REG - Tertiary Minerals - First Soil Sampling Results - Mushima North

Tertiary MineralsAnnouncement

05/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7270O  Tertiary Minerals PLC  05 October 2023

5 October 2023

 

 

Tertiary Minerals plc ("Tertiary" or "the Company")

 

FIRST SOIL SAMPLING RESULTS

MUSHIMA NORTH COPPER PROJECT, ZAMBIA

 

The Company is pleased to announce positive follow-up results from portable
XRF ("pXRF") analysis of soil samples at the C1 target area at its Mushima
North Copper Project in Zambia, one of a number of targets covered in a recent
soil sampling campaign.

 

Key Points:

·    Target C1 is permissive for Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold ("IOCG"(1)) style
and traditional Copperbelt sediment-hosted mineralisation.

 

·    Includes a lone 1970s drill hole, RKN800, which, in resampling by
Tertiary, contains 33m grading 0.24% copper from 122m to the end of hole in
association with highly anomalous arsenic.

 

·    572 soil samples collected on 200m x 200m grid have defined a
significant open-ended copper anomaly above 60ppm over 4km x 1.25km, with peak
value of 211ppm copper proximal to RKN800.

 

·    The highest copper-in-soil values are coincident with highest arsenic
values in pXRF soil results; consistent with strongly anomalous arsenic in
hole RKN800.

·    A subset of samples will now be submitted for laboratory-based check
analysis.

·    pXRF results from additional target areas A1 and A2 are awaited and
expected shortly.

 

Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said:

"I am very pleased to announce further positive results from our summer
exploration programmes in Zambia. This follows the recently announced exciting
results from the Mukai Copper Project in Zambia and the signing of a term
sheet in respect of an earn-in and joint venture for Konkola West.

"Target C1 contains intriguing gravity and magnetic anomalies, key geophysical
targets for buried IOCG mineralisation, as well as known mineralisation of
traditional Copperbelt style in hole RKN800. It's encouraging to see the
geochemical signature of the mineralisation in RKN800 replicated in the soil
pXRF results, further enhancing the possibility that mineralisation of this
style is present over a wider area These new soil results confirm and
highlight the prospectivity of target C1 and drill optimisation planning will
now take place.

We are eagerly awaiting the results from soil sampling on priority target A1
and nearby target A2."

 

For more information please contact:

 Tertiary Minerals plc:
 Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman  +44 (0) 1625 838 679
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

 Nominated Adviser and Broker
 Richard Morrison                      +44 (0) 203 470 0470
 Harry Davies-Ball
 Peterhouse Capital Limited

 Joint Broker
 Lucy Williams                         + 44 (0) 207 469 0930
 Duncan Vasey

 

Market Abuse Regulation

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 as it 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.

Background Information

The Mushima North Copper Project ("Mushima North" or the "Project") comprises
Exploration Licence 27068-HQ-LEL. It covers 701 km(2) and is located in
Zambia's Northwest Province. Tertiary Minerals plc's 96% owned subsidiary,
Tertiary Minerals (Zambia) Limited, is currently earning up to a 90% interest
in the Project from local partner Mwashia Resources Limited.

Mushima North is one of five projects in Zambia where Tertiary is exploring
for copper and one of two projects which benefit from the technical
cooperation and data sharing agreement with leading copper producer First
Quantum Minerals ("FQM").

The Project lies 20km to the east of the Kalengwa copper mine (past production
4 million tons grading 5.2% Cu and 40 g/t Ag and pre-mining reserve of 600,000
tons grading 16% copper) believed to be one of the highest-grade copper
deposits ever to be mined in Zambia. In the 1970s high grade ore in excess of
26% copper, making up approximately 20% of the orebody, was trucked for direct
smelting at Copperbelt mines. Kalengwa was discovered by drill testing a
coincident copper-in-soil anomaly and gravity anomaly.

Mushima North Project

FQM has provided Tertiary with an extensive database for Mushima North which
includes airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical data, as well as
500m spaced reconnaissance soil sample analytical results. Additional
historical data for the area was made available by JAW Consulting LLC ("JAW")
of Golden, Colorado which was commissioned by the Company to compile
historical data and provide a detailed interpretation and targeting report.
The JAW targeting report has drawn on historical exploration from the 1970s
onwards by Roan Consolidated Mines, African Minerals, Zamanglo Prospecting Ltd
and BHP Billiton. The latter was exploring for IOCG deposits, a class of
mineral deposit that includes some of the largest in the world, including
Olympic Dam in South Australia.  BHP planned two holes to test for IOCG
mineralisation at target C1 but terminated all exploration in Zambia without
drilling these planned holes.

Further details of the targets generated by this report can be found in the
Company's news release of 1 June 2023.

Target C1 contains gravity and magnetic anomalies, characteristic geophysical
targets for IOCG mineralisation. It also contains conventional sediment hosted
copper (Copperbelt style) mineralisation as seen in a lone 1970s diamond drill
hole, RKN800, which, in resampling by Tertiary, contains 33m grading 0.24%
copper from 122m-155m downhole, including: 9m grading 0.43% copper from
140m-149m, and 1m grading 1.14% copper from 147-148m. Hole RKN800 ended in
mineralisation grading 0.19% copper. Drill core samples were also highly
anomalous in arsenic.

Soil Sampling Programme

In September 2023, the Company contracted Geo-Junction Consulting Limited to
perform a soil sampling programme at Mushima North to cover the C1, A1 and A2
targets. This release details the pXRF analytical results from target C1 which
was sampled first and for which results have now been received and evaluated.

A total of 572 samples were collected on or around target C1 with a sample
spacing of 200m. Soil samples were collected from the B-horizon(2), dried and
sieved to -180 micron. The sieved soil samples were placed into a sample cup
and analysed using a pXRF instrument.

pXRF results from target C1 indicate a broad west-northwest striking anomaly
which, at a 60ppm copper cut off, covers an area approximately 4 km long by
1.25km wide. The peak copper value in soils is 216ppm at the western end of
the anomaly, in the area of hole RKN800. This area also contains the highest
arsenic-in-soil values consistent with the geochemical signature of copper
mineralisation in drill hole RKN800. This enhances the possibility that
mineralisation of this style in is present over a wider area. The soil anomaly
also appears to sit within a zone of demagnetisation which may be indicative
of magnetite destructive alteration due to hydrothermal alteration.

Drill planning will now follow and may include a prior programme of ground
geophysics as the sulphide mineralisation in RKN800 is expected to be amenable
to certain geophysical detection methods.

The Company will also send a subset of samples for traditional
laboratory-based analysis as a check on these pXRF results.

 

A map illustrating the features of the C1 target is available on the Mushima
North Project page on the Company's website:

https://www.tertiaryminerals.com (https://www.tertiaryminerals.com)

 

 

Notes:

1.   Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold ("IOCG") deposits are characterised by
accumulations of iron oxides with associated copper and gold +/- uranium and
may exhibit a range of geological characteristics. They are usually associated
with granitic rocks and breccias and the large volumes of dense iron oxides
often manifest as gravity anomalies which present a means of detection, as
exemplified by BHP's supergiant Olympic Dam deposit in South Australia.

2.   Soil samples were collected from the B-horizon (at an approximate depth
of 25-30cm) at each sample site. Samples were dry sieved to minus 180 micron
with approx. 100 grammes retained and placed in a plastic sample pot and
analysed using a Drawell DW-EX7000 portable x-ray fluorescence analyser
("pXRF"). A certified reference material (AMIS0592) was analysed once between
every 10 soil samples to monitor for instrument drift.

 

3.   The information in this release has been reviewed by Mr. Patrick
Cheetham (MIMMM, M.Aus.IMM), Executive Chairman of Tertiary Minerals plc, 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.

 

4.   The news release may contain certain statements and expressions of
belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which
relate, inter alia, to the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives
or to the expectations or intentions of the Company's directors. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the
actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different
from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely on any
forward-looking statements and save as required by the AIM Rules for Companies
or by law, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any
updates or revisions to such forward-looking statements.

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