Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA)  has provided an update on the Company’s work activities at the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine.

George Frangeskides, Alba’s Executive Chairman, commented: “Our drilling programme continues to generate very positive results. Having previously identified in our underground drilling a 550 metre projected extension to the Main Lode, our surface drilling has now identified a new vein system some 30 metres below the deepest historically mined section of the Llechfraith mine area, the No.4 Level. This new zone will now be further tested by the completion of drill hole LL004 in January and by the drilling of at least two, even deeper holes.”

 

Surface Drilling Update

The Company’s surface drilling campaign, which commenced in early November, has progressed well. To date, three holes (LL001-LL003) have been completed for 399.6 metres (see Figures 1). 

The fourth drill hole, LL004, has been drilled to 54.6 metres and will be completed after the resumption of drilling in early January 2021.

 

Figure 1; 3D View of Proposed Drilling Layout

[Source: Alba Minerals]

This drill programme has been designed to target mineralisation below the existing mine workings at the Llechfraith mine area thus testing the continuation of mineralisation at depth. 

This zone was previously successfully targeted during Alba’s drilling programme in November 2019. 

Both main drill holes completed in that programme, intersected a sequence of intrusive greenstones or microdiorite followed by a shear zone dominated by intermixed Clogau shale and quartz veining, this being the known goldbearing geological setting at the Llechfraith mine area.

By stepping out the drilling so that the drill collar was set further away from the mine area, the current phase of drilling has been designed to intersect the quartz vein at a higher, and therefore more favourable, angle to dip.

This has so far proved successful (see Figures 1), given the significant widths of quartz vein which have been intersected. LL001 has intersected a total of 6.48 metres of quartz veins, LL002 a total of 3.65 metres and LL003 a total of 5.7 metres. 

Drilling results have shown the quartz veins as forming part of the “Llechfraith Lode System”, to indicate veins which have been intersected in the same zone as one another within the Llechfraith mine area. 

With each of the three completed holes hitting significant veins within about a 15-metre zone of one another (at 83.5m for LL001, 96.3m for LL002 and 84.9m for LL003), the Company’s technical team are working on the modelling of these vein intercepts within the existing 3D geological model for Clogau-St David’s to show the extent of the identified pay shoot. 
 

Figure 2 show key intercepts of the Llechfraith lode in drill holes LL001-003

[Source: Alba Minerals]

Pilot Processing Plant Installation

All items of plant for the Company’s bespoke pilot processing plant ordered from Appropriate Process Technologies in South Africa have now been cleared through UK customs and delivered to Alba’s mine building at the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine, where it has been assembled by Alba’s technical team.

 

Figure 3; Installed impact crusher and gold concentrator, Clogau-St David’s mine building

[Source: Alba Minerals]

This includes an impact crusher capable of processing 3 tonnes per hour and a gold concentrator capable of processing 1.5 tonnes per hour. 

The other key items of plant, notably the jaw crusher and Wilfley Table, were already in situ in the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine building. Following electrical connection and safety testing of the pilot plant, the Company now expects to commence operation of the pilot plant by mid-January 2021 onwards.

“As for our pilot processing plant, all remaining items of plant have now been imported, delivered to site and assembled. We expect to be able to run the first batch of material through the plant next month.” added George.

 

Shares in ALBA have had an incredible 2020, rising more circa 5x from 0.07p in January to open today at 0.35p.


Reasons to Follow Alba Minerals 

Diversified Mineral Exploration

Alba Mineral Resources is a well-diversified mineral exploration and development company which owns and operates mining projects in Greenland, Wales and Ireland. Its strategy is to identify and secure undervalued assets with a diversified commodity mix where there is potential for discovering further unexploited resources alongside the existing mine site.

Positive Assays and JORC Resource Newsflow

Despite losing field time to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Alba said it is in a position to execute one of the most significant underground work programmes seen for several decades at its Clogau gold mine in Wales, just as the commodity is reaching all-time highs in value. 

Alba will now move into the formal assaying of all the drilled and sampled material at Clogau, the start of its first phase of regional surface trenching programme and preparations for the surface drilling campaign.

Alba said all its mining projects remain on ‘a sound footing’, with JORC resources at both Thule Black Sands and Melville Bay, and plans to drill a maiden JORC resource at Amitsoq in 2021.

Alba said it does not expect the campaign at Clogau to be affected by Welsh Government coronavirus restrictions which were implemented from 23 October to 9 November 2020.

Transition from Exploration to Production in Greenland

Other ‘significant’ progress has also been made in recent years towards Alba’s ultimate goal of achieving commercial production at one or more of its sites, including at the Thule Black Sands in Greenland, the Amitsoq project in Greenland and the Horse Hill well in Surrey.