REG - Firering Strategic - Drilling shows Lithium Mineralisation

Firering Strategic MineralsAnnouncement

01/09/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220901:nRSA8467Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8467X  Firering Strategic Minerals PLC  01 September 2022

Firering Strategic Minerals plc / EPIC: FRG / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

1 September 2022

 

Firering Strategic Minerals plc

("Firering" or "the Company")

 

Drilling shows Lithium Mineralisation

 

 

Firering Strategic Minerals plc, an exploration company focusing on critical
minerals, is pleased to announce an operational update on its flagship Atex
Lithium-Tantalum Project ("Atex"), in Côte d'Ivoire.

 

Highlights

 

·    Pegmatite intersected in all eleven drill holes completed to date.

 

·    Potential new pegmatite field following the discovery of new
pegmatites in the NNW of the Atex licence.

 

·    Visible observations of lithium mineralisation in ten out of eleven
drill holes.

 

·    All planned trenches completed and logged with each trench showing
the presence of pegmatites with apparent widths of up to 56.5 m.

 

·    Strike of lithium bearing pegmatites now confirmed for 700 m and
still open-ended along strike and down dip.

 

·    All initially planned pits for metallurgical test work completed and
sampled with an additional three pits planned.

 

Eleven scout holes completed around Spodumene Hill

·    Successfully completed eleven diamond drill ("DD") holes targeting
the potential Li bearing pegmatites for a total of 1,895m out of a planned
3,000m.

·    All drill holes have been drilled at a dip of 50° to either the
northwest or southeast to intersect the north-northeast striking pegmatites
(see attached map).

·    Further scout holes are planned to target the pegmatites SSW from
Spodumene Hill ("SH") and four 'step-out' holes are planned around SH, of
which two have been completed, to gain a better understanding of the strike
and depth continuity of the main pegmatite underneath SH.

 

Initial visual observations of the drill core

·    All eleven holes drilled so far intersected pegmatites and have been
logged in detail.

·    Visible lithium mineralisation is present in ten out of the eleven
holes (see table 1 below).

·    Core splitting and sampling commenced on 20 August 2022 and the first
batch of core samples will be sent to Intertek Laboratories for assaying and
X-ray diffraction ("XRD") on 2 September 2022.

·    First assay and XRD results are expected in Q4 2022.

 

Map showing the eleven completed drillholes and eight completed trenches
around and across Spodumene Hill.

 

Results of the eleven holes drilled so far are shown in Table 1 below;
pegmatite intercepts for each completed hole are shown in Table 2.

 

Table 1: List of completed diamond drill holes.

 

Table 2: Pegmatite intercepts in each completed drill hole.

Note: The drill holes have intersected the pegmatites obliquely and the
intersection lengths reported represent apparent thicknesses.  The
relationship of the apparent thickness to true thickness has not yet been
established.

 

Visible spodumene

 

Trenching across Spodumene Hill

·    All eight planned trenches have been completed.

·    All trenches showed the presence of pegmatites along the trenches.

·    Apparent widths of the observed pegmatites in the trenches of up to
56.5m.

·    All trenches have been logged in detail and the results are used to
assist the design of the Diamond Drill campaign.

 

Results of the eight trenches excavated are shown in Table 3 below.

 

Table 3: List of trenches and pegmatite intersections

Note: Metres are measured from west ("start") to east ("end"); all trenches
are oriented 110° ↔ 290°.  The trenches have intersected the pegmatites
obliquely and the intersection lengths reported represent apparent
thicknesses.  The relationship of the apparent thickness to true thickness
has not yet been established.

 

A view of two of the eight trenches.

 

Pitting on and around Spodumene Hill for coltan metallurgical test work

·    All planned pits on and around SH were completed; an additional three
pits are planned based on the recent site visit during August 2022.

·    All pits were sampled and all samples will be analysed for tantalum
using Firering's new Vanta pXRF (spectrometer) that recently arrived on site
in Tounvré.

·    Composite samples containing tantalum will be prepared and sent to
Coremet in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2022 for metallurgical
test work to inform the design for the pilot 'Multi Gravity Separation' plant
("MGS").

 ·

Samples to be sent to Coremet for metallurgical test work.

 

Further work in the Atex licence area

·    More pegmatites were found in the NNW of the Atex licence area during
the site visit in August 2022 and likely represent another pegmatite field.

·    Further detailed mapping of this area as well as the area south of
the road to Tounvré is planned once the initial DD campaign has ended.

·    A second auger drilling campaign and soil sampling campaign are
planned from Q4 2022, after the rainy season, targeting a larger area around
SH.

·    Results from these two campaigns will be used to direct the next DD
and Reverse Circulation ("RC") programmes.

 

Environmental and Social Governance

·    Successfully completed an additional water borehole in the nearby
village of Tounvré.

·    The water borehole will be officially opened in September 2022 in the
presence of local, regional and national authorities.

·    The Atex project is currently employing between 30 to 40 people from
the local community.

 

Yuval Cohen, Chief Executive of Firering, said:

 

"I am delighted to provide an update on our core drilling programme which is
continuing successfully with pegmatites intersected in every hole.  Lithium
mineralisation was visually observed in ten out of the eleven holes drilled to
date and we are eagerly awaiting the assay and XRD results.  The discovery of
yet another potential pegmatite field in the NNW of our licence area provides
further support of the potential of Atex becoming the next lithium development
project in West Africa.  We look forward to providing the market with our
ongoing exploration results".

 

Competent Person

In accordance with the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, Firering
discloses that Michael Cronwright of CSA Global is the Competent Person that
has reviewed the technical information contained in this document. Michael
Cronwright has a Pr.Sci.Nat with the South African Council for Natural
Scientific Professions ("SACNASP") and is a member in good standing with
SACNASP. Mr Cronwright has the appropriate relevant qualifications,
experience, competence and independence to act as a Competent Person as
defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australian Code for Reporting of
Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Michael Cronwright
consents to the inclusion of the information in this announcement in the form
and context in which it appears.

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK
VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH
LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.  ON
PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS
INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

*** ENDS ***

 

For further information and updates on Firering's exploration programme, visit
www.fireringplc.com or contact the following:

 

 Firering Strategic Minerals                     Tel: +44 20 7236 1177

 Yuval Cohen

 Tim Daniel
 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited                 Tel: +44 20 3368 3550

 Nominated Adviser

 Neil Baldwin / James Keeshan / Adam Dawes
 Optiva Securities Limited                       Tel: +44 20 3137 1903

 Broker

 Christian Dennis / Daniel Ingram
 St Brides Partners Limited                      T: +44 20 7236 1177

 Financial PR                                    E: firering (mailto:firering@stbridespartners.co.uk) @stbridespartners.co.uk

                                               (mailto:firering@stbridespartners.co.uk)
 Ana Ribeiro / Susie Geliher / Isabelle Morris

Notes to Editors:

 

Firering Strategic Minerals

Firering Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted mining company focused on
exploring and developing a portfolio of mines producing critical minerals in
the Côte d'Ivoire including lithium and Tantalum to support the global
transition to net zero emissions. It operates the 77% owned
Atex Lithium-Tantalum Project in northern Côte d'Ivoire, which is
prospective for both lithium and tantalum.  Firering intends to advance
development at Atex with a view to establishing a maiden Lithium resource and
a pilot scale production of ethical tantalum and niobium production within 18
months to generate early revenues and support further exploration work. A
large-scale Tantalum production facility will be developed following pilot
results, which will be supported by a debt facility of FCFA 5,057,000,000
(approximately €7,500,000) currently under negotiation to fund the entire
scale-up plan to develop a portfolio of ethically sourced mineral projects in
the Côte d'Ivoire, supplying EV batteries, high tech electronics and other
fast-growing end markets.

 

 

Glossary of Technical Terms

 

 Pegmatite   An igneous rock typically of granitic composition, which is distinguished from
             other igneous rocks by the extremely coarse size of its crystals, or by an
             abundance of crystals with skeletal, graphic, or other strongly directional
             growth habits, or by a prominent spatial zonation of mineral assemblages.
 Lepidolite  Lepidolite is a purple to lilac-grey or rose-coloured member of the mica group
             of minerals. It has chemical formula K(Li,Al)(3)(Al, Si)(4)O(10)(F,OH)(2). It
             is part of the polylithionite, lepidolite, and trilithionite group of minerals
             which share similar properties and but have varying ratios of lithium and
             aluminium in their chemical formulas and a potential secondary source of
             lithium.
 Spodumene   Spodumene is a pyroxene group mineral with a chemical formula of
             LiAlSi(2)O(6). Spodumene is mined from pegmatites and concentrates produced
             which are the one of the primary sources of lithium.
 XRD         X-ray diffraction (XRD), or x-ray powder diffraction, utilizes x-ray radiation
             on crystalline organic and inorganic samples. The rays are diffracted in a
             pattern determined by the position, arrangement, and size of the constituents
             of the crystal.
 pXRF        portable X-ray Fluorescence handheld device that uses X-rays to excite matter
             at the atomic level for determining approximate chemical compositions. A built
             in CPU and display on the back of the unit provide live geochemical results
             within seconds.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DRLBCGDIIBXDGDB