REG - Oracle Power PLC - Option to Acquire Copper & Silver Project

Oracle PowerAnnouncement

09/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7476J  Oracle Power PLC  09 April 2024

9 April 2024

Oracle Power PLC

("Oracle" or the "Company")

Exclusive Option to Acquire 100% of a Copper and Silver Project in the

Northwest Region of Western Australia

Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP), an international project developer, is pleased to
announce that it has secured an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Blue
Rock Valley Copper and Silver Project (the "Project"), located in the
Ashburton Basin in the northwest region of Western Australia (the
"Transaction"). Figure 1 shows a sample of the copper mineralisation that
leads to the name of the project. The Project is located 165km southeast of
Onslow, a multi-user port and the main port for the region's iron and LNG
exports. The Project site is accessed from the North West Coastal Highway on a
well-maintained unsealed road. Refer to Figure 2 below for location.

 

Highlights:

o  Assays from historical drilling and rock chip sampling suggest the
presence of high-grade copper and silver mineralisation, as well as the
potential for uranium.

o  Significant historical rock chip samples collected in the vicinity of the
Project area by Jackson Minerals Limited ("Jackson") between 2007 and 2010
(WAMEX Report A079571) comprise:

 - BRR011: 49.9% Cu, 4.93g/t Ag          - J45413: 10.7% Cu
 - BRR012: 37.6% Cu, 6.69g/t Ag          - J45438: 9.09% Cu, 20.5g/t Ag
 - BRR013: 16.05% Cu, 4.34g/t Ag         - J45441: 7.89% Cu
 - BRR014: 14.85% Cu, 2.82g/t Ag         - J45436: 6.6% Cu
 - BRR015: 11.75% Cu, 2.37g/t Ag         - J45414: 4.98% Cu, 4.1g/t Ag

o  Historical Reverse Circulation drilling returned significant results:

-      Hole BBRC005: 4m @ 1.02% Cu from 0m; and

-      Hole BBRC004: 8m @ 0.54% Cu from 6m (including 1m @ 1.39% Cu from
10m).

o  Electromagnetic (EM) geophysics as versatile time domain electromagnetic
(VTEM) (airborne), and fixed loop transient electromagnetic surveying (FLTEM)
(surface), studies have defined various drill targets.

o  An EM anomaly near to the location of the prior work undertaken is
undrilled and untested and sits in a syncline of sedimentary rocks that are
potentially ideal for base metals (copper, lead, zinc) and silver to be
deposited.

o  Further targeting tools to be assessed to refine and develop targets
before drilling is undertaken.

o  Gold and uranium also being targeted as these deposit types occur within
the Ashburton Basin.

 

The Project Tenement:

The Project tenement (the "Tenement") covers 32 Blocks (approximately
102km(2)) (see Figure 2 below) and is composed of one exploration licence,
E08/3604, wholly owned by Mining Equities Pty Ltd ("Mining Equities"). The
Tenement was granted on 2 October 2023 and expires on 26 October 2028, but is
renewable. The first term is therefore five years with a possible initial
extension of five years and further extensions of two years thereafter, with
40% of the licence area to be surrendered at the end of year six.

Key Transaction Terms:

Oracle has entered into an option and sale and purchase agreement with Mining
Equities (the "Agreement"), pursuant to which Mining Equities has granted
Oracle an exclusive option to acquire a 100% interest in the Tenement (the
"Option").

Under the terms of the Agreement, in consideration for Mining Equities
granting the Option to Oracle, the Company shall pay a fee of £30,000 by way
of the issue of 136,986,301 new ordinary shares of 0.001p each in the capital
of Oracle ("Ordinary Shares"), determined using the VWAP for the five business
day period immediately prior to signing of the Agreement (the "Five-Day VWAP")
(the "Option Consideration Shares"). The Option has a term of 45 days
commencing from the date of execution of the Agreement (the "Option Term").
During the Option Term, Mining Equities has agreed to use all reasonable
endeavours to provide Oracle with the data and relevant information on the
Tenement in order for Oracle to conduct its due diligence exercise. If Oracle
elects to exercise the Option to acquire a 100% interest in the Tenement, the
Company shall pay consideration of £200,000 to Mining Equities, through the
issue of a further 913,242,009 new Ordinary Shares (the "Consideration
Shares"), determined using the Five-Day VWAP.

Should Oracle elect to exercise the Option, the transfer of the Tenement from
Mining Equities to Oracle would be subject to and conditional on the Company
obtaining the prior written consent of the Minister of Mines and Petroleum in
the State of Western Australia.

Any issue of new Ordinary Shares to Mining Equities under the terms of the
Agreement shall be subject to a three-month lock-in period from their date of
issue.

Mining Equities has not published any statutory financial statements since it
acquired the Tenement but has incurred costs associated with the Tenement of
A$53,830, which have all been capitalised in its unaudited management
accounts.

Naheed Memon, CEO of Oracle, commented"The Option over a base metal and silver
project in Western Australia, of this magnitude, represents a great
opportunity for Oracle. Due diligence will be completed over the coming weeks,
and an assessment of the best exploration tools to move the Project forward
will be undertaken by our technical team. The Project area is also highly
prospective for gold, with the Eastern Hills Gold Project 11km to the north
and the famous Paulsen Gold Mine 42km to the north-north-east. A number of
uranium projects are also nearby, including Paladin's 25.9Mlb uranium project
and Cauldon's 30.9Mlb uranium deposit, indicating potential sediment hosted
uranium near hot granites in the Ashburton Basin."

 

Admission and total voting rights

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange plc for the 136,986,301
Option Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It
is expected that Admission will become effective at 8.00 a.m. on or around 12
April 2024. The Option Consideration Shares will rank pari passu with the
existing Ordinary Shares.

 

On Admission, the enlarged issued ordinary share capital of the Company will
be 4,872,401,688 Ordinary Shares, with no shares held in Treasury. Therefore,
the total voting rights in the Company following Admission will be
4,872,401,688 and this figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as
the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are
required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the
share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules.

For further information on Oracle Power PLC, visit the Company's website at
www.oraclepower.co.uk (http://www.oraclepower.co.uk) or contact:

 

Oracle Power PLC

Naheed Memon - CEO
 
+44 (0) 203 580 4314

 

Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)

Rory Murphy, Matthew Chandler, Rob
Patrick
+44 (0) 20 7409 3494

 

Global Investment Strategy UK Limited (Joint Broker)

Samantha
Esqulant
+44 (0) 20 7048 9432

 

St Brides Partners Limited (Financial PR)

Susie Geliher, Isabel de Salis
 
+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
EU Regulation No. 596/2014, which forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by virtue of
the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

 

Competent Person's Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results,
mineral resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by Mr
Edward Mead, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy. Mr Mead is a consultant to the Company. Mr Mead has sufficient
experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of
deposits under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to
qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the
`Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserves' (the JORC Code). Mr Mead consents to the inclusion of this
information in the form and context in which it appears in this announcement.

Figure 1: Photo of Rich Copper Oxide Sample from a Historical Trench within
the Blue Rock Shafts (TechGen, 8 September 2021)

About Blue Rock Valley Copper and Silver Project:

The Blue Rock Valley Copper and Silver Project (E08/3604) is located in the
Ashburton Basin, in the northwest region of Western Australia. The site is
located 165km southeast of Onslow, the main port for the region's Iron and LNG
exports, which is a multi-user port. Access is from the Northwest Coastal
Highway on a well-maintained unsealed road. Refer to Figure 2 below for
location.

Conceptually, the Company sees similarities between the Project and the
Maroochydore Sediment hosted copper deposits and Nifty, both in Western
Australia. Nifty is a world class Copper deposit with Global resources
exceeding 95Mt @ 1% Cu. The tectonic setting and lithological package are
similar also to the Mt Isa Formation which hosts the George Fisher Zn-Pb-Ag
deposit and the Mt Isa Copper deposit.

To further develop the Project, subject to, inter alia, exercise of the Option
and approval of the Minister of Mines and Petroleum in Western Australia,
Oracle plans to:

·    Digitise all historical data

·    Assess the benefits of a geochemical sampling programme

·    Assess the benefits of a ground gravity geophysical programme

·    Undertake drilling based on the existing EM target and any other
anomalies identified

Project's Geology

The eastern portion of the Project area overlies the Wyloo Group sediments of
the Ashburton Basin which are unconformably overlain by rocks of the Edmund
Basin (previously the Bangemall Basin), which cover the western portion of the
Tenement. The contact between the Ashburton and Edmund basins is interpreted
as being a thrust contact with movement to the west and can be clearly seen in
the regional aeromagnetic image.

Mineralisation

The Ashburton Mineral Field (which incorporates the Project area) has a long
history of gold, copper, silver, lead and zinc exploration.

Several smaller prospects which were historically exploited for gold, copper,
silver and lead are located nearby including the Soldiers Secret and Top Camp
gold deposits. Small-scale production of copper, lead and silver has also been
recorded in the Ashburton Basin, mainly from the Ashburton Downs copper
deposits within the Project area and others in the region such as Kooline (Pb,
Ag) and Bali Hi (Cu-Pb-Ag) areas.

Historical Exploration

The Ashburton Downs copper deposits have a long history of exploration. Within
the Project area, a number of prospects have been examined by Jackson
(2007-2010), Cauldron Energy ("Cauldron") up to 2010, and TechGen Metals Ltd
("TechGen") to March 2022. No work has been undertaken since March 2022 to the
present day. Most of the exploration was confined to surface rock chip
sampling where some high grades of copper were identified; Jackson 10.7% Cu,
Cauldron 1.82% Cu and Techgen up to 16.05% Cu.

In addition, TechGen carried out geophysical surveys over the Project area. In
March 2022, seven reverse circulation (RC) drill holes were completed over two
of the three geophysical targets defined. The third target in the syncline to
the southwest of the historical Blue Rocks Mine, remains untested and
undrilled, and Oracle believes this to be the centre of the mineralised
system. Examples of the mineralisation style can be seen in Figures 1, 3 and
4. Figure 5 illustrates the TechGen geophysical anomalies and drill holes.

Refer to the Highlights section above for further information on the rock chip
sample and RC drill hole results.

Figure 2: Blue Rock Valley project location and access

Figure 3: Rock sample BRR011 assayed at 49.9% copper and 4.93g/t silver
(TechGen, 13 October 2021)

Figure 4: One of several historical copper workings from the 1960s in the
Project area with oxide copper samples (TechGen, 19 September 2021)

 

Figure 5: VTEM anomalies and drill hole locations, Blue Rock Valley Project
(TechGen, 3 March 2022). The untested target is 2.2km in strike/length

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