Clogau Update - Phase 2 Underground Drilling

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Alba Mineral Resources plc

("Alba" or the "Company")

Clogau-St David's Gold Mine Update

Phase 2 Underground Drilling Commences

Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to announce that the second phase of the Company's underground drilling programme at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine ("Clogau" or the "Mine") has commenced. 

Key Points

·      The start of Phase 2 underground diamond drilling at Clogau-St David's.

·    This follows the successful 559m Phase 1 underground drilling programme completed in October 2020.

·      Phase 1 intersected what Alba believes to be the westerly, 550-metre extension of the Clogau Main Lode, source of most historic production at Clogau-St David's Gold Mine.

·      The main focus of Phase 2 is to continue with the exploration and delineation of the Main Lode to the north.

·      Phase 2 surface drilling is also progressing well, with two holes completed to date.

Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:

"We are delighted to be drilling underground again, following our successful Phase 1 underground drilling campaign which concluded last October.  Meanwhile, Phase 2 of our surface drilling continues to progress very well, with the first two completed holes intersecting the projected lodes as predicted by our internal geological model.  The continuity of the lodes at depth is very encouraging news indeed."

"This is the first time we have drilled simultaneously both from the surface and underground at Clogau-St David's. That is a measure of our determination to maximise the progress we make during this spring/summer field season towards proving up zones for future gold production."

Phase 2 Underground Drilling

Alba is pleased to announce the start of Phase 2 underground diamond drilling at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine in north Wales. This second phase follows the successful 559m drilling programme which was completed at the end of October 2020.  In that programme, drill hole L002 intersected a quartz lode which returned a significant gold value of 1.79 g/t over a width of 0.25 metres. Alba has interpreted this intersection as belonging to the Jack Williams Lode, thus representing a projected 550-metre extension to the Main Lode.

This Phase 2 programme is scheduled to comprise 12 holes drilled from 3 platforms for a total of 1460m. The main focus of the programme is to continue with the exploration and delineation of the Main Lode to the north - see Figure 1 in the PDF version of this RNS.  However, three holes will also be drilled to the south to test for a southern lode structure the surface expression of which is marked by soil sample anomalies.  Figure 2 (in the PDF version of this RNS) is a 3D rendition of the drill programme with the expected intercepts marked in yellow. Details of the drillholes are set out in Table 1.

Alba will undertake the programme employing its Kempe U3-9BQ Pneumatic drill machine.

Table 1: Details of azimuth/dip and planned length/depth for each of the 12 planned drillholes. Depending on results and progress, these details may be adjusted in the field. 

Update on Phase 2 Surface Drilling

The commencement of the second phase of the surface drilling programme at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine commenced on 12 April 2021 (see the Company's RNS of the same date) and will consist of an 8-10 hole programme for around 2,000 metres in total.  This phase of drilling is targeting the 550m Main Lode extension indicated by the underground drilling last year. 

Initial intersections from the first two completed holes have been positive. Both holes (JW 001, final depth 240.3m, and JW 002, final depth 204.3m) intersected the projected lodes as predicted.  JW001 intersected the Main Lode extension at 34m and the Grandfathers Lode extension at 190m. The Grandfathers intersection indicates that this lode extends for at least 60m downdip.  See Figures 4 and 5 in the PDF version of this RNS.

JW002 intersected the Main Lode extension at 95m and the 710 Lode extension at 190m at about 40m below the Llechfraith Level. The continuity of the lodes at depth is very encouraging from the perspective of increasing possible resources in the future.  Both lodes indicate a plunge toward the SW which is identical to the Llechfraith Lode drilled in Phase 1. The third Phase 2 hole, JW003, has now started drilling.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this announcement.

Glossary

7-10 Lode:     The 7-10 Lode is a parallel vein structure to the Main Lode, lying some 30-40m to the south of the Main Lode. The whole of the Llechfraith Level is developed on the 7-10 Lode.

Borehole or

drillhole:        A hole drilled into bedrock using a diamond-coated bit to return core samples.

Grandfathers: Grandfathers or Grandfathers Lode is a pay-shoot within the 7-10 Lode.

Jack Williams: The Jack Williams Stope is the most westerly mined portion of the Main Lode on the Ty'n-y-Cornel Level.

Intercept:      A section of core in which a target lithology, structure or significant assay result has been identified.

Main Lode:     The main quartz vein structure along which the majority of historic mining took place at Clogau-St David's. The Main Lode was mined from the Jack Williams Stope for approximately 300m eastwards to the Bryntirion Fault, on the other side of which it was mined over a strike of at least 150m at the St David's Mine.

Mineralisation: Any single mineral or combination of minerals occurring in a mass, or deposit, of economic interest. The term is intended to cover all forms in which mineralisation might occur, whether by class of deposit, mode of occurrence, genesis or composition.

Quartz vein:   A sheet-like body consisting predominantly of the mineral quartz, which is known to host gold mineralisation in the Dolgellau Gold Belt.

Stope:          A mined-out area along a lode structure from which ore has been extracted.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events. 

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, uncertainties also exist in connection with the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which may result in further lockdown measures and restrictions being imposed by Governments and other competent regulatory bodies and agencies from time to time in response to the pandemic, which measures and restrictions may prevent or inhibit the Company from executing its work activities according to the timelines set out in this announcement or indeed from executing its work activities at all. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may also affect the Company's ability to execute its work activities due to personnel and contractors testing positive for COVID-19 or otherwise being required to self-isolate from time to time.

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

Competent Person Declaration

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member of SACNASP (Reg. No. 400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society and Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. He has a B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years' experience.

Mark Austin has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration targets, Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the JORC Code. The JORC code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned with CRIRSCO. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appear.

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Alba's Project and Investment Portfolio