Assays confirm large copper system at Copperhead

29 November 2021

Rockfire Resources plc

("Rockfire" or the "Company")

Assays confirm large copper system at Copperhead

Rockfire Resources plc (LON: ROCK), the gold and base metal exploration company, is pleased to provide an update on its diamond drilling programme at the Company's 100%-owned Copperhead porphyry project ("Copperhead") in North Queensland, Australia. Assay results for the first diamond drill hole (BCH001) are now available and signal an excellent result for the Company's inaugural drill hole.

Highlights:

·    Hole BCH001 is mineralised with visible copper veins for most of its length; testimony to the potential size of the deposit. A lengthy interval of 501 m grading 0.14 % CuEq has been intersected, with the drill hole finishing with visible copper in veins.

·    This extensive interval includes a stronger zone of 244 m @ 0.20 % CuEq, as well as a more intense zone of 62 m @ 0.30 % CuEq.

·    An assay of 2.28 % Cu was encountered at 423 m depth and an assay of 0.50 % Cu was intersected only 6m from the end of the hole.

·    The tonnage potential for Copperhead has been significantly upgraded by extending copper mineralisation a further 200 m deeper than historical drilling and management is of the opinion that grade will improve at depth.

·    Alteration and visible copper mineralisation in this and subsequent drill holes indicates that our drilling is occurring in the upper, "Phyllic" levels of a large porphyry copper system (please refer to the link below).

·    Drilling at Copperhead is now complete, with a total of 5 holes drilled as part of this initial campaign. Geotechnical and geological logging of the core remains in progress.

·    Subject to weather conditions, the drill rig will move to Plateau to test a deep gravity anomaly southeast of the Central Breccia, down to 1,000 m depth.

A geological model showing the location of drilling in relation to the high-grade copper target can be viewed by clicking on the following link: 
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8035T_1-2021-11-28.pdf

David Price, Chief Executive Officer of Rockfire, comments:

"This is an outstanding result for Rockfire. The first drill hole into Copperhead for more than 50 years has hit visible copper veins along its length, over 500 m downhole. In 1972, the core was only sporadically sampled every 30 m along the length of the hole, intersecting visible copper veins over its 300 m length. Our first hole has been systematically sampled throughout its length, which has successfully extended copper mineralisation an additional 200 m deeper than previous drilling. This increases the tonnage of copper mineralisation immensely.

"There are very few bulk-tonnage porphyry copper deposits in Tier One jurisdictions globally. Our current drilling is in the high-level, quartz-sericite-pyrite ("Phyllic") alteration zone, sitting above the main porphyry source. Copperhead provides an excellent, long-term growth project for Rockfire.

"Hole BCH001 was designed to verify historical drilling from 1972. Not only did it verify the original drilling, but extended mineralisation materially. This bodes well for the bulk tonnage potential for Copperhead and grades of up to 2.28 % Cu indicate the ability of the system to generate higher-grade zones. This is an important element of exploring porphyry copper deposits.

"The Company is awaiting assay results from holes BCH002 and BCH003, which are both awaiting analysis at the laboratory. BCH004 and BCH005 are currently being geotechnically and geologically logged and will be submitted when this important work is complete. We look forward to providing the market with updated results as they are received from the laboratory."

Copper Equivalent (CuEq) values have been calculated using the following methodology:

Owing to a lack of metallurgical test work at Copperhead, the processing metallurgical recoveries are unknown. Future work will include metallurgical testing to provide information on expected metallurgical recovery.

Qualified Person Statement:

Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Edward Fry, the Exploration Manager of Rockfire Resources plc, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM). Mr Fry has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) and a "Qualified Person" in accordance with the AIM Rules Guidance Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr Fry consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information on the Company, please visit www.rockfireresources.com or contact the following: 

Notes to Editors

Rockfire Resources plc (LON: ROCK) is an exploration company with a portfolio of 100%-owned near-surface gold and large-scale copper projects in Queensland, Australia. Each of the gold projects are located within 50 km of operating gold mines and the Company's copper projects lie within 250 km of Australia's largest copper refinery.

The Company's Plateau Gold Deposit is part of the Lighthouse Tenement and bears significant geological similarities to the nearby Mt Wright gold mine (45km to the northeast), where 1.5 million ounces of gold have been mined. More than 14,000 m have been drilled within the Lighthouse tenement.

Drilling to date at the Company's copper projects, Copperhead and Copper Dome (35 km and 85 km southwest of the town of Proserpine respectively), are indicative of large-scale porphyry targets. Both projects have been drilled by previous explorers but remain under-explored, leading the Board to believe that they demonstrate significant exploration upside potential.

Rockfire Resources has adopted a strategy of growth based on advancing exploration across its existing portfolio of projects, as well as the continual assessment of opportunities to acquire outstanding strategic mineral projects worldwide.

The Company is led by a highly skilled management team, with a proven track record in exploring and discovering projects.