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28 March 2018
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")
Mount Weld Project - Initial Exploration Programme in April
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a producing mineral company actively developing projects for battery materials, is pleased to announce plans to undertake an initial exploration drilling programme at the Mount Weld tenements, Western Australia, south-east of Laverton, held by its wholly owned subsidiary Central Australian Rare Earths ("CARE").
Key Highlights
· Series of targets identified in Mount Weld, considered prospective for gold and rare earth element ("REE") mineralisation
· c. 2,600m planned aircore drilling programme to test these targets
· Drilling to commence in April, subject to Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ("DMIRS") approval,
· Exploration drilling programme expected to be funded from existing cash flow
CARE holds exploration tenements for cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements and gold in these tenements in the highly prospective Eastern Yilgarn Craton Province in Western Australia. The region is notable for hosting a range of significant mineral deposits including:
- High-grade Mt Weld REE operation (Lynas Corporation Limited)
- Historic Mount Windarra and South Windarra nickel sulphide deposits
- Multi-million-ounce Sunrise Dam, Granny Smith and Wallaby gold deposits
Chairman of Strategic Minerals, Mr Alan Broome AM, commented:
"It is pleasing to see that the ongoing technical review of the extensive exploration database for the CARE tenements by our geological team has identified a number of targets considered prospective for gold, nickel and REE mineralisation within the Mount Weld group of tenements.
"For this reason, the Board feels justified in undertaking further significant exploration at the Mount Weld Project over the course of 2018 with the first phase to commence in April 2018 and expects to be able to fund these activities using the Company's existing cash flow ."
Mount Weld Project Exploration
The Mount Weld tenements abut and are positioned immediately north and east of the Mount Weld REE operation, and southwest of the historic Burtville and Mikado gold mining centres.
An ongoing review and technical assessment of all the CARE tenements by the geological team have identified a number of early stage targets considered to have good potential for gold and REE mineralisation within the Mount Weld Project.
Gold targets were generated from geological and geophysical interpretation and assessment of historic exploration data. The proposed drilling will test multiple areas of historic gold anomalism with the aim to improve understanding of the style, extent and grade of mineralisation.
Drilling of the REE targets will test the potential for carbonatite dykes peripheral to the Mount Weld carbonatite intrusion.
The planned aircore drilling programme will comprise approximately 45 holes for a total 2,600m. Results will be available approximately 8 weeks after completion of field activities.
For further information, please contact:
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals Plc is an AIM-quoted, operating minerals company actively developing projects for battery materials. It has an operation in the United States of America and development projects in the UK and Australia. The Company is focused on utilising its operating cash flows, along with capital raisings, to develop high quality projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals being sought in the burgeoning electronic vehicle/battery market.
In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, a cash-generating asset, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. This operating revenue stream is utilised to cover company overheads and invest in development projects orientated to supplying the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.
in January 2016, the portfolio was expanded with the acquisition of shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that are prospective for cobalt, gold, nickel sulphides and rare earth elements. The Company has since acquired all shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd.
In May 2016, an additional exploration asset was acquired when the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited to acquire up to 50% of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. This 50% acquisition was completed in February 2017 and a drilling programme completed in 2017 resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource.
In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and is currently working to bring this into operation in 2019.
