Magnetics doubles copper target at Copperhead

06 January 2021

Rockfire Resources plc

("Rockfire" or the "Company")

Magnetics doubles copper target at Copperhead

Rockfire Resources plc (LON: ROCK), the gold and base metal exploration company, is pleased to announce that the Company's recent helicopter geophysical survey has doubled the footprint of potential copper mineralisation at its 100%-owned Copperhead porphyry project in North Queensland, Australia ("Copperhead").

Highlights:

·    A helicopter magnetic survey completed in December 2020 has doubled the copper target area at Copperhead.

·    The copper target is now defined by a minimum area of 5 km east-west x 3 km north-south.

·    Faults and fractures are clearly defined and correlate well with known copper mineralisation already discovered in streams, soils, and drilling completed by Carpentaria Exploration in 1972.

·    The drilling in 1972 tested an area less than 0.6% of the expanded target area.

·    The Copperhead target remains open in all directions.

·    The price of copper has increased substantially from US$4,617 per tonne in March 2020 to US$7,964 per tonne in December 2020; an increase of 72.5% in the last 9 months.

·    Planned work at Copperhead over the next six months includes detailed prospect-scale mapping and soil/rock sampling within the expanded target area, with subsequent drilling.

An image showing the magnetic signature and the increased target area can be viewed via the following link. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6553K_1-2021-1-5.pdf

David Price, Chief Executive Officer of Rockfire, commented:

"The result of the magnetic survey is a very exciting development for Copperhead. Rockfire's determination to identify large mineral deposits is starting to bear fruit and a doubling of the Copperhead footprint is an exceptional outcome from our exploration efforts.

Only a tiny portion of the geochemical and geophysical anomalism has been tested by drilling, and results from that drilling are extremely encouraging. Visible copper minerals were observed throughout the drill holes; two of which were 300 m long.

Copperhead is increasingly becoming a high-value project for Rockfire and more work is therefore planned to advance the project. This geophysical survey has highlighted additional, large-scale targets, defined fault patterns, and identified a preferential direction for future drilling. In summary, this programme has achieved much more than we anticipated and has been very rewarding for the Company.

We will continue to inform the market of our progress on all activities, including on-going work to update gold resources at our nearby Plateau Gold Deposit, also in Queensland."

Qualified Person Statement:

Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Edward Fry, the Exploration Manager of Rockfire Resources plc, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM). Mr Fry 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 a "Qualified Person" in accordance with the AIM Rules Guidance Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr Fry consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information on the Company, please visit www.rockfireresources.com or contact the following: 

About the Copperhead porphyry copper project

Copperhead is an under-explored porphyry deposit, which has the potential to become a large-scale, porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag deposit. Five diamond drill holes were drilled at Copperhead in 1972 by Carpentaria Exploration (later to become Mount Isa Mines Exploration) to a maximum depth of 300 m.

Each of the five holes encountered visible chalcopyrite and molybdenite mineralisation along much of their lengths. Two of these holes are 300m long, indicating a very large mineralised system. Only a tiny portion (about 0.6%) of a large surface geophysical anomaly has been drilled and copper mineralisation remains open in all directions.

Under its historical name of "Julivon Creek", Copperhead is included in the "Global Mineral Resource Assessment" published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in its "Porphyry Copper Assessment of Eastern Australia" Technical Paper dated 2014. This paper quotes that fracturing at Copperhead is locally strong. The major sulphide minerals are pyrite and chalcopyrite, with minor molybdenite. Phyllic and propylitic alteration products are common, but potassic alteration products are rare. This suggests that the main parts of the system have yet to be encountered.

Copperhead has a pre-JORC, historical mineral content estimate, which was calculated in 1972 by Carpentaria Exploration. This estimate is based on sporadic sampling of core, with a single metre sample collected every 30 m downhole. Of 1,003 m drilled, only 61 individual metre-wide samples were collected and assayed at the time.

Subsequent sampling of the Carpentaria core by Costain Australia took place in 1988. An additional 31 samples were collected and the weighted average grade of combined drilling assays from both sampling campaigns increased.

Rockfire is aiming to define a large-tonnage copper deposit. Porphyry copper deposits globally typically demonstrate the following characteristics, which are also being observed at Copperhead:

·    Kilometre-scale geochemical footprint and geophysical signature

·    Grade ranging from 0.35 % Cu (Genoveva, Chile) to 1.39 % Cu (Grasberg, Indonesia)

·    Strongly influenced by faulting and fracturing

·    Associated with other elements (silver and molybdenum in the case of Copperhead)

·    Lengthy intervals of visible copper minerals in drill core

·    Well-developed alteration assemblages

·    Sheeted "D-veins" (late-stage, sheeted, mineralised, quartz-sulphide veins)