REG - Savannah Resources - Update on Fieldwork and Other Activities

Savannah ResourcesAnnouncement

05/12/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 6337V  Savannah Resources PLC  05 December 2023

 

 

5 December 2023

 

Savannah Resources Plc

(AIM: SAV, FWB: SAV and SWB: SAV) ('Savannah', or the 'Company')

 

Update on Fieldwork and Other Activities

 

Savannah Resources Plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project (the
'Project') in Portugal, Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit, is pleased
to provide an update on a number of workstreams as it continues to advance the
Project.

 

Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS'):

 

Drilling:

·    The Company is on track with the first phase of its 2023/24 drilling
programme, despite an extended period of bad weather. As of 30 November,
Savannah has completed 24 (1,533 m) of the planned 60 holes (3,235m).

·    Infill drilling for future JORC Resource ('Resource') upgrades has
been completed at the NOA orebody with the rigs now working at Reservatorio.

·    In total 4 rigs are working across the Project on Resource,
hydrogeological, metallurgical and geotechnical related drilling campaigns.

·    Assay results from the Resource related drilling will be reported in
due course with Savannah expecting to start publishing updated Resource
estimations on a deposit by deposit basis from Q1 2024.

Design Work & Metallurgy:

·    Design work: Savannah's team and its consultants are advancing work
on final designs for the Project's working areas, processing plant and
infrastructure. Various minor optimisations are being made at the Project to
implement the latest learnings from the Australia lithium industry.

·    Metallurgy: Samples from the drilling campaign will be used by
consultants, Minsol, to further refine plant operating parameters, such as
reagent ratios and processing temperatures.

Schedule:

·    Savannah still expects to complete the DFS in 2H 2024.

 

Environmental Licencing:

·    Hydrogeology: In parallel with the related drilling, Knight Piésold
and the Savannah team have surveyed all known freshwater springs to build an
accurate model of the area's hydrogeology.

·    Flora & Fauna: The first in a series of seasonal studies of local
flora has been carried out to map the local biotope and to identify invasive
plant species.

·    Social Impact Assessment: Community Insights Group has now completed
approximately 400 interviews with local people as part of the Social Impact
Assessment and is now analysing the data.

·    Archaeology: A team of archaeologists is monitoring all drilling work
to ensure no existing archaeological heritage is affected and any new
archaeological finds can be identified.

·    Schedule: Savannah still expects to complete the studies, works and
adaptations required to confirm compliance with all elements of the DIA in 2H
2024.

 

Other workstreams:

·    Powerline connection: E-REDES, the main operator of the national
electricity distribution network, has now confirmed the required connection
specifications, and Savannah will initiate a tender for this work.

·    Operation Influencer: Savannah has had no further engagement with the
Portuguese public prosecutor following the searches conducted on 7 November.
We have affirmed publicly our availability to cooperate fully with authorities
if required (see 7 November RNS). The Company is continuing with all its
business activities unencumbered and will make further announcements regarding
the investigation in due course.

·    Stakeholder engagement: Savannah is increasing its direct contact
with local stakeholders through formal and informal interactions. A number of
meetings have been held with the local authority and other key local
stakeholders to engage regarding Savannah's activities, including the
fieldwork programme.

·    Strategic Partnering Process: Savannah, together with its financial
advisers, has been preparing for the next phase of the process. Further
updates will be provided in due course, as appropriate.

·    Shareholder event: An in-person (UK) and online presentation to
shareholders is planned for the New Year. Further details of the event will be
provided in due course.

 

Savannah's Chief Executive Officer, Emanuel Proença said, "As we move towards
the end of the year, Savannah continues to push hard on multiple fronts to
advance our Project towards development as well as engage with stakeholders
and identify strategic partners.

 

"Savannah's technical team and our consultants, composed of highly skilled and
experienced professionals out of Portugal and Western Australia, are extremely
busy advancing the multiple workstreams on the Project. With four rigs now on
site, our commitment to completing the important tasks of the drilling
programme for the DFS and the environmental licencing should be clear to all.
We remain on track to complete both the DFS and the work necessary to confirm
compliance with all elements of the DIA in the second half of 2024.

 

"I have been in Boticas multiple times in recent weeks and have had the
opportunity to engage directly with the local authority and other key local
stakeholder groups. I have been clarifying Savannah's approach to all our
activities, including the ongoing fieldwork programme and have taken onboard
learnings that will support our role as a partner to the region as we move to
development and production.

 

"Away from the Project, we are also moving ahead as planned with the strategic
partnering process, which we initiated last month with Barclays and
Barrenjoey. While the Company has faced some unexpected challenges recently,
we are taking proactive steps to address them and continue to make solid
progress on all fronts. We look forward to providing further updates on all
our activities over the coming months."

 

Figure 1: Drilling at the NOA deposit during the current campaign

Source: Company

 

Regulatory Information

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").

 

Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy transition.

 

**ENDS**

Follow @SavannahRes on X (Formerly known as Twitter)

Follow Savannah Resources on LinkedIn

 

 

For further information please visit www.savannahresources
(http://www.savannahresources) .com or contact:

 

 Savannah Resources PLC                                                 Tel: +44 20 7117 2489

 Emanuel Proença, CEO

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Joint Broker)      Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 David Hignell/ Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

 Grant Barker/Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)

 SCP Resource Finance (Joint Broker)                                    Tel: +44 204 548 1765
 Filipe Martins/Chris Tonkin

 Camarco (Financial PR)                                                 Tel: +44 20 3757 4980

 Gordon Poole/ Emily Hall / Fergus Young

 LPM (Portugal Media Relations)                                         Tel: +351 218 508 110

 Herminio Santos/ Jorge Coelho

 

 

About Savannah

Savannah Resources is a mineral resource development company and the sole
owner of the Barroso Lithium Project in northern Portugal, the largest grade
spodumene lithium resource outlined to date in Europe.

 

Through the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project'), Savannah will help
Portugal to play an important role in providing a long-term, locally sourced,
lithium raw material supply for Europe's rapidly developing lithium battery
value chain. After the Environmental Licence was granted in May 2023 and the
Scoping Study confirmed the economic potential of the Project in June 2023,
production is now targeted and on track to begin in 2026. At that stage,
Savannah will start producing enough lithium for approximately half a million
vehicle battery packs per year, equal to a significant portion of the European
Commission's Critical Raw Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European
endogenous lithium production set for 2030. Savannah is focused on the
responsible development and operation of the Barroso Lithium Project so that
its impact on the environment is minimised and the socio-economic benefits
that it can bring to all its stakeholders are maximised.

 

The Company is listed and regulated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) and the Company's ordinary shares are also available
on the Quotation Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) under the symbol
FWB: SAV, and the Börse Stuttgart (SWB) under the ticker "SAV".

 

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