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RNS Number : 4581S Red Rock Resources plc 16 November 2021
Red Rock Resources PLC
("Red Rock" or the "Company")
Summary of Gold Exposure
16 November 2021
Red Rock Resources Plc, the natural resource development company with
interests in gold, copper/cobalt, and other minerals, summarises the exposure
to gold which runs through its portfolio.
Highlights
• A JORC Indicated and Inferred Resource of 15.13 Mt @ 1.49 g/t Au
with contained metal content of 723 koz in greenstones in Western license,
Kenya
• New exploration targets identified by recent work in Eastern
license, Kenya
• Significant new target zone identified in Western license, Kenya
• A tailings deposit containing 68koz Au @ 1.7g/t Au in Kenya
• A gold royalty over the producing El Limon mine in Colombia
• 50.01% of Red Rock Australasia Pty Ltd, which is preparing to list
its Victoria gold assets
• Royalties over the Company's gold interests
• A new gold exploration subsidiary in the greenstone belt of the
Côte d'Ivoire
• A new gold exploration subsidiary in the greenstone belt of Burkina
Faso
Diagram: Gold assets of Red Rock Resources PLC [INSERT FIGURE 1]
Red Rock Chairman Andrew Bell comments: "After reaching highs above $2000/oz
in late Summer 2020, Gold has underperformed most other asset classes since,
as it came back to consolidate around its breakout levels. There are now
signs, with the better performance in the last month, that it is breaking this
downtrend, in which case it may reach or exceed last year's highs in the next
months. We have some confidence that fundamentals can support it at or around
current levels.
Since the larger part of the Company's interests are in gold, this is an
appropriate moment to set out Red Rock's gold exposure across its projects,
noting that the Company's gold interests in the African Greenstone Belts have
recently extended with the submission of five license applications in the
Côte d'Ivoire and the setting up of an operational subsidiary in Burkina
Faso.
Except in Australia, the projects are 100% beneficially owned by Red Rock.
In the course of my recent visit, the manager of our Côte d'Ivoire subsidiary
revisited Djekanou with me and we have confirmed the prospectivity of this
application area which we expect to be one of the first granted. As many as
three of the applications are over ground we know well and where we can
proceed to exploration with some confidence.
Our choices in Burkina Faso have also been carefully assessed. Our criterion
for selection in both countries has been to ask ourselves the question: "would
the initial selection of assets form an entity listable in its own right?"
The tenor of discoveries and new mines in West Africa has exceeded the global
average, reflecting the immaturity of exploration as well as the gold
endowment.
It is a great pleasure to us that, with Cluff no longer present, we are, as we
return, the only listed British exploration company with a permanent presence
in these countries. For so prospective a territory, this is truly
extraordinary. We can operate with confidence because of the high standard of
professional formation of the technocrats and Ministers with whom we deal, and
the excellent local teams of geologists, including our London-based data
manager, a Burkinabe born in Côte d'Ivoire.
Elsewhere in Africa, we continue our drill programme and geophysics in Kenya,
with the three aims of infilling to increase Resource grade, size, and
category, and of defining Resource in new areas, and of identifying new
targets. We are confident that we can do all three, including building
Resource ounces in the areas of our Eastern license highlighted by our ground
geophysics programmes. Our geophysics is more or less continuous now that we
have our own magnetics and IP (induced polarisation) equipment.
We continue to work on permitting the tailings project in Kenya and we monitor
closely the progress of the operators of our former Colombian mine at El Limon
in Antioquia.
Finally, the preparations for the IPO of our Australian assets located in the
Victorian gold belt are continuing. As in West Africa, we used research to
identify areas that could be picked up through new license applications, as
this can be more cost-effective than purchase or farm-in. Having been
fortunate in the timing of our initial applications in an area now in high
demand, Covid-related measures in Victoria have slowed both grants and work
since. The highly professional team on the ground in Australia have however
used the extra time - that we would rather they had not had - this year to
great effect in tracking old and forgotten mines and piecing together
immediate drill targets that look prospective. As Victoria comes out of
lockdowns activity by us and others will be increasing. We believe that we can
find new mines in this nineteenth century gold rush territory and if we have
the right management, enthusiasm, and money we shall do it quicker.
We remain more a gold company than anything else, and as gold rises again
through $1850 an ounce, and hits new highs in some currencies, we want to be
positioned to take advantage. That is what much of our recent work has been
directed to. As our new gold subsidiaries, which we hope to fund independently
and in due course list in their own right, are in Francophone Africa, we end
with the words of Louis Pasteur, "le hasard ne favorise que les esprits
préparés" - fortune favours the prepared mind."
Further Information on Key Gold Assets
The table below sets out the current position in each of the territories in
which we hold gold exploration or production interests. This material is as
previously disclosed by Red Rock, and as material developments occur, they
will be disclosed by new announcements. All licenses are 100% beneficially
owned except where stated.
Country Holding Project Notes
Australia New Ballarat Gold Corporation PLC ("NBGC") Victoria Gold Project. Victoria Gold Province. One of world's largest orogenic gold provinces, with
13 mines that produced over 1m oz of gold. Active 1851 to c1900. Recent surge
Red Rock Australasia Pty Ltd ("RRAL") RRAL holdings comprise seven granted licenses totalling 848 sq km and six in exploration and current annual production c650,000 oz.
principal license applications totalling 1458 sq km.
[Share exchange under way whereby Red Rock will own 50.01% of NBGC, which will
own 100% of RRAL] Three immediate drill targets have been identified and NBGC is being prepared
for a 2021/2022 IPO.
Burkina Faso Faso Minerals Ltd ("FML") A number of highly prospective target areas have been identified and will be The West African Greenstone Belts extend from Ghana to Mali with the most
applied for upon lifting of a current short moratorium. substantial and least explored parts in Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
Faso Greenstone Resources SARL ("FGR")
Negotiations continue with the owners of two existing licenses known to be The Northern and Eastern borderlands of Burkina Faso, historically safe, are
FML is 100% owned by Red Rock and owns 100% of FGR. strongly mineralised that would meet Red Rock's criteria. now affected by radicalisation of the cross-border semi-nomadic tribal
population of these areas.
The Southern and Western greenstones are in secure areas.
Colombia Royalty over El Limon Mine and Plant Mine and surrounding area in Northern Antioquia. 3% NSR Royalty on Mine and Plant Production up to $2m; thereafter $1m payable
at 1%.
Côte d'Ivoire Lac Minerals Ltd ("LML") Five licenses covering 1907 sq km in the greenstones that meet Red Rock's The largest portion of the West African Greenstone Belts lies in Côte
criteria have been applied for. d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), which lies to the West of Ghana and South of Burkina
LacGold Resources SARL ("LGR")
Faso and Mali.
The Company hopes to have grant of the first two shortly.
LML is 100% owned by Red Rock and owns 100% of LGR.
Historically underexplored (the long-serving post-independence President did
Near Yamassoukro, a 384.2 sq km license at Djekanou will upon grant be a high not favour mining), the country from a governance and geological perspective
priority exploration target. is one of the most prospective gold plays worldwide.
Kenya Mid Migori Mining Ltd Two gold exploration licenses covering 245 sq km stretching West-East along Containing in the South towards the Tanzanian border the northern extension of
the line of a greenstone belt are held. the Tanzanian greenstones, Kenya has been a neglected but now increasingly
RRR Kenya Ltd
recognised gold province.
Upon restoration of the licenses in 2020, a new Mineral Resource Estimate
(under JORC 2012) on the central area of the western license was commissioned
from CSA, identifying a Resource of 723,000 oz at 1.49 g/t. This updated the
JORC report by CSA in 2012 (1,192 oz at 1.26 g/t).
Western license: an RC infill and step-out drilling programme is under way and
two existing areas, one included in former Resource calculations, and both
previously drilled, are being tested by ground geophysics for a follow up
drill programme to bring them to Resource status.
Eastern license: earlier drilling, geochemistry and mapping programmes could
not be followed up until license restoration in late 2020, since when a
rolling programme of large scale ground geophysics (magnetics, IP, and
pole-dipole IP) has been undertaken and continues in preparation for drilling
for an Inferred Resource.
Tailings: the previously announced (but now non-compliant as under a previous
version of JORC) 68,000 oz of gold at 1.7 g/t is being re-examined with
further work on the EIA and metallurgy being commissioned, in parallel with
discussions with the Council and community.
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Bell 0207 747
9990
Chairman Red Rock Resources Plc
Roland Cornish/ Rosalind Hill Abrahams 0207 628 3396 NOMAD
Beaumont Cornish Limited
Jason Robertson 0207 374
2212
Broker First Equity
Limited
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