20 August 2018
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR).
Greatland Gold plc
("Greatland" or "the Company")
Greatland Identifies Large Gold Target at Firetower Project following 3DIP Survey
Greatland advances its 100% owned Firetower project towards exploration goal of
one million ounces of gold with large target generated from 3D Induced Polarisation survey
Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP), the precious and base metals exploration and development Company, is pleased to announce a large new gold target has been outlined by results of a 3D Induced Polarisation ("3DIP") survey at its 100% owned Firetower gold project in Tasmania, Australia.
A technical review of the Firetower project, conducted earlier this year, highlighted the potential for Induced Polarisation geophysics to assist in outlining the trend of gold mineralisation in areas untested by previous drilling. Following the receipt of all required approvals, as announced 11 April 2018, the Company executed a comprehensive 3DIP survey at Firetower which covered a strike length of 1.6km over the immediate mineralised zone at Firetower, and also high priority target areas to the immediate west and east.
Highlights of Results from 3DIP Survey
· High quality IP data was collected allowing the production of excellent 3D models which highlight a large gold target, approximately 1,000 metres long, traversing east-west across the Firetower prospect, which is open to the east and up to depths of 400 metres;
· Significantly, the results illustrate the existing sub-surface gold mineralisation identified in drilling to date is spatially associated with the 3DIP chargeability anomaly;
· The results support the Company's view that cost effective 3DIP models can be used to track the mineralised system and assist with drill location planning at Firetower;
· The 3D model of the chargeability anomaly also highlights the potential plunge of mineralisation which is very important for focusing on areas within the broader mineralised system which may potentially host higher grade gold and copper mineralisation.
Next Steps
· Greatland is currently working on plans for a drill programme to test the large target identified by the results of the 3DIP survey;
· The Company is also reviewing options to deploy 3DIP geophysics across the broader prospective sequence at Firetower which has been identified over approximately 4km of strike.
Gervaise Heddle, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are very pleased by the excellent models generated by the 3DIP survey at Firetower which have identified an exciting new large gold target. We believe that these models represent a potential breakthrough for our exploration efforts at Firetower and will help us to unlock the true potential of this high-grade, near-surface gold deposit. Our intention is to advance the Firetower project towards its exploration target of one million ounces of gold by leveraging these excellent results and we are currently planning a new drill programme which we expect to commence in the first quarter of 2019."
Overview of the Firetower Project
The Firetower project is located in central north Tasmania, Australia, and covers an area of 62 square kilometres. The 100% owned project includes the two main prospects of Firetower and Firetower West, and the strike extensions of prospective stratigraphy. The Firetower prospect has significant gold mineralisation from surface up to 30g/t while the mineralised system at Firetower West shows copper to 1.34% and silver to 2.6g/t. Both prospects remain open along strike and at depth.
The Firetower project area covers the eastern parts of the highly mineralised Mt Read volcanic rocks which lie in the western and northern parts of Tasmania. These rocks host major polymetallic (zinc, lead, gold) deposits such as Hellyer and Roseberry, and copper deposits such as Mt Lyell, and the large Henty gold mine which has produced over 1.25m oz since 1996.
Gold mineralisation at Firetower was first located in the late 1970s with stream sediment samples up to 320g/t gold (+10 oz) but this was not followed up until the early 1990s with reconnaissance drilling. More modern exploration by Greatland and JV partners has included soil geochemistry to 4,450ppb gold, diamond drilling and detailed ground magnetics. Gold drill intercepts (historic and Greatland) include 29m at 2.39g/t, 17m at 5.37g/t (incl 1m at 30g/t), 10m at 6.2g/t, 3m at 21.38g/t Au, 11m at 4.3g/t, 1.2m at 14.9g/t. Copper intercepts include 5m at 0.76% Cu, 1m at 1.44%, 3m at 0.62%, 2m at 0.84% and 0.5m at 3.72%. Drilling to date has, in general, tested approximately 250m of strike to a depth of around 100m from surface.
Several other prospects are present within the project area such as Firetower West and Firetower East. At Firetower West soil geochemistry has delineated a large copper/arsenic/gold anomaly over an area of 800m x 300m, with rock chips up to 3.3% copper. A 3DIP target approximately 800m x 400m was tested with a single core hole in 2014 returning 1m at 1.34% copper and 2.6g/t silver. This is considered significant as it highlights the prospectivity of Firetower West to potentially host polymetallic deposits such as Hellyer and Roseberry. Firetower East is the eastern strike extensions of the main mineralised rocks at the Firetower prospect. This zone covers more than 2km of strike with soil geochemistry up to 150ppb gold, but little follow-up work has been completed here.
The Company completed an internal review of the Firetower project in late 2017 and determined the key areas requiring attention to advance the project. From this it was recognised that the western portion of the main mineralised area at Firetower holds much potential but has not been subject to intensive exploration due to scree cover and steep terrain. During the review all historic geochemical and ground geophysical surveys were examined. Data was interpreted and modelled in 3D with existing drill holes. The review highlighted the presence of untested surface gold mineralisation immediately west of the main Firetower prospect with soil geochemistry results including 390ppb gold and 210ppb gold, and rock chip results up to 3.57g/t gold. This area has been overlooked in the past as scree cover largely masks bedrock geology. Early ground geophysics provides incomplete coverage over the Firetower prospect but shows an Induced Polarisation (IP) chargeability anomaly consistent with gold mineralisation intersected in existing drill holes. Extension of the IP coverage with modern geophysical equipment and processing techniques is considered a powerful tool to assist in significantly extending the strike potential of the gold mineralised system at Firetower.
In co-operation with geophysical contractors the Company designed and executed a comprehensive 3DIP survey for the Firetower prospect. The survey covered a strike length of 1.6km over the immediate mineralised zone at Firetower and also covered high priority target areas to the immediate west and east. Actual ground conditions and petrophysical parameters resulted in the collection of high quality IP data allowing the production of robust 3D chargeability, conductivity and resistivity models via modern inversion techniques.
The resultant models are excellent and highlight large-scale geological and structural features. Importantly, existing sub-surface gold mineralisation identified in drilling to date is spatially associated with the 3DIP chargeability anomaly and models highlight a large target traversing approximately 1,000m east-west across the Firetower prospect grid which is open to the east (unsurveyed eastern limit). The chargeability anomaly also illustrates the potential plunge of mineralisation which is very important in highlighting areas which may host higher grade gold and copper within the broader Firetower mineralised system. The chargeability anomaly is seen to depths of approximately 400m from surface.
Overall, results of the 3DIP survey are very positive and illustrate a large gold target 1,000m long x 400m deep, open to the east and at depth. Testing of the resultant targets with RC and/or core drill holes will be undertaken once overall project scheduling is finalised. The 3DIP survey has been successful and may be deployed across the broader prospective sequence at Firetower which, to date, has been identified over approximately 4km of strike. The Company's exploration target for the Firetower prospect is one million ounces of gold.
Additional information on the Firetower project can be found on the Company web site at www.greatlandgold.com/projects.
Competent Person:
Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Callum Baxter, a director of Greatland Gold plc, who is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Baxter 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 under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr Baxter consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
Enquiries:
Greatland Gold PLC
Gervaise Heddle/Callum Baxter
Tel +44 (0)20 3709 4900
Email: [email protected]
www.greatlandgold.com
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Mark Brady/Andrew Emmott/James Keeshan
Tel +44 (0)20 3368 3550
SI Capital Limited (Broker)
Nick Emerson/Alan Gunn
Tel +44 (0)14 8341 3500
Luther Pendragon (Media and Investor Relations)
Harry Chathli/Ana Ribeiro/Alexis Gore
Tel +44 (0)20 7618 9100
Notes for Editors:
Greatland Gold plc is London listed (LON:GGP) natural resource exploration and development company with a current focus on gold and nickel exploration projects.
The Company has six main projects; four situated in Western Australia and two in Tasmania. All projects are 100% owned by Greatland.
Greatland is seeking to identify large mineral deposits in areas that have not been subject to extensive exploration previously. It is widely recognised that the next generation of large deposits will come from such under-explored areas and Greatland is applying advanced exploration techniques to investigate a number of carefully selected targets within its focused licence portfolio.
The Company is also actively investigating a range of new opportunities in precious and strategic metals and will update the market on new opportunities as and when appropriate.
