Alba to commence new Exploration Project at Dolgellau Gold Field
(ALBA ) said it is planning to undertake its own stream sediment sampling programme at the Dolgellau Gold Field (“DGF”) in North Wales starting in March 2021.
Alba holds the exclusive exploration rights over the entire length of the Dolgellau Gold Field, which includes both the Clogau-St David's and Gwynfynydd mines. The Company’s Dolgellau Gold Exploration Project ("DGEP") in North Wales encompasses those parts of the Dolgellau Gold Field that lie outside the footprint of the two current mines in the Dolgellau Gold Field.
Initially, this phase of work will be focused on the Gwynfynydd exploration licence. The programme represents the first field work to be carried out over Alba’s Gwynfynydd exploration licence area since it was awarded the Gwynfynydd licence in November 2020.
Historically, there have been only a handful of significant regional exploration programmes over the DGF with the most recent being an extensive soil sampling programme in 2018-19 (Fig. 1) which confirmed continuous gold mineralisation and 10 separate gold targets.
Figure 1: 10 regional gold targets identified in Alba’s 2018-19 Soil Sampling Programme
(Source: Alba Mineral Resources)
Prior to this, the most significant regional exploration programmes were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. In order to extend its knowledge of the DGF and its regional gold target generation, Alba now intends to undertake its own stream sediment sampling programme.
Stream sediment sampling is a proven effective regional exploration methodology to identify mineralisation at low cost but with good accuracy, Alba told investors. ‘By focusing on gold content in streams, it enables large areas to be covered in short time spans,’ it said.
The first phase of the programme will be focused on two distinct areas within Alba’s Gwynfynydd licence area (Fig 2). If the Phase 1 programme proves successful, Alba said a Phase 2 stream sediment sampling programme will then be carried out over a wider area.
Alba will perform the programme over two areas within its Gwynfynydd licence area - two drainage or catchment areas within the Gwynfynydd and Craig y Penmaen basins (Fig. 2).
Alba said that this, along with drainage basin identification, will enable the targeting of areas of likely gold mineralisation. The objective of stream sediment sampling is to look for pathfinder minerals which may indicate a hard-rock source of gold mineralisation upstream.
Six samples are planned in the streams in the proximity of the Gwynfynydd Mine as well as a further six samples are planned in the Craig y Penmaen basin, which are designed to target a stretch of Clogau Shales that is not currently known to host any mineralised quartz veins.
This second group of samples will represent new environments which will enable Alba to expand its understanding of the regional geology and possibly identify new gold targets.
Figure 2 (left): Phase 1 stream sediment programme (red), Phase 2 (blue). Figure 3 (right): Target drainage basins for the study, being Craig y Penmaen (red) and Gwynfynydd (lime)
(Source: Alba Mineral Resources)
Commenting on the incoming programme, Alba’s Chairman, George Frangeskides stated, “Our technical team is positively champing at the bit to get out into the Dolgellau Gold Field and continue our work to find new sources of gold that have never been exploited before.”
He identified that this regional exploration mapped out is a separate exercise to its work to bring the Clogau-St David’s and Gwynfynydd gold mines back into commercial production.
“It requires a different methodology and mindset, and the use, to start with at least, of some quite simple field exploration tools and techniques that are employed in countless mineral exploration projects the world over, such as stream sediment sampling,’ he said, highlighting that, “Nonetheless, this is important and potentially very significant work.”
He added that, “For the first time, we will be expanding our regional exploration programme to cover our recently granted Gwynfynydd exploration licence. We are very optimistic about the prospects for finding new gold deposits in the Dolgellau Gold Field.”
Subject to regulatory approvals, this first phase of the sampling programme is expected to commence in March 2021. If Phase 1 proves successful, Alba will push forward with the second phase of its programme, covering a wider area. Investors should note that this is additional work to bringing the Clogau-St David’s and Gwynfynydd gold mines back into commercial production and therefore any positive results will present additional re-rating points for the stock. Shares in Alba Mineral Resources have delivered an almost four-fold increase for shareholders since the start of August 2020.
Reasons 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.
Limerick Base Metals Project
Historically, only eight drillholes have been completed within Alba’s Project area of the Limerick Base Metals Project, the most recent being the three holes drilled in Q2 of 2019.
Alba said these low levels of drilling are unusual in the Irish context and, for this reason, the area is considered under-explored. Alba has previously identified a number of attractive targets that have never been drilled before.
Alba’s current technical team, led by Mark Austin, Alba’s COO and Senior Geologist, will undertake a comprehensive review of the licence area before determining the next phase of planned exploration activities.
The expenditure conditions attaching to the renewal of PL 3824 require Alba to incur expenditure of €15,732 by 26 May 2021 with a further €50,000 to be spent by 26 May 2022.
JORC Resource expected at St David’s Clogau Gold Mine
Despite losing field time to the 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.
Amitsoq
In recent weeks, Alba said an independent testwork programme at the Group’s Amitsoq graphite project in southern Greenland has confirmed ‘very high carbon content.’
Due to the high carbon content, the product would offer ‘a significant advantage, as no purification would be needed to achieve that level,’ the Company explained to investors.
Accordingly, subject to certain follow-up testwork which the Group said is recommended, the testwork successfully indicates the suitability of Amitsoq graphite as feed material for Lithium-Ion Batteries ("LIBs"), the fastest growing market for flake graphite globally.
‘This finding that the concentrate appears to be suitable for LIBs is significant, as the market for LIBs is the fastest growing market for flake graphite, with massive growth rates forecast for the next decade due to the expected demand for LIBs in electric vehicles,’ Alba outlined.
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 2020, Alba has announced that surface trenching activities would kick-start over the first of the group’s 10 regional gold targets over the Dolgellau Gold Field.
The trenching 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.
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