REG - Sunrise Resources - Reese Ridge Zinc-Lead-Silver (-Gallium) Project

Sunrise ResourcesAnnouncement

26/09/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240926:nRSZ6839Fa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6839F  Sunrise Resources Plc  26 September 2024

 

26 September 2024

 

SUNRISE RESOURCES PLC

("Sunrise" or the "Company")

 

Reese Ridge Zinc-Lead-Silver (-Gallium) Project

 

Sunrise Resources plc is pleased to announce further high-grade zinc, lead and
silver analytical results from recent sampling at its Reese Ridge
Zinc-Lead-Silver (-Gallium) Project in Nevada, USA.

 

Highlights

 

·    Short field programme carried out during the summer to locate
additional areas of high-grade base-metal and silver mineralisation at
surface.

 

·    Field portable x-ray fluorescence ("pXRF") analyser used to locate
mineralisation in real time.

 

·    New area of high-grade zinc, lead and silver mineralisation
discovered 260m west of previously reported high-grade samples.

 

·    Field pXRF results confirmed by laboratory analysis of samples with
highest silver and lead values found to-date:

 

Ø 24.5% combined lead-zinc and 383g/t silver in sample 24RR-AL19.

 

Ø 18.6% combined zinc-lead and 51g/t silver in sample 24RR-AL18.

 

·    Additional samples of iron-rich gossans contain zinc in the range
0.1%-3.2% zinc.

 

·    Widespread barite mineralisation also reported, typical of Carbonate
Replacement Deposit ("CRD") style of mineralisation.

 

 

Detailed information and photographs follow.

 

 

Commenting today, Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman, said:.

 

"These latest results are very encouraging. This new area is some distance
from the previously reported high-grade samples, but all of these samples lie
above the large low resistivity zone that has been defined as a primary drill
target for CRD mineralisation by the Company's interpretation of historical
airborne geophysical surveys. CRD style mineralisation is an attractive target
as economic deposits tend to be large and high-grade. New discoveries of CRD
style mineralisation include the Ruby Hill deposits near Eureka in Nevada and
the now producing Taylor deposit in the adjacent state of Arizona.

 

"Given the scale of the opportunity presented at Reese Ridge it makes sense
that the Board considers Reese Ridge to be a priority asset for exploration
alongside the commercialisation of our high-quality industrial mineral assets.
Further work could include ground geophysics and drilling as resources allow."

 

 

Detailed Information

 

The Company's wholly owned Reese Ridge Project is located on the south side of
the prospective Humboldt Structural Zone, 52 miles south-southwest of Battle
Mountain, Nevada.

 

The project covers a ridge-forming fault-bounded horst block of
limestones/shales fault-juxtaposed against younger shales all bounded to the
east and west by Tertiary age volcano-sedimentary basins.

 

The limestone is host to numerous conspicuous iron-rich gossans derived from
massive and semi-massive sulphides which also attracted the Company's
attention and that of early prospectors looking for silver. These gossans have
exotic geochemistry and consistently anomalous zinc, lead and silver with
values up to 6.8% zinc, 3.3% lead and 51g/t silver. Forty-three samples taken
from these gossans and old workings averaged 0.86% zinc.

 

Subsequently, prospecting by the Company yielded a sample of unremarkable
limestone containing a few spots of the lead sulphide mineral galena and a
high-grade analysis of 15.9% zinc (alongside 0.3% lead and 17ppm silver).
Follow-up sampling yielded high-grade samples containing up to 29.6% zinc,
0.3% lead, 7ppm silver, 68ppm gallium. These high-grade samples tend to be
iron-poor in comparison and the zinc is contained as oxide and/or  carbonate
minerals that are difficult to identify in the field in an area where the
rocks are significantly altered and do not have the stand-out characteristics
of iron-rich gossans and are easily overlooked.

 

Recently, in July, the Company contracted geological consultants, Big Rock
Exploration, to carry out a 3-day field reconnaissance programme using a pXRF
analyser to gather real-time field information on the zinc, lead and silver
levels across different parts of the project area. Extreme summer temperatures
were experienced during the fieldwork (+40(o)C) which adversely affected the
operation of the pXRF and the accuracy of readings. The pXRF did, however,
help direct the collection of field samples for subsequent laboratory
geochemical analysis.

 

Laboratory analytical results are now available and have highlighted an area
some 260m west of the previously identified high-grade samples where two rock
samples yielded very high lead, zinc and silver results as follows:

 

Ø +24.5% combined lead-zinc and 383g/t silver in sample 24RR-AL19.

(4.5% zinc and greater than 20% lead, the upper instrument detection limit for
the chosen analytical method)

 

Ø 18.6% combined zinc-lead and 51g/t silver in sample 24RR-AL18.

(11.7% zinc and 6.9% lead)

Sample 24RR-AL18 was taken from an old mine dump whereas sample 24RR-AL19 was
taken from a rock outcrop (see Photos 1 & 2 following). Outcrop in the
project area is generally very poor due to the extensive scree deposits.

 

Consistent with the analytical results from previously reported high-grade
samples, the above samples have a relatively low iron content. Additional
samples of the more iron-rich gossans collected during the recent sampling
programme contained consistently anomalous zinc contents in the range 0.1-3.2%
zinc. Widespread barite was also reported from scree by Big Rock Exploration.

 

Previous samples from Reese Ridge have shown high levels of gallium, up to
69ppm. Gallium is an essential mineral in the production of semi-conductors
and is increasingly used in the production of solar panels and high frequency
computer chips. It is extracted from some zinc ores and approximately 80% of
the world's gallium is produced in China. China has placed some restrictions
on the export of gallium and gallium compounds. The analytical method used for
the most recent samples had a lower detection limit for gallium that was too
high (50ppm) to give meaningful results.

 

In its news release of 31 October 2023, the Company announced that modelling
of historical airborne geophysical data had confirmed a large annular zone of
low resistivity (high conductivity) below the surface mineralisation that
extends from just below near surface to a depth of nearly 1,000m. This annular
zone surrounds a core of high resistivity which the Company interprets as a
granitic intrusion. All of the high-grade mineralisation found to date
overlies this low resistivity zone which the Company believes could be
indicative of a significant zone of sulphide mineralisation.

 

The geological setting and geological features of the target are consistent
with a Carbonate Replacement Deposit ("CRD") style of mineralisation. These
can be large and high-grade. A relevant example is the Hermosa Project in the
neighbouring State of Arizona which was acquired by South32 in a US$1.3
billion takeover and which includes the Taylor Deposit (138 million tonne
Mineral Resource with a zinc equivalent grade of 8.61%) now under development.
A more recent CRD discovery has been made in Nevada by i-80 Gold at the Ruby
Hill Project where spectacular zinc and silver drill intersections have been
reported.

 

The Reese Ridge project represents a significant opportunity for the Company.
Further work is justified to include ground geophysics and drilling.

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Further information:

 Sunrise Resources plc                  Tel: +44 (0)1625 838 884

 Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman
                                        Tel: +44 (0)207 628 3396

 Beaumont Cornish Limited

 Nominated Adviser

 James Biddle/Roland Cornish
                                        Tel: +44 (0)207 469 0930

 Peterhouse Capital Limited

 Broker

 Lucy Williams/Duncan Vasey

 

Shares in the Company trade on AIM. EPIC: "SRES".

Website: www.sunriseresourcesplc.com (http://www.sunriseresourcesplc.com)

 

Nominated Adviser

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 which  forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this
announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

 

 

Photo 1: Sample 24RR-AL19: >20% lead, 4.5% zinc, 383g/t silver.  Sample
taken from outcropping zone under hammer in photo.(>upper limit of
detection for lead in analytical method used)

 

 

Photo 2: Sample 24RR-AL18 - Taken from old mine dump: 11.75% zinc, 6.9% lead
and 51g/t silver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 3: Oxidised carbonate replacement mineralisation in exploratory adit 80m
south of previously reported high-grade lead and zinc values. Sample
24RR-AL16: 3.2% zinc

 

 

Note:

 

The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick
Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the
AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr. Cheetham is a Member of
the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the
Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.

 

 

Glossary:

 

Barite: a mineral chemically composed of barium sulphate, an ore of barium and
a common minerals in a variety of minerals deposit types including CRDs.

 

Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD): A high-temperature carbonate
(limestone)-hosted Ag-Pb-Zn deposit formed by the replacement of carbonate
rock, by metal-bearing solutions in the vicinity of igneous intrusions.

 

Gossan: an iron rich rock, the residual product of oxidation by weathering and
leaching of rocks originally containing high levels of sulphide minerals and
often representing the exposed upper part of a mineral deposit or mineral
vein.

 

ppm: parts per million.

 

XRF: an acronym for X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, a non-destructive
analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials.
Handheld portable XRF analysers (pXRF) work by measuring the fluorescent (or
secondary) X-rays emitted from a sample when excited by a primary X-ray
source. Each of the elements present in a sample produces a set of
characteristic fluorescent X-rays, or "unique fingerprints" which allows a
quantitative measurement of the concentration of that element in a sample.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDEELFLZKLEBBK