Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA ) said it is focused on “putting the detailed plans in place” to undertake continuous exposure of new structures by underground development at Clogau.
With a historic mine that closed in 1998 when the gold price was only $300 per ounce and produced at least 80,000 ounces of gold, Clogau is the UK’s largest ever gold producer.
The Company highlighted that recent drilling campaigns completed by Alba over the past 12 months at the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine have successfully identified new development opportunities, both along strike and down dip of areas of known historic gold production.
Two clear targets have been defined for near-term development: the Llechfraith Payshoot (“LLP”), below the Llechfraith Adit, and the Main Lode System Extension (“MLS-EX”).
At LLP, drilling has proven vein continuity up to ~122 m below existing workings, while at MLS-EX, drilling has defined a previously unknown Lode whilst also intercepting the 7-10 Lode and Grandfathers Payshoot at up to ~60 m below existing workings, Alba explained.
As previously advised by the Company, the nature of the orebody at Clogau, in particular its nugget effect, is such that drilling can only be used for defining structure not grade.
‘The only feasible way to assess gold grade is to undertake continuous exposure of the unworked veins by means of underground development. Such development is still, therefore, in the nature of exploratory work, albeit that it will now be much more focused on specific target zones which have been defined by the drilling campaigns,’ the Company highlighted.
In conjunction with a senior independent mining engineering consultant, the Company has produced a preliminary development plan for these high-priority areas of the Clogau mine.
The Company explained that the development at the LLP below the No. 4 Level at Clogau will involve ‘either rehabilitating and extending the existing shaft or developing a new inclined shaft from the Llechfraith Level, with a current preference for a new inclined shaft.’
Meanwhile, with the identification of the New Branch Lode in between the 7-10 and Jack Williams Lodes in the MLS-EX at the site, an around 48 m crosscut can be driven from the Llechfraith Level to reach both the New Branch and Jack Williams Lodes, Alba noted.
From these preliminary development plans in place, Alba Minerals will be able to gain on-reef exposure of the target veins, allowing for gold grades to be better quantified by bulk sampling.
The Company said it will now proceed to firm up on the engineering and cost aspects of its preliminary development plan and said the finalised plans will be confirmed ‘in due course.’
Alba’s Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented: “Having successfully established gold-bearing structures and defined high-priority development opportunities through drilling, we are now focused on putting the detailed plans in place to undertake continuous exposure of those new structures by underground development. This is the most effective method to assess economic gold content in a project of this type.”
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At the end of September 2021, the Group confirmed to investors this morning that GreenRoc Mining, a spin-off vehicle based on its Greenland mining assets, had begun trading on AIM.
On its first day of dealings, GreenRoc Mining announced that it has raised £5.12 million at 10p a share, valuing the company at £11.1m upon its admission to London’s junior AIM market.Alba will be majority shareholder of GreenRoc with a 54% stake in the new vehicle.
Under the terms of the spin-off, GreenRoc has now acquired all the Greenlandic mining assets of Alba Mineral Resources being the Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Project, the Amitsoq Graphite Project, the Melville Bay Iron Project and the Inglefield Multi-Element Project.
The Company intends to progress exploration and development activities in respect of the Greenland Projects ‘with the aim of securing a mining licence and commencing commercial production at one or more of the projects within the earliest practicable timescale.’
The London-listed firm announced in its final results for the year ended 30 November 2020 published back in May 2021 its intention to form a new AIM-quoted, Greenland-focused, spin-out company that would unlock ‘real and sustained value’ across its asset portfolio.
The plan formed after the pandemic had placed some doubt upon Alba’s ability to execute its field programmes, particularly at the Amitsoq Graphite Project where it had plans to drill.
At the time, it said it believed that moving the Greenland Projects into a new listed vehicle would allow the market to set ‘a clear value for those assets in isolation’ rather than as part of a larger pool of diverse mining, oil and gas and exploration assets, as is currently the case.
According to the European Commission, nearly half of the EU’s supply of natural graphite and titanium is provided by China, highlighting the EU’s overdependence on Chinese supply.
GreenRoc said its strategy of seeking to fast-track the development of the Amitsoq and the Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Projects are therefore supported by both the US and the EU.
In recent weeks, more investors have turned their eyes towards Greenland after KoBold Metals, a mineral exploration firm backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, signed an agreement with Bluejay Mining to search for critical materials used in EV vehicles within the region.
Kirk Adams, Chief Executive Officer of GreenRoc, told shareholders that GreenRoc’s debut on AIM comes at a time when demand for critical minerals is “increasing significantly.”
“Our objective is to fast-track exploration, supported by our successful £5.12m fundraising, to significantly add to the inherent value of our assets and move towards development.
In a Q&A from May 2021, Alba Minerals’s Chairman, George Frangeskides elaborates on the rationale behind spinning out their Greenland assets into a new listed entity. He discusses the benefits to both Alba and its shareholders, funding and the advantages of Greenland.
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