Alba Mineral Resources intersects potential 550m extension at Clogau
The first phase of Alba’s underground drilling programme at Clogau was successfully completed on 30 October 2020, with seven drillholes completed for a total of 559.5 metres.
The objective of drilling was, firstly, to locate any parallel structures to the historically mined quartz veins (or lodes), and then to probe for deeper extensions to known mined veins.
All seven drillholes intersected quartz veining, the known geological setting of all historic gold production at Clogau, validating Alba's geological model. Drillhole L002 returned significant gold assays of 1.16m at 0.653 grammes/tonne ("g/t"), including 0.25m at 1.79 g/t.
The Company said drillholes L002 and L00 (Figure 1) have intersected what Alba believes to be the westerly extension of the Clogau Main Lode, representing a 550-metre extension to the Main Lode, the source of most historic production at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine.
Figure 1: Location of underground drillholes (L001 to L004 and L009 to L011), set against known geology and indicating a 550-metre extension of the Main Lode (red dotted line). Area marked “Llechfraith Workings on Main Lode” represents the most westerly portion of the Main Lode. (Source: Alba Mineral Resources)
Alba's Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides described the intersection of quartz veins along strike from the Main Lode as “a potentially significant discovery” for the Company.
He commented, “The Main Lode has provided most of the gold production at Clogau historically, so finding a continuation of the Main Lode which has never previously been exploited would constitute the most significant discovery at the Mine in many decades."
The aim of drilling at a gold deposit such as Clogau ‘is to confirm favourable geological structures rather than to drill for grade, as the narrow-veined, nuggety-effect setting of the deposit is such that drilling alone cannot achieve a representative idea of the gold grade.’
For this first phase of underground drilling not only to confirm significant quartz vein intercepts, but also to return material gold values, is regarded by Alba as ‘a great success.’
Subject to regulatory approvals, the next phase of drilling (Figure 2) will consist of an 8-10 hole programme for around 2,000m which will be undertaken from surface in Q1 2021.
Once this further phase of surface drilling targeting the Main Lode extension has been completed, infill drilling will be undertaken from underground, commencing in Q2 2021.
Figure 2: Completed underground drillholes L001-L004 and L009-L011 with proposed Phase 2 surface drillholes at JW001 to JW009 (Source:Alba Mineral Resources)
Diagram
Shares in Alba Mineral Resources have soared by over 190% since the beginning of September 2020 to open 4.88% higher this morning at 0.43p following the news.
ALBA price chartResons to Follow Alba
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 pending 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 said 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 and Wales
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.
In recent weeks, Alba has announced that surface trenching activities will kick-start this week over the first of the group’s 10 regional gold targets over the Dolgellau Gold Field (DGF).
The trenching was scheduled to commence last week and will target the first of 10 separate new gold targets over the Dolgellau Gold Field which have previously been identified by Alba.
Alba said up to eight trenches have been planned in this first phase, each varying in length from 40-90m for a total of 575m, with each trench being 1m wide and up to 2m deep.
Once exposed, the quartz veining and other structures from the trenches, those of which are pictured below, will be sampled, and those samples sent to a laboratory for assaying.
For more news and updates on Alba Mineral Resources:
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.