Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
For immediate release
20 February 2017
Premier African Minerals Limited
("Premier" or the "Company")
Significant Lithium Grades up to 3.3% Lithium - Zulu Lithium Project.
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM), the London quoted mining exploration and production company, is pleased to report further assay results from shallow drilling from its high grade Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu"). The drilling programme was designed to drill test for the extensive lithium mineralisation over the known 3.5 km strike length of this deposit.
Highlights:
· Exceptionally high grade lithium encountered at Zulu with Drill-hole ZDD-3 returning grades up to 3.3% Li2O between 25.14 meters and 54.15 meters down hole, including 4.3 meters from 40.15 meters grading 2.16% Li2O
· Host rock mineralised up to 0.9% Li2O and not previously described at Zulu has potential to substantially increase overall tonnage
· Drill-hole ZDD-15 returned lithium mineralisation from 73.61 meters to 79.23 meters with grades up to 2.06% Li2O
· Final Tantalum grades are still awaited
· Drill rig has not been demobilised from site and a new drilling programme has commenced with the aim of increasing the size of further defining the ore body
Premier also advises that it has immediately commenced a new drilling programme at Zulu with the rig currently on site. This new programme is designed to further increase the ultimate size of Zulu as much as our level of confidence and further define the ore body.
All drill samples from the last extensive drill programme are now at or in transit to the laboratory in South Africa and the Company expects to receive most of the results during the coming month. Further significant results will be reported when they become available on the basis that they may be seen as material information to the shareholders and these will be reported in a timely manner.
George Roach, Premier's CEO, commented:
"We continue to be highly encouraged by the grades in these recently received assays. The Company is expecting to receive a lot of final assays over the coming weeks and we are also looking forward to understanding the ultimate potential of the tantalum at Zulu and publishing Zulu's maiden resource statement. At the same time, the previously unreported mineralisation evident extensively in host rocks has the potential to substantially increase the overall tonnages at Zulu. Assays conducted on host rock return values of up to 0.9% Li₂O.
"We have also elected to retain the drillers on site and, as a direct result of these excellent lithium intersections, to immediately re-commence drilling to increase the level of confidence and further define the ore body as we develop a maiden resource statement.
"Frustrating as the delays in getting assay results back from the laboratories may be, we will continue to publish significant results as they become available and those results will form the basis of our maiden resource statement."
Lithium Results:
Premier reports results from two of if its latest drill holes at the Zulu Lithium Project, ZDD-3 and ZDD-15, and reports the following significant lithium intersections (externally analysed by SGS South Africa) in the table below:
DDH Number |
From (metres) |
To (metres) |
Mineralised Length (metres) (*) |
Li2O (%) |
Notes |
ZDD-3 |
25.14 |
54.15 |
15.63 |
1.54% |
Including 4.31 metres @ 2.16% Li2O (From 40.15 metres) |
And |
|
|
|
|
|
ZDD-15 |
73.61 |
79.23 |
5.6 |
1.46% |
Including (1.97 metres @ 2.04% Li20 (from 74.62 metres) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(*) drilled widths
About the Zulu Lithium Project:
Zulu is located 80km east of Bulawayo and easily accessible by road. The project comprises 14 claims covering a surface area of 3.5km². Zulu is generally regarded as potentially the largest undeveloped lithium bearing pegmatite in Zimbabwe. The project was first pegged in 1955 and intensely explored until the early 1960s. Minor petalite production was reported for 1961 and 1962. The pegmatite bodies intruded along serpentine and sedimentary rocks over a strike length of several kilometres. The width varies between 10 and 25 meters. The bigger pegmatites to the north of the Machakwe River are rich in spodumene and lepidolite, the smaller pegmatites south of the Machakwe River are rich in petalite. The pegmatite bodies strike N20° and dip between 70° - 90° to the west. Parts of the pegmatites are rich in tantalite-(Mn).
Qualified Person:
Wolfgang Hampel, Exploration Manager of Premier African Minerals Limited, has reviewed and approved this release to the extent that reference is made to the Zulu tenements. Mr Hampel has 26 years' experience in the African, American, European and Asian exploration and mining industry and holds a Diploma in Economic Geology (Dipl.-Geol.) from the Technical University of Munich. He is a registered European Geologist (EurGeol). n° 1261 with the European Federation of Geologists.
Enquiries:
Fuad Sillem |
Premier African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +44 (0)7734 922074 |
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish |
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396 |
Jerry Keen/Edward Mansfield |
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 408 4090 |
Jon Belliss |
Beaufort Securities Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 7382 8300 |
Charles Goodwin/Harriet Jackson
/Dominic Barretto |
Yellow Jersey PR Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 7544 275 882 |
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused in Southern and Western Africa with production started at its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and Benin, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company recently acquired a 52% controlling stake in Mozambique-based TCT Industrias Florestais Limitada, which owns a substantial limestone deposit and forestry business located on rail in the Sofala Province of Mozambique. In addition, The Company holds 2 million shares in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset. At present those shares are valued at US$4 million based on the latest price at which Circum has accepted subscriptions. Premier also has a 4.5% interest in Casa Mining Limited, a privately-owned exploration company that has a 71.25% interest in the 1.2 million ounce inferred resource Akyanga gold deposit in the DRC.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Glossary of Technical Terms
"Li2O" means Lithium oxide
"lepidolite" is the mineral name for lithium bearing mica KLi2Al(Si4O10)(F,OH)2 an important ore of lithium
"pegmatite" is an exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rock, with interlocking crystals, usually found as irregular dikes, lenses, or veins, esp. at the margins of granitic intrusions
"petalite" is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate LiAl(Si4O10) an important ore of lithium
"spodumene" is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate LiAlSi2O6 an important ore of lithium.
"tantalite" a mostly dark grey to black mineral, manganese bearing varieties are called manganotantalite or tantalite-(Mn); a major tantalum ore.
ENDS
