Last checked at 26 Oct 2016 07:00
Armadale Capital Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ACP / Sector: Investment Company
26 October 2016
Armadale Capital Plc (‘Armadale’ or the ‘Company’)
Completion of 2016 Drill Programme
85% strike rate of high grade graphite mineralisation recorded from drilling
at Mahenge Liandu Project in Tanzania
Armadale, the AIM quoted investment company focused on natural resource projects, is delighted to confirm that 18 out of 21 drill holes at its Mahenge Liandu project in Tanzania (‘Mahenge Liandu’) were visually logged as intersecting high-grade coarse flake graphite mineralisation. This is a positive result and completes a successful reverse circulation drilling campaign.
Summary:
18 out of 21 drill holes visually logged as intersecting high-grade coarse flake graphite mineralisation over 2km strike length; All graphite mineralisation intersected is near the surface implying relatively low extraction costs; Drilling campaign completed on time and on budget; Metallurgical test-work has commenced, with results due out shortly (previous assays confirmed high grade coarse flake graphite from one hole over 60m at 10.7% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC)); JORC modelling is now underway and preliminary findings indicate a substantial size graphite resource – the formal results are expected to be finalised by the end Q4 2016; To provide context, Armadale’s closest neighbour Black Rock Mining (ASX: BKT; Mkt Cap: £32.4m) has a resource of 131Mt at 7.9%, while Kilbaran Resources (ASX: KNL; Mkt Cap: £26.7m) has 10.9Mt at 8.6% TGC; and The Board is now formulating Armadale’s marketing and supply chain strategy to ensure it is well positioned to capitalise on strong demand for natural graphite in varied applications such as lithium-ion batteries, fire retardant building materials, carbon composites and graphene.William Frewen, Chairman of Armadale said:
“This is an exceptional result for Armadale, with 18 out of 21 drills holes intersecting high-grade coarse flake graphite mineralisation. Indeed, the 2016 drilling campaign at Mahenge Liandu has been successful and the Board is confident that the JORC modelling currently underway will confirm the presence of a substantial graphite resource by the end of 2016. In addition, with the commencement of metallurgical test-work, the Board aims to inform shareholders on the initial purity and flake size distribution as soon as practicable. Together, with the preliminary evidence of the resource size, the Board believes this will highlight the viability and upside potential for the Mahenge Liandu project.
“With global demand for natural graphite expected to increase substantially over the next few years, the Board is now focused on developing global marketing and supply chain evolution strategies. The Board believes Armadale can rapidly advance Mahenge Liandu and carve out a differentiated niche from its neighbouring peers. Ideally, this will be achieved by focusing primarily on the European market, as more clarity on the end product quality and potential scalability of mining operation materialises. Currently, Armadale is clearly differentiated in being the only resource group on AIM that is exposed to natural graphite.
Conclusion on 2016 Drill Programme
The Board of Armadale Capital is delighted with the visual logging of high grade coarse flake graphite and the scale at which mineralisation has been intersected from and near surface. The Board now looks forward to reporting full details of all assays in the coming weeks and announcing a maiden JORC resource this calendar year.
Further Information
The Mahenge Liandu graphite project is located in the Ulanga District in south east Tanzania, approximately 300km south west of Morogoro and 10km from the town Mahenge.
High grade graphite mineralisation of up to 33.8% TGC has been demonstrated through analysis of rock-chip samples taken from Mahenge Liandu in June 2016. Previous drilling has confirmed high-grade mineralisation from the surface, with results including 60m @ 10.7% TGC including 24m @ 12.9% TGC and 5m @ 21.5% TGC. The samples were taken from graphite schist outcrops over 1.5km of strike that was mapped by the previous owner surrounding the initial discovery holes.
Competent Person statement
The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Matt Bull, a competent person, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Bull has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves”. Mr Bull consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
**ENDS**
| Enquiries: | |||
| Armadale Capital Plc Charles Zorab, Company Secretary | +44 20 7233 1462 | ||
| Nomad and broker: finnCap Ltd Christopher Raggett / Simon Hicks | +44 20 7220 0500 | ||
| Press Relations: St Brides Partners Ltd Charlotte Page / Susie Geliher | +44 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
Armadale Capital Plc is focused on investing in and developing a portfolio of investments, targeting the natural resources and/or infrastructure sectors in Africa. The company, led by a team with operational experience and a strong track record in Africa, has a strategy of identifying high growth businesses where it can take an active role in their advancement.
The Company owns the Mahenge Liandu graphite project in south-east Tanzania, which is now its main focus. The project is located in a highly prospective region with proven coarse flake, high grade graphite resources – ASX listed Kibaran and Black Rock have both identified and are developing significant proven and valuable graphite projects immediately adjacent to Mahenge Liandu. A mineralised trend about 2km in strike length and up to 500m wide has been identified at the project, which remains open at depth. Armadale geologists have mapped and sampled the graphite schist, with results from seven previous samples ranging from 12.8% - 24.0% TGC. Exploration drilling completed at the project in December 2015 has further confirmed the mineral potential of the license area, with results including 10mt at 6.54% TGC, 24mt at 12.9% TGC and 5mt at 21.5% TGC. Armadale is targeting a maiden resource estimation in late 2016.
Other assets Armadale has an interest in include the Mpokoto Gold project in the DRC and a portfolio of quoted investments.
More information can be found on the website www.armadalecapitalplc.com.
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