Arkadian Strategic Metals Plc / EPIC: AKN / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

26 August 2026

Arkadian Strategic Metals Plc

("Arkadian" or the "Company") 

Clogau Gold Mine Operational and Exploration Update

Arkadian Strategic Metals Plc (AIM: AKN), the strategic metals and gold-focused exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities at its 100%-owned Clogau-St David's Gold Mine in north Wales.

Highlights

•        Ladder and platform installations completed to establish access from the Tyn y Cornel Level to the Jack Williams stope area.

•        The installation provides a staged access route through an approximately 12-metre vertical section.

•        The Jack Williams stope is the westernmost historically mined portion of the Main Lode, the source of most historic gold production at Clogau-St David's.

•        The Jack Williams stope was identified as an exploration target following the Company's 2020 and 2021 drilling and three-dimensional geological modelling.

•        Direct access will enable geological inspection, mapping and systematic sampling to determine whether more extensive underground development is justified.

•        The detailed sampling and mineralogical review of the Lower Llechfraith Level 5 development and other accessible parts of the mine remains ongoing.

•        Geological information and samples obtained from the Jack Williams stope will be incorporated into the wider mineralogical review and used to rank future underground exploration targets.

Jack Williams access works

The Company has completed the installation of ladders and intermediate access platforms to establish a staged access route from the Tyn y Cornel Level into the Jack Williams stope area. The installation traverses an approximately 12-metre vertical section and makes use of existing mine workings.

The new route will enable the Company's geological team to access the area for detailed inspection, mapping and systematic sampling.

The Jack Williams stope is located at the junction of the Tyn y Cornel adit and the Main Lode. It represents the westernmost historically mined portion of the Main Lode, the principal quartz-vein structure along which the majority of historic mining at Clogau-St David's took place.

Historic records indicate that the Main Lode was worked eastwards from the Jack Williams stope for approximately 300 metres to the Bryntirion Fault and for at least a further 150 metres within the St David's Mine workings.

Previous drilling and development plans

The potential western continuation of the Main Lode was identified as an exploration opportunity following the Company's 2020 underground drilling programme. Subsequent drilling and three-dimensional modelling in 2021 identified a number of target structures within the Main Lode System Extension, including the projected Jack Williams Lode and a separate structure termed the New Branch Lode.

In 2021, the Company outlined a preliminary development concept involving an approximately 48-metre crosscut northwards from the Llechfraith Level. That development was intended to provide direct on-lode access to previously unmined ground associated with the New Branch and projected Jack Williams structures, allowing bulk sampling and vein characterisation to be undertaken.

The current ladder-and-platform installation serves a different and more immediate purpose. By using the existing workings from the Tyn y Cornel Level, the Company can directly inspect and sample the historically worked Jack Williams area before deciding whether substantial new underground development is technically justified.

Figure 1: A section of the new ladders and platforms installed at the Jack Williams stope, Tyn y Cornel level.

The investigation is intended to assess the geological continuity and mineralisation of the Main Vein in this area and to evaluate two potential exploration directions: the westward continuation of the Main Vein and the potential for further exploration within and around the existing Jack Williams stope. The work will help determine whether the area warrants more extensive exploration development and its potential inclusion in future mine development planning.

Work is scheduled to begin in early September.

Ongoing mineralogical review

Following completion of the recent underground development on Level 5 of the Lower Llechfraith workings, the detailed sampling and mineralogical review previously announced by the Company remains ongoing.

Although the Level 5 development completed to date has not produced the economic gold-bearing material the Company had hoped to encounter, it has provided a fresh and continuous geological exposure through the Lower Llechfraith area. This has enabled accurately located samples and geological observations to be collected and compared with historic plans, known gold occurrences and other accessible areas of the mine.

The review is examining the relationships between vein structure, host rock, quartz textures, fractures and associated sulphide minerals. Its objective is to develop practical geological and mineralogical criteria for identifying favourable ground and ranking potential underground targets.

Observations and samples obtained from the Jack Williams area will be incorporated into this mine-wide review. In particular, the work will seek to improve the Company's understanding of the Main Lode in the vicinity of the historic Jack Williams stope and assess the case for further exploration within the existing workings and towards the projected western continuation of the structure.

The results will be used to determine where further sampling, access or exploration development is likely to provide the greatest geological value. Any material findings will be announced once the relevant technical work has been completed and reviewed.

Company comment

George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman, commented:

"Exploration at Clogau has always required a disciplined and evidence-led approach, given the highly variable and nuggety distribution of its gold mineralisation. Our response is therefore to continue following the geological evidence and to compare what we have learned at Level 5 with other priority areas within the mine.

"The completion of the new access route to the Jack Williams stope, following excellent work by our in-house mining team, enables us to turn our attention to a historically important part of the Main Lode, the structure responsible for most of Clogau's historic gold production and a target identified through our earlier drilling and geological modelling.

"We are particularly pleased that this access has been achieved by making effective use of the existing mine workings. It will allow our team to inspect, map and sample the Jack Williams area before we commit to more extensive underground development. The resulting information will form an important part of our mine-wide technical review and help us identify the strongest targets for the next phase of work at Clogau."

*ENDS**

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