High-grade Iron Ore drill intercepts at Hancock

 

 

Trading Symbols

AIM: UFO

FWB: I3A1

2 March 2022                                                                                                                                                  OTC: ASLRF

 

Alien Metals Ltd

("Alien" or "the Company")

 

Continued significant high-grade Iron Ore drill intercepts at Hancock Iron Ore Project

 

Follow the link to view the announcement in full including all figures: 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2916D_1-2022-3-1.pdf

 

Alien Metals Ltd (LSE AIM:UFO), a global minerals exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on assay results from its Phase 3 drilling programme at the Company's Hancock Iron Ore project, part of its Hamersley Iron Ore Project, Western Australia, further to its announcement of 12 January 2022.

 

Highlights

·    Extensions to the existing Inferred Resource have been identified from the Phase 3 drilling programme:

o  46 RC holes for 1,146m were drilled to target extensions to known deposits and infill drilling on existing JORC inferred Resource of 10.4Mt @ 60.4% Fe

·    17 of the 46 RC holes returned excellent high-grade intersections

·    Results include 9m @ 62.2% Fe including 4m @ 64.3% Fe in hole 003_13, 8m @ 63.3% Fe in hole 003_14 and 7m @ 63.3% Fe in hole 003_18

·    Excellent in-fill and extension results from Ridge C and E resources

·    Consistent grades of over 60% Fe with low levels of deleterious elements

 

Bill Brodie Good, Chief Executive Officer & Technical Director of Alien Metals, commented:

"We are again delighted with the outcome of this third drilling programme at Hancock, with some excellent high-grade intersections adding more confidence to our existing resource as well as assisting in our understanding of the high-grade units' spatial relationship in the ridge systems.

 

"With these great results, Howard Baker is reviewing the resource while the team and I are already planning the next phase of drilling. This will hopefully begin in a couple of months' time with the aim of increasing the existing resource as well as testing new target ridges. The diamond drill core is currently being processed in Perth and, once all results are received, will be incorporated into the overall dataset for development purposes.

 

"Development work to get to shovel ready is also pushing ahead really well with an imminent third-party survey to start to work up the specifics for the haul road intersection with the Great Northern Highway and discussions with several possible offtake partners also progressing while ALS laboratory continue to work on the bulk sample."

 

 

As announced on 11 November 2021 and 12 January 2022, the RC drilling that was completed at the end of 2021 comprised a total of 46 holes for 1,146m, with just over half of the drilling taking place on Ridges C and E. This drilling focused on identifying extensions of the mineral resource along strike, as well as increasing drilling density for future resource reclassification. Of the 28 holes drilled on Ridge E, 18 drill holes were designed to increase the geological knowledge within the current resource as well as testing a further 650m along strike, while 4 holes were drilled to update the Ridge C resource with a couple of initial test holes extending the strike potential by a further 350m.

A further 4 exploratory holes in the newly defined Ridge F and 6 in Ridge G were also drilled to complete this drill programme.

Table 1: Summary of significant high grade iron ore drillhole interceptions, Phase 3 RC drilling, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

 

Hole Nbr	Intersection (m)	Fe %	From (m)	Ridge	Inside/Outside current Resource
AM21RC003_006	3	62	6	E	Outside
AM21RC003_010	4	63.7	13	E	Inside
AM21RC003_011	4	64.3	8	E	Inside
AM21RC003_011	7	62.8	5	E	Inside
AM21RC003_013	9	62.2	4	E	Inside
AM21RC003_013	4	63.4	9	E	Inside
AM21RC003_014	8	63.3	1	E	Inside
AM21RC003_017	5	62.3	11	E	Inside
AM21RC003_018	7	63.3	4	E	Outside
AM21RC003_021	5	62.6	5	E	Inside
AM21RC003_023	8	62.2	3	E	Inside
AM21RC003_025	9	62.1	4	E	Inside
AM21RC003_028	8	63	10	C	Inside
AM21RC003_029	4	62	3	C	Inside
AM21RC003_031	5	63.9	0	C	Outside
AM21RC003_033	6	63.1	8	C	Inside
AM21RC003_034	9	62.7	14	E	Inside

 

Note 1: Full results are included in the Appendix to this announcement

 

There are some significant new intersections within the existing resource outlines, as indicated in Table 1 above (inside), which support the initial interpretation and resource outlines and also increase the robustness of the ore body modelled to date. There are also some excellent new intersections on strike both east and west of the ridge C and E resources as indicated in Table 1 above (outside) that we hope will increase the existing total resource. This will be advised once the Company's consulting resource geologist, Howard Baker, has reviewed all the new data and combined it with the existing data. There is also more detail in some locations of the exact trend of the high-grade sections within the larger iron ore beds and it appears there is a possible second parallel high-grade bed immediately south of ridge E that originally was thought to be only lower grade iron ore material.

 

Overall, the Company is extremely pleased with the results of this campaign and believes it has added further tonnage to the resource as well as continuing to enhance the high-grade nature of the project with continued excellent results.

 

It should be noted that some holes were relocated, mainly due to access issues. The Company is therefore reviewing the possibility of using a very compact rig for the next phase of drilling to enable quick and easy access to precise points on the ridge tops that the Company believe will quickly increase confidence and potential volume of the current resource. Another option being considered is taking a 4 x 4 pick up mounted Aircore rig to drill very shallow 6-8m holes on the target areas to further aid in cost effective pinpoint targeting of the higher-grade beds.

 

As demonstrated in a series of cross sections, below in figures 4 to 7, the excellent correlation of some of the significant holes from this phase of drilling can be seen.  

 

Sample analysis and QA/QC

All samples generated from the drilling were dispatched to ALS Perth.

Samples were analysed for their Basic Iron Ore Package Analysis with XRF finish, which includes Fe, Al, Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S and Si. This is the same as the analysis used in all of Alien's analysis work on this project to date to maintain consistency and comparability between all analyses.

For QA/QC purposes, Alien used the industry standard of inserting 5% Certified Reference Material (CRM) samples, 5% Certified Blank Samples (Blanks) and 5% duplicate samples at source. The CRMs were sourced from Geostats Pty Ltd, Perth, WA, a global leader in the manufacture and sale of CRMs and Blanks.

The results of the standard, duplicates and blanks are all within acceptable variance of expected analytical results for the phase 3 RC drilling program.

Figure 1: Location of Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

 

Figure 2: Location of completed RC drill hole, Phase 3 drilling ridges C and E, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

 

Figure 3: All RC drill hole locations, Phase 3 drilling, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

Figure 4: Cross Section 1000m East, Ridge E, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

Figure 5: Cross Section 100m West, Ridge C, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

 

Figure 6: Cross Section 950m East, Ridge E, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

Figure 7: Cross Section 750m East, Ridge E, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia

 

 

For further information please visit the Company's website at www.alienmetals.uk, or contact:

 

Alien Metals Limited

Bill Brodie Good, CEO & Technical Director

Tel: +44 (0)203 881 2144

 

Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nomad)

James Biddle / Roland Cornish

www.beaumontcornish.com

Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396

 

Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited (Joint Broker)

Andrew Thacker / James Pope

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3657 0050

 

WH Ireland Ltd (Joint Broker)

Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell

Tel +44 (0) 207 220 1666

 

Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR)

Sarah Hollins / Annabel Atkins / James Lingfield

[email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Alien Metals Ltd is a global mining exploration and development company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: UFO). The Company's focus is on precious and base metal commodities, with its operations located in proven mining jurisdictions and it has embarked upon an acquisition-led strategy headed by a high-quality geological team to build a strong portfolio of diversified assets. In 2019, the Company acquired 51% of the Brockman and Hancock Ranges high-grade (Direct Shipping Ore) iron ore projects and with a conditional agreement to increase its interest to 90% in May 2021 also being put in place.

 

In 2020 the Company agreed to acquire 100% of the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project, which consists of the Elizabeth Hill Historic Silver Mine Mining Lease and the 150km2 exploration tenement around the mine. The Company also holds two silver projects, San Celso and Los Campos, located in Zacatecas State, Mexico, Mexico's largest silver producing state, which produced over 190m oz of silver in 2018 alone, accounting for 45% of the total silver production of Mexico for that year. The Company also holds a Copper Gold project in the same region, Donovan 2.

In November and December 2021, the Company entered into two Binding Heads of Agreement with ASX listed Platina Resources Ltd and Artemis Resources Limited to acquire 100% of the current joint venture interest in the Munni Munni Platinum Group Metals and Gold Project in the West Pilbara, Western Australia, one of Australia's major underexplored PGE and base metals projects. Munni Munni holds a historic deposit containing 2.2Moz 4E PGM: Palladium, Platinum, Gold, Rhodium.

The Company was also awarded an Exploration Licence in Greenland in late 2020, which surrounds the world class Citronen Zinc-Lead deposit.

 

Competent Person

The information in this announcement which relates to Exploration Targets, Exploration Results and the Scoping Study has been approved by Mr. Allen Maynard, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geosciences ("AIG"), a Corporate Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy ("AusIMM") and independent consultant to the Company. Mr. Maynard is the Director and principal geologist of Al Maynard & Associates Pty Ltd and has over 40 continuous years of exploration and mining experience in a variety of mineral deposit styles. Mr. Maynard has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (JORC Code). Mr. Maynard consents to inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

Glossary:

Mineral Resource - A concentration or occurrence of solid or liquid material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.  The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling.  Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

Inferred Mineral Resource - that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling.  Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological grade (or quality) continuity.  It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  An inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence that that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resources and must not be converted to an Ore Reserve.  It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.

Reverse Circulation Drilling - Often referred to as RC drilling, is a method of drilling which uses dual wall drill rods that consist of an outer drill rod with an inner tube. These hollow inner tubes allow the drill cuttings to be transported back to the surface in a continuous, steady flow. Drill results using this method with adequate QA/QC can be used in Mineral Resource Calculations

DSO - Direct Shipping Ore

XRF - X-ray fluorescence, used for elemental analysis and chemical analysis, particularly in the investigation of metals in the resource industry.

QA/QC - Quality Assurance/Quality Control - This is the combination of quality assurance, the process or set of processes used to measure and assure the quality of a product, and quality control, the process of ensuring products and services meet consumer expectations. In this case an independent verification of the laboratory analysis result.

Deleterious Elements - Elements that can be detrimental to the overall product, such as Phosphorus.

Fe - Iron

Al - Aluminium

Ca - Calcium

K - Potassium

Mg - Magnesium

Mn - Manganese

Na - Sodium

P - Phosphorus

S - Sulphur

Si - Silica

Mt - Million Tonnes

BIF - Banded Iron Formation

Cap - the upper portion of the deposit, at surface and enriched in clay material and organics

 

 

Appendix

All Iron Ore Results, Phase 3 RC drilling, Hancock Iron Ore Project, Western Australia