Update on Exploration in the Paterson

 

30 June 2020

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Greatland Gold plc

("Greatland" or "the Company")

 

Application for Fourth Licence in the Paterson and Update on Drilling Programme

 

Greatland wins ballot for new licence application in the Paterson, drilling campaign at Scallywag expected to commence within the next four to six weeks

 

Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP), the precious and base metals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has received notification from the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ("DMIRS") that it has won a government conducted ballot in regard to Greatland's application for its fourth exploration licence in the Paterson region (E45/5533 Rudall). The Company is also pleased to provide an update on the Company's exploration activities in the Paterson region (excluding the Havieron Farm-in).

 

Greatland is in a strong financial position with approximately £6 million in cash as at 30 June 2020 and remains well financed to conduct all planned activities over the next 12 months.

 

Fourth Exploration Licence (E45/5533 Rudall) in the Paterson

 

·      Greatland has received notification from DMIRS that it has won a government conducted ballot in regard to the Company's application for the Rudall licence (E45/5533).

·      Consequently, Greatland's application for E45/5533 has priority and will be processed ahead of other competing applications.

·      The Rudall licence application covers an area of approximately 65 square kilometres and is located 20 kilometres south-southeast of Greatland's Havieron gold-copper deposit.

·      New licence will expand Greatland's landholding in the Paterson region from 385 square kilometres to 450 square kilometres.

·      The Rudall licence is considered to be prospective for Havieron and Telfer style gold/copper occurrences.

·      Once granted, Greatland expects to complete the acquisition of detailed aeromagnetics, ground gravity and surface geochemistry to enhance preliminary targets already outlined within the Rudall licence.

 

Greatland's Exploration Activities in the Paterson (excluding the Havieron Farm-in)

 

·      Cultural heritage clearances, which were previously deferred due to COVID-19 concerns (see announcement dated 1 April 2020), are now underway.

·      Drilling expected to commence at Greatland's 100%-owned Scallywag prospect area within the next four to six weeks, subject to receipt of heritage approvals.

·      The drilling campaign will initially focus on high-priority targets within the Scallywag prospect area including Kraken, Blackbeard and London.

·      Once the initial phase of drilling is complete at Scallywag, the Company expects to drill  additional high-priority targets on its Paterson Range East licence including Goliath and Los Diablos.

 

 

Gervaise Heddle, Chief Executive Officer of Greatland Gold plc, commented: "We are very pleased to be moving forward with our exploration plans in the Paterson and to have the opportunity to consolidate our strategic position in this exciting and highly prospective region. Geophysical and geochemical studies conducted last year highlighted a range of exciting, high-priority targets across our Paterson licences, many of which display similar geophysical characteristics to Havieron, and we look forward to systematically drill testing many of these targets over the coming months. In addition, the application for the Rudall licence gives us the opportunity to expand our footprint in a region that we view as one of the most attractive frontiers in the world for the discovery of tier-one, gold-copper deposits."

 

Background to the Paterson Project

 

The Company's Paterson project comprises three granted licences (Havieron, Paterson Range East, and Black Hills) and one licence application (Rudall), located in the Paterson region of northern Western Australia. The four licences collectively cover more than 450 square kilometres and are prospective for Telfer and Havieron style gold-copper deposits.

 

Cultural heritage clearances are now underway in the Paterson. These were previously deferred due to COVID-19 concerns (see announcement dated 1 April 2020). Subject to the receipt of cultural heritage approvals, the Company expects to commence drilling at its 100%-owned Scallywag prospect area in the next four to six weeks.

 

Drilling will initially focus on high-priority targets within the Scallywag prospect area including Kraken, Blackbeard and London. Once the initial phase of drilling is complete at Scallywag the Company expects to continue with drilling of additional high-priority targets on its Paterson Range East licence including Goliath and Los Diablos.

 

Greatland has received notification from DMIRS that it has won a government conducted ballot in regard to the Company's application for licence E45/5533 Rudall. Consequently, Greatland's application for E45/5533 has priority and will be processed ahead of other competing applications. The new licence application E45/5533 Rudall covers an area of approximately 65 square kilometres and is located 20 kilometres south-southeast of Greatland's Havieron gold-copper deposit.

 

Once granted Greatland expects to complete acquisition of detailed aeromagnetics, ground gravity and surface geochemistry to enhance preliminary targets already outlined within the Rudall licence.

 

The Paterson region is currently one of the most active exploration areas in Australia. Recent discoveries by Greatland (Havieron) and Rio Tinto (Winu) demonstrate the potential of the region and highlight the lack of historical exploration, particularly over the extensive areas under cover. As well as hosting several large gold and copper deposits such as Telfer and Nifty, more recent exploration has outlined several other deposits including Magnum (Au), Calibre (Au), O'Callaghans (W, Cu) and Maroochydore (Cu). The region is remote, however infrastructure is good with several operating mines, roads, formed tracks and rail networks nearby which branch out from the regional industrial hub of Port Hedland 500km to the west.

 

In March 2019, Greatland entered into a Farm-in Agreement with Newcrest Operations Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM), to explore and develop Greatland's Havieron gold-copper discovery in the Paterson region of Western Australia. Newcrest has the right to earn up to a 70% interest in a 12-block area within E45/4701 that covers the Havieron target by spending up to US$65m. Newcrest may acquire an additional 5% interest at the end of the Farm-in period at fair market value.

 

During the Farm-In period, Newcrest will have a right of first refusal over three of Greatland's Paterson licences (Black Hills, Paterson Range East and the remainder of the Havieron licence). The right of first refusal does not extend to the new Rudall licence (E45/5533).

 

 

Competent Person:

 

Information in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr Mick Sawyer, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a Registered Professional Geoscientist (R.P.Geo #10194), who has more than 15 years relevant industry experience. Mr Sawyer is Exploration Manager and a full-time employee of Greatland Pty Ltd, and holds employee options in Greatland Gold plc. Mr Sawyer, has sufficient experience 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 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, which outline standards of disclosure for mineral projects. Mr Sawyer consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

Additional information on the Paterson project, including maps showing regional targets, can be found at: www.greatlandgold.com/paterson

 

In addition to this release, a PDF version of this report, with supplementary information can be found at the Company's website: www.greatlandgold.com/media/jorc 

 

 

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)

Andrew Emmott/James Keeshan

Tel: +44 (0)20 3368 3550

 

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)

Nick Emerson/Alan Gunn

Tel:  +44 (0)14 8341 3500

 

Numis Securities Limited (Joint Broker)

John Prior/Paul Gillam/Alamgir Ahmed

Tel: +44 (0)20 7260 1000

 

Luther Pendragon (Media and Investor Relations)

Harry Chathli/Alexis Gore/Joe Quinlan

Tel: +44 (0)20 7618 9100

 

 

Notes for Editors:

 

Greatland Gold plc is a London Stock Exchange AIM-listed (AIM:GGP) natural resource exploration and development company with a current focus on precious and base metals. The Company has six main projects; four situated in Western Australia and two in Tasmania.

 

In March 2019, Greatland signed a Farm-in Agreement with Newcrest Operations Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM), to explore and develop Greatland's Havieron gold-copper deposit in the Paterson region of Western Australia. Newcrest has the right to earn up to a 70% interest in a 12-block area within E45/4701 that covers the Havieron target by spending up to US$65 million.

 

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.