REG - Kendrick Resources - Operational Update

Kendrick ResourcesAnnouncement

13/09/2022 12:30

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RNS Number : 3028Z  Kendrick Resources PLC  13 September 2022

13 September 2022

Kendrick Resources Plc

("Kendrick" or the "Company")

Operational Update

 

Kendrick Resources Plc (LSE: KEN), the Scandinavian focussed new age mineral
exploration and development company with nickel, and vanadium projects in
Norway, Sweden and Finland is pleased to provide an update on its activities
in Scandinavia.

 

A thorough review of all projects and licences in the Kendrick portfolio has
directed management to the short-term potential of its' Ni assets. Below is
the summary of the Company's findings. Subsequent focused studies have shone a
positive light on the nickel assets, all of which show potential particularly
as a significant amount of historic drilling, resource estimation and general
exploration generated a database that had never been properly assimilated and
processed.  This database has now been recognised to have significant
additional financial and technical potential. The Company has therefore
re-ranked the nickel ahead of the vanadium projects based on the immediate
opportunities that the nickel assets present to Kendrick.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

·    Detailed review of the Norwegian Espedalen Ni-Cu Project including
the Stormyra, Megrund and Dalen prospects and the initiation of a resource
estimation programme for the Project.

 

·    Relogging of the Stormyra Ni-Cu drillholes using an external
recognised nickel expert has led to the discovery of previously unrecorded
nickel mineralisation in drill core that could potentially result in wider
zones of mineralisation.

 

·    Re-engagement and consultation with an engineering group to revisit a
previous study for the design and high-level financial analysis of a bespoke
processing plant capable of processing nickel ores mined at Espedalen and,
subject to further evaluation, other nickel satellite projects located in
central southern Norway in the Company's licence portfolio

 

·    Significant copper anomalies identified at the Airijoki vanadium
project that has warranted an expansion of historic soil geochemical surveys
and the application for additional licences for copper.

 

·    Detailed review of the suite of vanadium licences in Sweden and
Finland has confirmed and validated the findings of previous studies and the
Company is developing an exploration plan to further assess potential.

 

Colin Bird, Executive Chairman, commented

"Since listing we have conducted an extensive review of all licences of asset
potential to create a league table of opportunity aimed at today and the
mid-term.  That review led us to the conclusion that the nickel assets in
Norway have immense potential in that they are sulphide and hold immediate
opportunity for value add in the form of resource enhancement and mid-term
mining.  We are also conscious of the potential of PGE group metals and
cobalt within the resource package.   The Airijoki vanadium prospect is very
exciting and extremely well located, with an unexpected bonus in the form of
significant geochemical copper potential within and on the periphery of the
licence.  We intend to aggressively pursue the copper indication and have
included these copper anomalies in our applications for further licences.
The region is copper prolific, and I am excited about the potential of having
two new age metals in the same licence.  In Finland, we have confirmed
previous vanadium work and are potentially pursuing a limited drilling
programme, to test a VTEM geophysical anomaly generated between 2012-2014.
This anomaly is barely tested and shows potential for nickel and vanadium.

 

In essence, our work has been directed to focus on short- and medium-term
opportunities, whilst maintaining the overall integrity of the portfolio.
Not unusually feet on the ground have identified new opportunities not
recognised during the early acquisition and financing stage.  We are also
strengthening our management team with the highly qualified and experienced
individuals who will be able to advance the company in its Northern European
endeavours"

 

NORWAY: Detailed Review

The company has carried out a detailed review of its Norwegian Nickel-Copper
licenses, with a focus on the more advanced Espedalen license, where there has
been a substantial amount of work carried out by previous license holders that
includes 167 holes drilled leading to the delineation of ten targets.

 

Espedalen - Relogging of Core and Discovery of Additional Mineralisation

The Company engaged an independent consultant to re-log the drill core from
the advanced stage Stormyra deposit (55 shallow holes; <300m), to verify
the loggable lithological units specifically to enable good geological control
on 3D modelling for mineral resource estimation. The result of the relogging
was to identify areas of mineralisation within drill core that had not been
recognised previously and which had not been sampled. In addition, areas of
lower grade mineralisation were also identified which again had not been
sampled which at the current nickel price may constitute economic
intersections and increase the overall mineralised package width. A drill
programme has been designed to improve the confidence of and expand on the
already defined 1Mt resource at Stormyra.

 

Espedalen - Other Prospects

In addition to Stormyra, the Company has identified the Megrund prospect as a
priority target for follow up with potential to host massive sulphides based
on the Ni tenor being on par with Stormyra , together with the prospect having
the highest PGE grades recorded at Espedalen.

 

The review also noted that several other prospects within the Espedalen
Project area that had been tested with only 1 to 3 drillholes, all intersected
nickel sulphide mineralisation. No follow-up was undertaken on these prospects
and the Company intends to review the original geophysics results over these
targets before deciding on further evaluation.

 

Conceptual Ni-Cu Plant Design and Flow Sheet

An engineering group was engaged by Boutique Copper in 2018 to complete the
conceptual design, a flow sheet and high-level financial analysis for a nickel
processing plant capable of treating 75ktpa of high-grade Espedalen ore with
average Ni and Cu grades of 3% and 0.79%, respectively. Kendrick has started a
dialogue with the engineering group to re-evaluate plant design based on a
higher annual throughput and the use of any future facility as a central
processing unit to treat ores from the various Espedalen prospects,
principally Stormyra and Megrund together with any of the remaining
under-explored prospects previously identified within the Licence. In
addition, the review will consider the scope for the delivery of additional
feedstock from other central southern Norwegian nickel projects held by the
Company that are under investigation.

 

SWEDEN

Airijoki Project

Following on from the extensive vanadium and copper anomalism shown by the
results of an historic ionic leach soil geochemistry programme over Airijoki
licence nr 200, the Company extended the geochemical survey to cover licences
nr 101, 102, 103 and 104 comprising the balance of licences for the Airijoki
Project.  A total of 526 samples were collected. Once processed, these
samples will provide the basis to target Airijoki not only for vanadium, but
also copper.

 

New Licence Applications

The Company has also applied for an additional two license areas (Airijoki 104
& 105), which it believes are prospective for copper mineralisation.
Further updates will be provided as these applications progress.

 

Airijoki  - Phase 2 Metallurgical Test Work

A second phase of metallurgical testwork on drill samples from Airijoki is in
the final preparatory stages with over ~1t of metallurgical sample to be run
through a series of tests, with the objective of increasing the mass recovery
of vanadium into the magnetite concentrate.

 

 

FINLAND

Vanadium Review

Licences held in Finland include the Koitelainen Vanadium Project. Located
30km from Boliden's Kevitsa mine, the Project is reported to host an Inferred
minerals resource of 116.4Mt, containing 5.8 million tonnes of magnetite @
2.3% V(2)O(5) (in magnetite concentrate), for 131,000 tonnes of V(2)O(5) based
on 5.0% Mass Recovery of magnetite concentrate and a cut-off of 0.5% V.  The
Inferred Mineral Resource was estimated in accordance with JORC (2012),
utilising data from 3,784m of drilling from 27 historical drill holes.

 

Karhujupukka Ni- V(2)O(5) Project

Only limited follow-up has taken place over the Project and in particular the
391km airborne VTEM geophysical survey conducted between 2012 and 2014 and the
anomalies this survey generated. Swedish consultants currently being used by
Kendrick have recommended a follow-up ground geophysical survey to better
define targets for subsequent evaluation. The Company is considering
undertaking a programme and has requested a budget estimate for the proposed
survey ahead of making a decision to proceed.

 

Further information on the Company's projects can be found on the Company's
website at: https://www.kendrickresources.com/
(https://www.kendrickresources.com/)

 

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 additional information please contact:
 Kendrick Resources Plc:     Tel: +44 203 961 6086

 Chairman                    Colin Bird

 Novum Securities            Tel: +44 7399 9400
 Financial Adviser           David Coffman / Lucy Bowden

 Joint Broker                Jon Bellis

 Shard Capital Partners LLP  Tel: +44 207 186 9952

 Joint Broker                Damon Heath / Isabella Pierre

 

Qualified Person:

The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed,
verified, and approved by Colin Bird, CC.ENG, FIMMM, South African and UK
Certified Mine Manager and Director of African Pioneer plc, with more than 40
years' experience mainly in hard rock mining.

 

 

 

About Kendrick Resources Plc

 

Kendrick Resources Plc is a mineral exploration and development company with
projects primarily based across Scandinavia. The principal of its business is
to explore the opportunities within the natural resources sector with a focus
on battery, base, and precious metals including but not limited to vanadium
and nickel. In doing so, the Company is looking to build a long-term energy
metals business in Scandinavia which delivers energy metals to Europe to help
enable its renewable energy transformation by building a top tier energy
metals production business.

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