[source: Alba Mineral Resources]
Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA has noted a statement today from GreenRoc Mining in which the company said it has identified significant graphite extensions from a field programme at the Kalaaq Deposit, part of the Amitsoq Graphite Project undertaken in July and August 2021.
GreenRoc’s Kalaaq Deposit is located on the Greenlandic mainland and due south of its 100% owned Amitsoq Graphite Project, one of the highest-grade graphite projects globally.
The field exploration was conducted to sample mapped graphite horizons that had been identified in previous field campaigns, and to explore the wider area for new discoveries.
Exploration work consisted of field mapping, trenching, channel sampling, grab sampling and electromagnetic (EM) surveys using a portable beep mat. The Company informed investors that beep mat results are still being processed and that they will be reported when received.
New zones of mineralisation were confirmed while the programme also reinforced previously identified zones achieved through channel sampling, grab sampling and beep mat surveys.
The projection of the Upper Graphite Zone (UGZ) that was identified in 2017 was extended 360m to the south and is open along strike while the Lower Graphite Bed was also extended 300m along strike to the north where values of up to 33.1 C(g)% have now been recorded.
The newly discovered Niels Hede Pedersen (NHP) Zone has now extended the identified graphite mineralisation of the BLZ Zone a further 1.3km and again is open on strike.
A potential new area, termed the New Domain Zone (NDZ), with a grab sample grade of 32.1 C(g)%, has been identified 1km to the south-east of the current Exploration Target Boundary and a further 540m along strike from the graphite horizon mapped during the 2017 campaign.
GreenRoc Mining said this sample indicates the potential for an additional mineralised graphite zone outside the primary target zones on the western side of the Kalaaq Deposit.
Commenting on the news Alba’s Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, said: “We are very pleased to see the progress which has been made at the Kalaaq Deposit this summer. The Amitsoq Project is blessed by having not one, but two, high-grade graphite deposits, one on Amitsoq Island and the other, Kalaaq, on the mainland section of GreenRoc’s licence.
He added that, “With the Amitsoq Island deposit, site of the former graphite mine, having been drilled this summer, the advances made at Kalaaq this year provide significant impetus to a maiden drilling programme being undertaken there also in the near future.”
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At the end of September 2021, the Group confirmed to investors this morning that GreenRoc Mining, a spin-off vehicle based on its Greenland mining assets, had begun trading on AIM.
On its first day of dealings, GreenRoc Mining announced that it has raised £5.12 million at 10p a share, valuing the company at £11.1m upon its admission to London’s junior AIM market.Alba will be majority shareholder of GreenRoc with a 54% stake in the new vehicle.
Under the terms of the spin-off, GreenRoc has now acquired all the Greenlandic mining assets of Alba Mineral Resources being the Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Project, the Amitsoq Graphite Project, the Melville Bay Iron Project and the Inglefield Multi-Element Project.
The Company intends to progress exploration and development activities in respect of the Greenland Projects ‘with the aim of securing a mining licence and commencing commercial production at one or more of the projects within the earliest practicable timescale.’
The London-listed firm announced in its final results for the year ended 30 November 2020 published back in May 2021 its intention to form a new AIM-quoted, Greenland-focused, spin-out company that would unlock ‘real and sustained value’ across its asset portfolio.
The plan formed after the pandemic had placed some doubt upon Alba’s ability to execute its field programmes, particularly at the Amitsoq Graphite Project where it had plans to drill.
At the time, it said it believed that moving the Greenland Projects into a new listed vehicle would allow the market to set ‘a clear value for those assets in isolation’ rather than as part of a larger pool of diverse mining, oil and gas and exploration assets, as is currently the case.
According to the European Commission, nearly half of the EU’s supply of natural graphite and titanium is provided by China, highlighting the EU’s overdependence on Chinese supply.
GreenRoc said its strategy of seeking to fast-track the development of the Amitsoq and the Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Projects are therefore supported by both the US and the EU.
In recent weeks, more investors have turned their eyes towards Greenland after KoBold Metals, a mineral exploration firm backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, signed an agreement with Bluejay Mining to search for critical materials used in EV vehicles within the region.
Kirk Adams, Chief Executive Officer of GreenRoc, told shareholders that GreenRoc’s debut on AIM comes at a time when demand for critical minerals is “increasing significantly.”
“Our objective is to fast-track exploration, supported by our successful £5.12m fundraising, to significantly add to the inherent value of our assets and move towards development.
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