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7th March 2019
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")
Leigh Creek Copper Mine Update
Heap Leach Operations to Recommence at Mountain of Light
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a producing mineral company actively developing projects prospective for battery materials, is pleased to announce that copper production is scheduled to recommence at the Leigh Creek Copper Mine's ("LCCM") Mountain of Light ("MoL") processing facility in April 2019, starting with the refurbishment and the trial reactivation of the existing processing plant and heap leach pads.
Highlights
· Engaged experienced operator PPM Global, who has previously worked at the MoL processing plant, to refurbish the existing MoL processing plant and to manage the trial restart of operations. PPM Global has mobilised and is currently on site.
· Assay results from 250-hole shallow air core programme confirms the presence of residual copper in the existing heap leach pads
· Reactivation of the existing heap leach pads fully covered under existing permits.
· Feasibility study, for the commencement of full scale production from the Paltridge North and Rosmann East deposits, is well advanced with expected completion of resource estimation and economic evaluation scheduled for late second / early third quarter of 2019.
Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director, Strategic Minerals, said:
"The trial re-activation of the heap leach operations and the extraction of copper through the soon to be refurbished processing plant provides a significant step to full scale production which is scheduled for late 2019 / early 2020.
"While the restart of operations is expected to commence in April, shipment of our first copper is not expected for three months after commencement of operations. The engagement of PPM Global, an exceptionally experienced company who has previously operated the Mountain of Light plant, provides the Company confidence in planned operations."
Refurbishment of the Mountain of Light Processing Plant and Reactivation of the Heap Leach Pads
The Mountain of Light processing facility is a copper heap leach and cementation plant that was last operated in 2012. This was acquired by SML in March 2018 as part of the LCCM acquisition. The MoL plant includes three historic heap leach pads, pregnant liquor ponds, two Kennecott cones and a filter press, as well as a complete supporting infrastructure (power, water, communications, access) and is designed to produce a high-grade copper concentrate (~70% Cu) known as a copper cement. Copper is extracted from the leach solution as a copper cement by reaction with scrap iron within the Kennecott cones.
LCCM has engaged PPM Global to refurbish and recommission the MoL processing plant and re-activate the existing copper heap leach pads as a trial for later full-scale production. The irrigation of the heap leach pads is planned to commence in early April 2019 and copper cement production to be ready for sale within three months of commencement. The trial re-activation of the heap leach pads, including the commissioning of the processing plant, provides the basis for production from unmined resources, including Paltridge North and Rosmann East which are currently undergoing a resource estimate update, metallurgical analysis and associated feasibility studies.
Meetings with regulators have commenced and a framework has been agreed for a collaborative process with regard to the lodgement and approval of the planned permits for the full re-start of operations.
PPM Global Consultants
PPM Global (PPM) are Perth based engineers that specialise in mineral process engineering, plant design and hands-on engineering consultation services. PPM's experience encompasses a wide range of minerals processing plant commissioning and operations experience. PPM has been involved with almost all technologies associated with mineral processing, from complex hydrometallurgical process plants like zinc /copper SX-EW to the easy Carbon in Leach (CIL) Gold processes.
Particularly attractive for the LCCM project, PPM has experience in running a copper cementation operation and have previously been directly involved in the functioning of the MoL processing plant.
Permitting
The reactivation of the MoL heap leach pads as a trial, prior to full scale production, has been approved by the Department of Energy and Mining with the granting of the Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) No. 2016/028.
Development Plans to Full Scale Project
Since the acquisition of LCCM in March 2018, SML has been systematically de-risking the full production restart. This has focussed on diamond drilling of the known deposits near to the MoL processing facility, Paltridge North and Rosmann East. The results from the drilling at Paltridge North have been previously released (see RNS 18 February 2019). Results from the Rosmann East drilling are scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2019. Scoping studies completed by LCCM in 2018 for both deposits have provided SML confidence in reactivating full scale production at the MoL processing plant. A feasibility study for Paltridge North and Rosmann East deposits commenced in the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to be completed in late second quarter/early third quarter 2019. Key aspects of the feasibility study include;
· Drilling and collection of metallurgical samples for testwork and process flowsheet development, with the metallurgical testwork currently well advanced and flowsheet is currently being finalised
· Resource modelling for both Paltridge North and Rosmann East to be updated in Q2 2019 upon completion of final assays
· Mine optimisation for both deposits
· Capital and operating cost estimation
· Economic assessment
Work completed to-date in advancing planned production from the Paltridge North and Rosmann East deposits has significantly de-risked the MoL project and has provided confidence that a successful full restart of operations can be completed in late 2019/early 2020. The Board and Management believe this de-risking has significantly added to the value of this project to the Company.
Forward Looking Statements
This report contains "forward-looking information" that is based on the Company's expectations, estimates and forecasts as of the date on which the statements were made. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements with respect to the Company's business strategy, plans, objectives, performance, outlook, growth, cash flow, earnings per share and shareholder value, projections, targets and expectations, mineral reserves and resources, results of exploration and related expenses, property acquisitions, mine development, mine operations, drilling activity, sampling and other data, grade and recovery levels, future production, capital costs, expenditures for environmental matters, life of mine, completion dates, commodity prices and demand, and currency exchange rates. Generally, this forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "anticipate", "project", "target", "likely", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "would", "could", "should", "scheduled", "will", "plan", "forecast" and similar expressions. The forward-looking information is not factual but rather represents only expectations, estimates and/or forecasts about the future and therefore need to be read bearing in mind the risks and uncertainties concerning future events generally.
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals Plc is an AIM-quoted, operating minerals company actively developing projects prospective 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 electric 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 September 2018, the Company entered contracts for the sale of certain CARE tenements that have been identified as gold targets.
In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited and, in February 2017, acquired 50% of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. The bulk of the funds from the Company's investment were utilised to complete a drilling programme that year. The drilling programme resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource. The 12-hole 2018 drilling programme has now been completed and the resource update that resulted was announced in February 2019.
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.
