REG - GreenRoc Mining PLC - Amitsoq Update: drilling more than doubles deposit

GreenRoc Strategic MaterialsAnnouncement

26/09/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5358A  GreenRoc Mining PLC  26 September 2022

GreenRoc Mining Plc / EPIC: GROC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

26 September 2022

GreenRoc Mining plc

("GreenRoc" or the "Company")

 

Amitsoq Graphite Update

Successful Phase 2 drilling more than doubles deposit footprint

 

GreenRoc Mining Plc (AIM: GROC), is pleased to confirm the completion of its
Phase 2 drilling programme at the Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern
Greenland ("Amitsoq" or the "Project"), one of the highest-grade graphite
deposits in the world. All holes have returned mineable widths of high-grade
graphite ore and more than double the drilled extent of the deposit footprint,
which is expected to support a significant upgrade in the Project's resource
tonnage.

 

Highlights

·      Drilling was completed on 17 September 2022, with 19 holes
drilled for a total of 2,844m.

·      All holes reached target depths and intersected significant
graphite layers, extending the deposit to the west by about 100m and to the
northwest and the north by about 150m in horizontal directions, more than
doubling the deposit footprint, which continues to remain open.

o  Lower Graphite Layer ("LGL") shows mineable thicknesses greater than 2.0m
in all 19 holes with true thickness (where present) varying between 2.50m and
20.69m.

o  Upper Graphite Layer ("UGL") shows mineable thicknesses greater than 2.0m
in eight holes with true thickness varying between 2.72m and 7.99m.

·      The LGL appears to form the main orebody of the deposit with
surface outcrops suggesting a potential continuation of significant LGL
thicknesses for several hundred meters towards the north.

·      Exceptionally high grades of up to 23.01% graphitic carbon (C(g))
in the LGL and up to 19.83% C(g) in the UGL were returned from Phase 1 and
visual inspection of drill core suggest that Phase 2 intersections are similar
in ore grade.

·      Results are expected to support a significant upgrade in the
Project's resource tonnage, with analytical results expected Q4 2022.

·      Despite extensive drilling, the deposit remains open towards the
north, west and southwest, giving an indication of the significant resource
potential.

 

The Company will hold an Investor Call and Presentation Update at 12:00pm BST
on 28 September 2022 with GreenRoc CEO, Stefan Bernstein.

 

 

Stefan Bernstein, GreenRoc's CEO, commented: "Amitsoq continues to prove to be
an exceptional graphite deposit. These drilling results have surpassed our
expectations that were based on last year's already successful drilling
programme and give me much excitement for the development potential ahead. The
graphite layers show better continuity and greater thicknesses than we could
have hoped for; to achieve true graphite layer thickness of up to 20.69m and
consistent LGL thicknesses of more than 14m is a fantastic outcome and coupled
with the graphite orebodies being open in three directions holds promise that
we are truly developing a world-class graphite deposit at Amitsoq.

 

"It is particularly encouraging that the LGL is showing these extraordinary
thicknesses as intersections from 2021 drilling returned grades of between
21.72% and 23.01% graphitic carbon, underpinning Amitsoq as one of the very
highest graphite deposits in the world.  Accordingly, alongside a world-class
grade, today's result suggests we have the tonnage potential to support a
significant new mining opportunity.

 

"Adding to this, the general quality of the rock core, whether actual graphite
ore, hangingwall, or footwall, is very high - with only a low amount of
fracturing, pointing to uncomplicated mining operations in stable rock. This
can indeed be appreciated when entering the old mine workings, which are
intact despite the 100 years that have passed by. Our focus now is to deliver
a significant upgrade in the Project's resource tonnage and to progress to
development status.  We have completed 2nd year environmental baseline work
and are now pushing ahead with our EIA/SIA work in the expectation that the
revised resource assessment to come will be sufficient to underpin feasibility
studies in support of a substantial mining operation at Amitsoq.  We look
forward to sharing further detail in due course."

 

Details

Phase 2 drilling commenced on 2 July 2022 at the Amitsoq Island graphite
deposit with the aim of testing the extension of the known graphite layers and
forming the basis for an updated and higher category resource determination to
build on the Maiden JORC Resource of 8.28Mt at 19.75% Graphitic Carbon
("C(g)"), reported on 8 March 2022.

 

The layout of the collars (Figure 1) was designed to test the extension of the
known graphite layers, their thicknesses and the graphite grades. The layers
can broadly be described in terms of an upper graphite layer and a lower
graphite layer, of which the LGL in some holes display a set of sublayers
(Table 1 and Figure 1).

 

The drilling shows thicknesses of the UGL to be between 2.72m and 7.99m and
the LGL to be between 2.50m and 20.69m (with a cut-off layer thickness of
2.0m). Combined with Phase 1 drilling in 2021 (reported on 3 December 2021),
the results of this second phase drilling shows that the UGL is a coherent,
well-defined ore body underlying most of the southwestern part of the island
and open towards the south and towards the west, which appears to peter out
towards the north. The LGL is present in all drill holes from both years
(except at drill collar A from 2021, where projection shows the vertical hole
AM_DD_013A stopped ca 10m short of the LGL). The thickest part of the LGL from
the 2021 drilling was 15.60m and this is exceeded by this year's drilling with
five holes intersecting the LGL with true thicknesses of 17.01m (AM_DD_024),
18.36m (AM_DD_038), 19.44m (AM_DD_025), 19.85m (AM_DD_037) and 20.69m
(AM_DD_035), see Table 1 and Figure 5.

 

Table 1: Drilling results of Phase 2 drilling based on visual logging of drill
core for intersections with graphite-rich layers. Not shown in Table 1 are
several intersections of subordinate LGL layers with true thicknesses varying
between a few centimetres and 1.97m.  Similarly, intersections of the UGL
with true thicknesses less than 2.0m have also been omitted from Table 1.

 

The thickness variations for the LGL recorded by the two drilling campaigns
suggest that there is a small area underlying collars E and F near the old
mine site at the SE coast of the island, where thicknesses are between 2.50m
and 6m. The rest of the LGL, stretching to the west, north and northeast
gradually increases in thickness from ca 12m directly beneath collars H
(AM_DD_017A) and I (AM_DD_020) to several more than 15m thickness in holes
drilled from collars B (included in results reported on December 3(rd), 2021),
J and C2. This thicker portion of the LGL is open to the north and northwest.
Graphite ore is intermittently exposed further towards the northeast from the
northernmost drilling site C2 sites (Figure 1).

 

Figure 1: Drill layout at Amitsoq, showing Phase 1 collars (2021) in blue with
projection of drill holes in orange and Phase 2 collars (2022, reported here)
in red with projection of drill holes in green. Each collar also has a
vertical drill hole. Also traced are outcropping graphite layers (in brown).
There are 200m between the UTM coordinate lines.

 

These exposures and their association with distinct breaks in slope, indicate
potential continuation of significant thicknesses of the LGL for several
hundred meters towards the north. The LGL thus forms the main orebody of the
deposit with mineable thicknesses across an area that measures more than 400m
from hole AM_DD_019 (Pad H) in the south to AM_DD_025 (collar J) in the north.
In the down-dip direction of the LGL it measures up to 360m (Figure 4).

 

In general, the quality of the drilled rock is very good, so it is not unusual
to have entire 3m long core-barrel filled with core in one piece - even within
the graphite ore.

 

Figure 2: View of 3D-model showing Upper Graphite Layer (UGL) in orange and
Lower Graphite Layer (LGL) in red, based on interpolation of 2021 and 2022
drilling intersections as well as surface expressions.

 

 

Figure 3: View of 3D model from the NNW, demonstrating the continuity of the
LGL and also the vastly expanded extents of the graphite layers compared to
what was known from drilling in 2021.

 

 

Figure 4: View of 3D model to the NE (see locations of drill collars J and B
in Figure 1). Extent of UGL and LGL as known by 2021 drilling are shown in
light orange and red colours and 2022 drilling results show a more than
tripling of the extent of the LGL with thicknesses generally in the order of
15m. For LGL, the red and grey surfaces give the upper and lower contacts,
respectively. Note that UGL intersected at Pad J generally are less than the
mineable ore width set here at 2.0m.

 

 

 

Figure 5: Drill core from AM_DD_038 showing part of the intersections of LGL1
of 3.30m (3.10m true thickness) and LGL2 of 19.55m (18.36m true thickness).
Note the abrupt shift in colours from the light grey gneiss forming the wall
rocks to the black graphite-rich ore.

 

Graphite ore from Amitsoq was tested by ProGraphite GmbH in 2021 to show that
the ore can be upgraded to a minimum 95% purity by simple flotation and with
further alkaline purification can attain purity higher than the 99.95%
required by the battery anode industry. Current test work on material derived
from LGL drilling in 2022 with ProGraphite GmbH is ongoing to assess
suitability for spherical graphite production. High purity spherical graphite
is the main material for anodes in Lithium battery production for electric
vehicles.

 

The ongoing work programme at Amitsoq also included a small bulk sample (ca
700kg) of material from the LGL, extracted from inside the historic mine
workings (Figure 6). This sample will provide the basis for further test work
to determine best processing techniques and develop and characterise saleable
products from the future production of graphite from Amitsoq. Alongside this,
the 2nd year environmental baseline work has been completed and work is
ongoing on the EIA/SIA, in the expectation that the revised resource
assessment to come will be sufficient to underpin feasibility studies in
support of a substantial mining operation at Amitsoq.

 

Figure 6: Collection of bulk sample from lower graphite layer as exposed in
the former graphite mine using a diamond blade saw to cut sampling channels.

 

TBS update

With regard to the drilling results from the Company's Thule Black Sands
Ilmenite Project, which were anticipated to be available in August 2022, these
have been delayed due to a request for additional analytical work. An upper
screening of 1.0mm was initially employed, excluding significant mass of
potentially ilmenite-bearing material. This coarser material (larger than 1mm)
is currently being reanalysed for more robust resource calculation. The
Company hopes to receive the results of this reanalysis by the end of November
2022 in order to have a resource calculation before the year-end.

 

Investor Call and Presentation

GreenRoc CEO, Stefan Bernstein, will give a live presentation via the Investor
Meet Company ("IMC") platform at 12:00pm BST on 28 September 2022, covering
the Company's latest news and future development plans.  Following the
presentation, Mr Bernstein will also answer questions. These can be submitted
pre-event via the IMC dashboard up until 9am on the day before the meeting or
at any time during the live presentation.

 

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet
GreenRoc Mining Plc via:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/greenroc-mining-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/greenroc-mining-plc/register-investor)

 

Investors who already follow GreenRoc on the Investor Meet Company platform
will automatically be invited.

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for
the release of this announcement.

 

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or
anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in
nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such
as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified
staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction,
uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding
the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the
timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and
approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected
events.

 

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a
result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other
factors.

 

Competent Person Declaration

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been
reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member of SACNASP (Reg. No.
400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society and Fellow of the Geological
Society of South Africa. He has a B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years'
experience.

Mark Austin has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration targets,
Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the
JORC Code. The JORC code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned
with CRIRSCO. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the
matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appear.

**ENDS**

 

For further information, please visit https://greenrocmining.com/
(https://greenrocmining.com/) or contact:

 

 GreenRoc Mining Plc                                  +44 20 3950 0724

 Stefan Bernstein, CEO

 Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD)                 +44 20 7213 0880

 James Caithie / Sandy Jamieson / Louise O'Driscoll

 OvalX (Broker)                                       +44 20 7392 1494

 Tom Curran / Thomas Smith

 St Brides Partners (Financial PR & IR)               +44 20 7236 1177

 Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page

About GreenRoc

GreenRoc Mining Plc is an AIM-quoted company which is developing mining
projects in Greenland in high-demand and high-value critical minerals.

 

Led by a group of highly experienced mining industry professionals with
considerable knowledge of the Greenlandic mining sector, GreenRoc has a
portfolio of 100% owned projects:

·      Amitsoq Graphite, one of the highest-grade graphite deposits in
the world with a combined Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource of 8.28 million
tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 19.75% giving a total graphite content of
1.63 Mt;

·      Thule Black Sands Ilmenite ('TBS'), which has an initial Mineral
Resource of 19Mt@ 43.6% Total Heavy Minerals with an in-situ ilmenite grade of
8.9%;

·      Melville Bay Iron, which has a Mineral Resource Estimate of 67Mt
at 31.4% iron and has been proven to be processable to a high-grade, 70%
concentrate with low impurities; and

·      Inglefield Multi-Element, which has the potential to host a range
of mineralisation styles, including iron oxide-copper-gold.

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