiden resource at the Company's Boland Project as a
precursor to undertaking initial economic evaluations in the form of a scoping
study in late 2025

 

·    Positive initial geological observations have been made with the unit
hosting Zone 3 mineralisation being intersected ~1km south of previous
drilling

 

·    Balance of Stage 1 aircore holes to be completed in January 2025

 

·    First assays expected in or around February 2025 - these results will
underpin the location and design of further sonic core drilling to provide
scaled density and metallurgy samples to support resource evaluation

 

Rupert Verco, Managing Director & CEO of Cobra, commented:

 

"Drilling is the next part of an exciting journey for Cobra's shareholders
throughout 2025 as we focus on defining a scalable resource of valuable REEs.
The advantage of focusing on metallurgy first is we have already derisked key
features of the deposit and can now drill out a resource of size with a
measure of confidence in the future economics.

 

Our ionic REEs are hosted within permeable sands which is the critical enabler
of ISR as an extraction method to bypass the challenges of handling and
treating clay ores. This reduces both infrastructure and operational costs,
positioning Cobra for a potential bottom quartile cost mining operation.

 

We are well funded to advance the Boland Project. This programme is aimed at
defining both scale and grade and we are delighted to get some holes under our
belt even before year-end. Drilling will provide important metrics that will
support a scoping study in late 2025."

 

Figure 1: (A) Aircore drilling underway at the Boland Project. (B) Aircore
chips from drillhole CBAC0187 defining the geological target (Zone 3) -
reduced organic rich Pidinga Formation containing coarse, permeable sands 38 -
42m

 

 

Boland Project

 

Cobra's unique and highly scalable Boland discovery is a strategically
advantageous ionic rare earth discovery where high grades of valuable HREOs
and MREOs occur concentrated in a permeable horizon confined by impermeable
clays. Bench scale ISR testing has confirmed that mineralisation is amenable
to ISR mining. ISR has been used successfully for decades within geologically
similar systems to recover uranium within South Australia. Results of this
metallurgical test work support that, with minor optimisation, ISR techniques
should enable non-invasive and low-cost production of critical REEs from
Cobra's Boland discovery.

 

Follow this link to watch a short video of CEO Rupert Verco detailing the
company's planned drilling programme:
https://investors.cobraplc.com/link/aP386y
(https://investors.cobraplc.com/link/aP386y)

 

Enquiries:

 

 Cobra Resources plc                           via Vigo Consulting

 Rupert Verco (Australia)                      +44 (0)20 7390 0234

 Dan Maling (UK)

 SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)             +44 (0)1483 413 500

 Nick Emerson

 Sam Lomanto

 Global Investment Strategy (Joint Broker)     +44 (0)20 7048 9437

 James Sheehan                                 james.sheehan@gisukltd.com
 Vigo Consulting (Financial Public Relations)  +44 (0)20 7390 0234

 Ben Simons                                    cobra@vigoconsulting.com

 Kendall Hill

 

The person who arranged for the release of this announcement was Rupert Verco,
Managing Director of the Company.

 

Information in this announcement relates to exploration results that have been
reported in the following announcements:

 

·    Wudinna Project Update: "Further Positive Metallurgy Results from
Boland Project", dated 16 December 2024

·    Wudinna Project Update: "2(nd) Bench Scale ISR Study & £1.7M
Placing", dated 26 November 2024

 

Competent Persons Statement

 

Information in this announcement has been assessed by Mr Rupert Verco, a
Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Verco is an
employee of Cobra and has more than 16 years' industry experience which is
relevant to the style of mineralisation, deposit type, and activity which he
is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition
of the Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources
and Ore Reserves of JORC. This includes 12 years of Mining, Resource
Estimation and Exploration.

 

About Cobra

 

In 2023, Cobra discovered a rare earth deposit with the potential to re-define
the cost of rare earth production. The highly scalable Boland ionic rare earth
discovery at Cobra's Wudinna Project in South Australia's Gawler Craton is
Australia's only rare earth project amenable for in situ recovery (ISR) mining
- a low cost, low disturbance method enabling bottom quartile recovery costs
without any need for excavation or ground disturbance. Cobra is focused on
de-risking the investment value of the discovery by proving ISR as the
preferred mining method and testing the scale of the mineralisation footprint
through drilling.

 

Cobra's Wudinna tenements also contain extensive orogenic gold mineralisation,
including a 279,000 Oz gold JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, characterised by
low levels of over-burden, amenable to open pit mining.

 

Regional map showing Cobra's tenements in the heart of the Gawler Craton

 

 

 

 

 

Follow us on social media:

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cobraresourcesplc
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/cobraresourcesplc)

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/Cobra_Resources
(https://twitter.com/Cobra_Resources)

 

Engage with us by asking questions, watching video summaries and seeing what
other shareholders have to say. Navigate to our Interactive Investor hub here:
https://investors.cobraplc.com/ (https://investors.cobraplc.com/)

 

Subscribe to our news alert service:
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(https://investors.cobraplc.com/auth/signup)

 

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