The latest RNS regarding the Clayton Silver Project, brief as it is, nevertheless provides a clear indication of the mineralogical potential under consideration so this is perhaps an appropriate time to offer this contribution. As a reminder, the relevant words from the 16.11.2020 RNS regarding the 20CLDD001 core log are as follows:
“Massive quartz vein and quartz breccia intersected in target zone between 83.52m and 91.44m downhole (true thickness unknown) containing fine grained disseminated sulphides including mineral logged as the silver sulphide mineral acanthite.”
This mineral association, whilst not diagnostic, is strongly indicative of moderately low temperature, low sulphidization, epithermal mineralisation, and in terms of mode of formation implies, mineral emplacement by aqueous fluids emanating from a nearby magmatic source. Quartz is the host and carrier [note, 'massive' means 'not crystallised and physically undifferentiated', not 'huge'] and together with the low temperature minerals acanthite and pyrite, suggests fluid origin from a relatively shallow depth.
Assay and analysis will determine the silver [Acanthite is 87% Ag] and gold content [4.8oz/ton Ag and 0.4g/t Au over 7.6m in the CL-15 historic hole] but more importantly will hopefully assist in the determination of what proportion of the Ag-Au mineralisation is of primary [ie epithermal] origin and how much, if any, is due to supergene enrichment. Such secondary, supergene enrichment is often localised and so can provide misleadingly enhanced assay results. If it has occurred at Clayton it will have been due to meteoric water [ie terrestrially derived] having leached out silver from the overlying volcanics and percolated down to react with sulphides in the quartz. It is the proportion of silver of primary, epithermal origin, together with the gold [Mineral Ridge has an Ag/Au ration of 2/1] which will determine further development or abandonment.
To be continued
Please ignore as not relevant to RSA, and apologies to all for using this as a means of contact.
Wolfbag2, I am 'aegos' [a corruption of ageos] and have no connection with anon1234. I am a geoscientist and former CEO with 50 years experience in global exploration geology.. Click on AGEOS and scroll back to Oct 13. 2018 for beginning of OMI coverage. Best of luck with your investments. No need to respond.
The following extract from my post of 09.08.2020 may assist in understanding ZEN's current field operational capacity all of which will now be directed towards African interests.
For those unaware, Zena Drilling is a wholly owned subsidiary, registered in the UAE, with office and depot in Baku, Azerbaijan. Assets include a twice-upgraded A80 workover rig, an A-100-ton truck-mounted 375HP workover rig, a BD-260-ton Robotics [Italy] drilling rig with 4600m [since upgraded] drill-depth capacity [purchase cost = £2m] and c£1m worth of spares and ancillary equipment [£650K Robotics]. It also has a lease/purchase agreement in place with Olieum Services for a BQ500 2000HP Robotics automated hydraulic drilling rig with 6300m drill depth capacity. This agreement has an initial 6 month 'no leasing-cost grace period' plus operating crew.
Zena Drilling also appears to have retained at least 7 staff through the present crisis and its current operating costs are presumably met from the $1.2m which was due from SOCAR to Zenith Aran, ZEN's operator subsidiary in Azerbaijan, earlier this year.
AGEOS
Marcous15
re your question “Does anyone know the current reserves for Orosur?”, whilst it is true there is no NI-101 compliant estimate currently available for the APTA [Aragon-Pastorera Trend] prospect, there are several 'inferred estimates' for the drilling so far completed.
MDA (Mine Development Associates) of Reno, Nevada produced an estimate of a potential resource of between 165,000oz and 274,000oz Au, with demonstrated metallurgical recoveries of around 96% based on core data from the 53 holes completed at APTA before Jan 2017. They calculated 1.6M – 2.3M tonnes averaging between 3.2 – 3.7g/t Au.
I updated these calculations in a post dated 12.10.2018,to include all subsequent cores [holes MAP 54 to MAP 71] to produce an inferred resource estimation of around 500,000oz Au [minimum 375,000oz Au]. The calculations, which are complex, are detailed in the 12.10.2018 post, in a Q & A on 13.10.2018 and in an update on 21.10.2018 [Click on AGEOS and scroll back to page 9]
The same inferred resource for APTA of c500,000oz Au has been quoted by colleagues at Miranda Gold [now Outcrop Gold] with reference to their interests in Pantagora [N of ANZA] and Oribella [S of APTA].
Further infill and step-out drilling will hopefully improve on these estimates.
Best of luck with your investment.
AGEOS
MudPump, since you suggest I “return to geology” I assume you judge my efforts in that realm to be worthy of further endeavour. Such a pity that your generosity in that respect fails to extend to allow me any right to expression regarding investment in ZEN, a right you liberally enjoy yourself.
As to the matter you dismiss as “ridiculous”, I would not be so foolish as to post as I did without valid reason. That reason remains confidential.
If all goes to plan I expect this to 'gap-up' significantly on return from suspension. From my experience no accountants ever complete a statutory audit in less than a week and the Tilapia license would have to be signed-off before they even begin the process; so maybe news on that front sooner than expected.
I also anticipate there may be legal retribution in store for some of those who have been working against ZEN's interests, so there could be some entertainment to follow.
continuation:
Those attempting to estimate an Au Resource for the APTA prospect might wish to refer to my post of 12.10.2018 [click on AGEOS and scroll back to page 9] as this details the methodology for calculation and provides an estimation which is still valid as there has been no further drilling. It is also an estimation independently supported by colleagues at Miranda Gold [now Outcrop Gold] who rounded it up to 0.5m oz Au. [ref 18.12.2018].
AGEOS
For those interested in the regional context of the ANZA project, the latest drilling results from the area are those released by Royal Road Minerals [RRM] last Thursday from the GNM Mines situated c15km NW of OMI's APTA prospect and adjacent to OMI's 6219 hectare ICQ-080035X Pending Concession Application, La Cejita target area. These results can be accessed online at www.royalroadminerals.com ; click on 'latest' and then on 'Sept 29, 2020 News' re 'drilling results & exploration update for guintar-niverengo project' .
The GNM Mines [see posts dated 28.05.2020 & 30.12.2018 for details] are subject to an exploration agreement between RRM and Mineros S A{prospective 50% holding in joint company], and not as implied elsewhere on this forum, with Agnico Eagle Mines [which has an 18.4% share holding in RRM].
The significance of the drill results lies not so much in the Au Eq assays quoted but far more so in the stated “multi-element geochemical vector studies” which will have incorporated data from the drill-cores into a regional model attempting to identify deeper primary gold sources. Since the GNM mineralisation is considered to be a Miocene-age hydrothermal event [a skarn-type system hosted in Penderisco Formation carbonates], the primary sources will also be of that age and possibly porphyry-related, vein or breccia intrusives at kilometre-plus depth. The RRM model appears to favour potential targets west of the Guintar area. However, until the Margaritas Pending Concession Application is resolved further-drilling is on hold.
Multi-element vector studies of the type employed by RRM have been developed during the past decade and in this variant use the composition of epidote, chlorite, alunite and other hydrothermal minerals to predict the likely direction and distance to centres of mineralisation. However, if you access Figure 1 on the RRM webpage, remember that this is a probabilistic predictive map, not a map of economically mineable gold. It is however indicative of the type of investigation we may see for those parts of ANZA where drilling may soon be permitted ie Charrascala, and Guaimarala. Vector analysis would not be appropriate for APTA, if proven to be primarily a VMS type deposit, as the mineralisation would have emanated from submarine hydrothermal vents not traceable to a localised source, and is also hosted in Middle Cretaceous-age, Barrosa Formation, volcano-clastic rocks. The metallogenesis at APTA, as detailed in my post of 16.01.2019, is complex and problematic, so it will be interesting to see what further drilling is scheduled at this stage.
To be continued.
Zenith is Canadian registered and as such is subject to CSA [Canadian Securities Administrators] regulations which include a statutory obligation to file all public disclosures and documentation on SEDAR [System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval]
Filing on SEDAR is synchronised with filing on the Oslo Bors and LSE hence the delay in RNS today.
Whilst I have no wish to participate in the current disagreeable forum exchanges regarding Tilapia, it should be noted that Congo potential is not confined to that field alone. As I detailed in a post on 10.07.2020, if the second acquisition, as announced in an RNS part reproduced below, is part of the MKB fields, bear in mind that Orion Oil paid $150m for a 20% interest in 2013 based on certified reserves of 1.3billion barrels of oil. The onshore acquisition may have Mengo and Vandji potential at least equivalent to the Tilapia Djeno.
RNS July 7th 2020 re: “Joint Venture Agreement for acquisition of second oil production asset in the Republic of the Congo”
“The primary objective of the Agreement is the potential acquisition of an onshore oil production licence (the "Potential Acquisition"), last producing at a rate of approximately 300 barrels of oil per day from the regionally proven Mengo formation as recently as 2019. Production has currently been suspended pending the assignation of a new licence. The Potential Acquisition is located in the Kouilou region of the Republic of the Congo in proximity of Pointe-Noire
Further, in accordance with the Agreement, it is stipulated that Zenith shall have the role of joint operator and majority partner in the event that a new licence is successfully obtained in relation to the Potential Acquisition. Following preliminary technical analysis of the Potential Acquisition, as part of the due diligence activities conducted prior to entering into the Agreement, Zenith is confident that profitable oil production operations can be achieved following the reactivation of the Potential Acquisition and the performance of targeted, low-intensity workover activities.”
AGEOS.
The post at 10.57 today, implying an imminent 'start of exploration activities' at ANZA is misleading. The RNS quoted and dated July 19th is in fact an RNS dated July 8th 2019, reproduced below with clarification of two aspects, integral to the RNS, and which are also subject to misinterpretation by those unfamiliar with the matters to which they relate.
RNS dated July 08. 2019
“Start of Exploration Activities in Colombia
Exploration activities at the Anzá project have been initiated within the scope of the Exploration Agreement with Venture Option with Newmont Colombia SAS, a subsidiary of Newmont Goldcorp (“Newmont”). The Company has already relogged 2,400 metres of the drill core from an area north of APTA. This is the area where a new broad zone of gold mineralization covering a continuous strike of 450m was discovered by Orosur during the 2018 drilling campaign. Geophysical and geochemical reinterpretation is now planned at the Anzá project. The objective of this initial activity, which requires no field work, is to update the geological model, in conjunction with Newmont.”
The reference to relogging of “2400m of the drill-core from an area north of APTA” is misleading since it implies a northerly extension to the area of APTA as defined by the map on page 7 of the June 2020 Corporate Presentation highlighted on the company website. There is no evidence of any drilling at APTA north of the MAP-26 borehole. An assessment of the core-logs from all 71 boreholes at APTA is incorporated into my post dated 12.10.2018 and there has been no further drilling since that date and no public notification of any application for additional drilling permits as of today.
The reference to “geophysical and geochemical reinterpretation....planned at the Anza project” relates to “reinterpretation” of the air-borne and possible ground-based IP and resistivity surveys conducted prior to late 2018 and which I detailed in a post dated 18.10.2018.
AGEOS.
MAJWandCo,
Thanks for responding to my post of 01.09.2020 regarding the ANZA ICQ-080035X Pending Concession Application. Any response, other than the usual derogatory comment I have come to expect here, is so rare on this forum, that one which also included translation of the original source, is especially welcome. I will however have to correct you on a number of points, primarily because of the potential legal implications which could arise from misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Firstly and most importantly my 01.09.2020 post did not state or imply the existence of a “failed concession application” to quote from the first sentence of your 05.54 post today. If that was your conclusion then you are incorrect and should reread the post. I detailed a clear three-phase sequence of events. March 6th, instruction by Secretary of Mines to select a portion of the ICQ area within 30 days or risk rejection of application; March 29th challenge by OMI legal council to legality of the instruction; April 8th Court rejection of that challenge leaving OMI with no option other than to comply with the Secretary of Mines' instruction. I state precisely that “Orosur are required to select only a portion of the ICQ area, based on the AnnA Mineria grid system, the remaining part or parts being designated 'free' and available for other interested applicants” I also suggest that “Orosur might be eligible to apply for these 'free' areas also, as a separate Concession or Concessions.” {Orosur appear to have done precisely that, as I indicate in paragraph 4 of my 04.09.2020 post, having RNS'd a reference to “four exploration licence applications” instead of the previous three.]
Secondly your conclusion that “it [ie the April 8th court ruling] reads as though they indeed lost the rights to concession ICQ-089935X” is a misinterpretation of the Spanish legalese, as I have clarified above.
Although this might appear to be an excessively wordy response, it is necessary to ensure clarity of meaning from a legal perspective. I mentioned in my 01.09.2020 post that the March 29th company legal challenge, the reference to which I with-held, carried a warning of legal sanction against replication of content, so it is vital that any interpretation of the subsequent April 8th ruling is correct.
AGEOS.
Expect an RNS soon, confirming submission of a technical and commercial bid as part of the Nigerian 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round which has now closed . This will have been submitted in partnership with an as yet undisclosed Nigerian registered energy company, as confirmed in the 16.06.2020 RNS.
AGEOS
Olderandwiser:
Re: Forest protection order. Click on AGEOS to access historic posts; scroll down to bottom of page one. Click on page 3 and scroll down to 26 May 2020 13.48 for details of the TDF order as at that date, including the official published sources. Related permitting issues are detailed in other posts, as are assessments of the Au potential of APTA and ANZA on page 8.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
The recent RNS regarding acquisition of the 22.5% CNPC interest in the Sidi El Kilani Field and North Kairouan permit, provides in addition to the enhanced production of c300 bopd, a potential which will not be apparent to most investors.
On completion of both this and the KUFPEC SPA, Zenith Netherlands will be joint operator with a 45% interest, in partnership with ETAP, the state oil company, an exact parallel to the Panoro Energy ASA/ETAP management of the comparable Guebiba Field, the subject of my 14.06.2020 post. In that post I referred to the structural and stratigraphic similarities of the two Fields, and of a recent ETAP reappraisal of the geotechnical data relating to the Guebiba Field leading to a drilling campaign aimed at a considerable enhancement in production..
ETAP geologists have been very active recently [latest data release July 2020] in evaluating the further production potential of the Abiod limestone [main reservoir at Sidi El Kilani], Douleb and Bireno Formations, throughout the Kairouan Basin. Hence, I anticipate ETAP will be keen to initiate further development both at Sidi El Kilani, which is triple the area of Guebiba, and perhaps elsewhere in the N Kairouan permit area. With operational interest soon to be limited to ZEN and ETAP and both parties similarly aligned in their objective of increased production, the prospect of near to mid-term developments towards that end appear highly likely. The bilateral association with ETAP should also facilitate access to a state owned CTF 06, 2000hp onshore drilling rig.
AGEOS
Takeyour bets, Zen has been in receipt of 22.5% revenue from Sidi El Kilani since 22nd April [ref 11.06.2020 RNS] which has been paying off the balance of $250,000 due to KUFPEC. That payment should be completed Sept/Oct so revenue from the c150 boed will then contribute to cash-flow.
Kelsbells is correct regarding the confirmation of transfer of seller's rights etc but that is a separate legal entity with no relevance to the financial aspects of the SPA.
MG sums up the revenue potential of the two deals, KUFPEC and CNPC, admirably.
AGEOS
Yes ajb that is correct, I used to post as 'intheno', as is clear to anyone who wishes to click on AGEOS and scroll back to column 9 where most posts bear both avatars. The 28.08.2018 post explains that I adopted a new name and account, to eliminate bogus posts, which appeared to have been introduced by someone hacking into my account to discredit me. The police declined to pursue the matter as there was no financial or reputational loss of substance.
No, I have not been posting “since the SP was 8x what it is today.” My initial posts coincided with my first share purchase, which was around 8p, so 17x the current price. However, I took note of my posted advice, that “no one should be under any illusion as to the technical challenges of remediation in soviet era oilfields in Azerbaijan” and invested accordingly. My current very low SP breakeven number reflects that caution.
What I post here is based on the professional standards of the geoscience community to which I belong and any inference that I post with biased intent is wholly refuted.
AGEOS
Having also now listened to the 20.08.2020 conference call, I agree entirely with MarketG's excellent summary of the content.
Just to pick up on a few additional points and beginning where MG left off, ie the probable transfer of rigs from Azerbaijan to the Congo, AC seemed quite specific about this and included the “Zena Drilling technicians” of which there appears to be five or six currently in post. In view of the time required for rig shipment, I assume the initial side-track at TLP-103C will most likely be subcontracted to a Congo based outfit, the Zena rigs being destined for the Tilapia II development drilling programme for which up to six additional wells may be required. If ZEN are also successful in acquiring a second Congo field, already alluded to, and for which I have suggested part of MKB as a highly desirable possibility, there will be years of work for Zena Drilling lined up.
Reference to the Zena rigs being transferred to Africa also suggests a possible renegotiation with SOCAR regarding the “Exploration” component of the REDPSA as this includes a commitment to drill a 5000m [or 50m into the Cretaceous basement] well, within the Contract Exploration Area before October 2021. Alternatively, maybe the BQ500 rig lease/purchase agreement with Olieum will come into play. AC also confirmed during the Q & A that $400,000+ was still due from SOCAR re Azer oil production.
Although the Tilapia deal is, as AC stated “foremost in investor perception”, bear in mind that he also implied that the impending West African acquisitions are comparable with Tilapia. Sidi El Kilani plus a second acquisition in Tunisia would also offer similar production potential, as I have outlined in reference to the Bireno carbonate reservoir target [14.06.2020 post]. So cumulatively a lot of significant developments in prospect.
AGEOS
PS I see that further posts of interest to the Financial Conduct Authority have appeared today.