Alba Mineral Resources Regulatory News (ALBA)

8 Mar 2007 13:00

Alba Mineral Resources PLC08 March 2007 Alba Mineral Resources plc ("Alba" or the "Company") Mauritania Fieldwork Commences Alba Mineral Resources plc, the UK-based exploration company, announces it's 50per cent. owned UK subsidiary Mauritania Ventures Limited (MVL) has commenceduranium exploration fieldwork in northern Mauritania. Highlights • Commencement of uranium fieldwork in northern Mauritania • Total of 47 targets for follow-up investigation identified by remotesensing alteration and structural study of ASTER satellite images. • Iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) potential of southern Mauritania underreview, with reconnaissance field work planned in Q3 2007 • Three permits covering 4,465 km(2) awarded to date with an additionalthree uranium exploration permits covering 4,478 km2 pending The Company is pleased to announce that MVL, their 50 per cent. owned UKsubsidiary, has commenced fieldwork on their three uranium exploration permits(311, 312 and 313), which cover an area of 4,465 km(2), in northern Mauritania. The initial phase of this fieldwork has recently been completed. Field work isfocussed on 47 targets identified by Alba technical staff and an ASTER satellite(remote sensing) study. Work conducted included ground-based radiometricsurveying, lithogeochemical sampling and reconnaissance mapping. Analyticalresults and an interpretation of this phase of fieldwork are pending and will bethe subject of a future update. A second field programme is scheduled during Q3 2007 to reconnoitre andinvestigate permit areas within in the Mauritanide Belt which the Company hasunder application and believes to have iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) potential.The Mauritanide Belt hosts the Guelb Moghrein mine (23.7 Mt grading 1.88%. Cu,1.41 g/t Au, and 143 ppm Co), which lies 260 kilometres to the northwest ofMVL's southern licences. The map of the areas of interest can be found at the following link: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5811s_-2007-3-8.pdf Michael Nott, Group Managing Director and Chairman, commented, "We are please toreport that our fieldwork in Mauritania has begun, and look forward to reportingthe results of our reconnaissance work on the northern permits. Work isprogressing and we hope to carry out another field visit shortly. We believeMauritania to be under-explored and that the country has excellent potential tohost additional economic mineralization." ENDS Enquiries Michael Nott, Managing Director Alba Mineral Resources plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7495 5326 Justine Howarth/ Victoria Thomas Parkgreen Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7851 7480 Liam Murray City Financial Associates Tel: +44 (0)20 7090 7800 Notes to Editors Alba Mineral Resources plc is a committed, technically driven explorer with acommodity focus on uranium, nickel and gold. Alba currently has interests in anumber of well researched properties owned in its own right or in conjunctionwith other parties, primarily in Scotland, Mauritania and Sweden. The Companyalso has gold and base metal interests in Scotland and Ireland. The Company's overall corporate and exploration strategy will continue to be oneof developing a portfolio of well-researched, promising and prospectiveexploration properties that will be pursued further, either in the Company's ownright or in conjunction with other parties. To create value, projects will be either sold outright (in whole or part), spunoff into a separate company, joint ventured to include a cash consideration and/or a 'Net Smelter Return' or developed into operating mines. The Company willhave a principal focus on the Arthrath nickel-copper-platinum group metalsproject in Scotland, uranium and copper-gold in Mauritania, and nickel andcopper-gold in Sweden. Alba will actively assess, as a priority, the uranium potential of the threeuranium permits awarded in Mauritania, and are committed to continuing nickelexploration in Sweden as part of a collaborative exploration effort part fundedby the Altius Minerals Corporation of Canada. Precious- and base- metal properties in Ireland and Scotland will continue toform part of the company portfolio and will be carried forward on a timelybasis, with a view to seeking joint ventures on each where warranted. Policies on Environment, Community & Social Responsibility and Safety It is the objective of Alba Mineral Resources not only to increase value for ourshareholders, but to do so in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.We expect employees and contractors alike, to respect the cultures andtraditions of the communities we work with, and in. Alba is a member of Environmental Excellence in Exploration (E3) a projectcoordinated by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). As aminimum standard we will abide by the applicable environmental laws within theadministrative areas that we work and ensure that all our employees have theright to a safe and healthy working environment. Geology and Mineral Potential of the Mauritania Permits The three uranium permits held, and the three uranium permits pending, by MVLare considered by the Company to be highly prospective for hostingunconformity-type uranium mineralization, analogous to that seen in theAthabasca region of Canada. The permits awarded cover significant areas of anunconformable contact between early Proterozoic reworked granitic terrane andoverlying sediments of late Proterozoic to Carboniferous age. Airborne geophysics flown on behalf of the Mauritanian Government indicatesradiometric anomalies within organic-rich units near the base of thesesedimentary sequences, coincident with large, deep-penetrating crustal shearstructures. Uranium mineralization is known to the north and northwest of thepermit area, and is hosted in granites and rhyolites cut by these shearstructures. Airborne radiometrics has been shown to be an effective techniquein uranium exploration in Niger where radiometric anomalies are associated withall known uranium deposits in the area surrounding the Arlit and Akouta uraniummines in the east of the country. Niger, some 2000 km east of MVL's currentexploration activity, is the world's third largest producer of uranium afterCanada and Australia. Dr Sandy M. Archibald BSc. MSc. PhD, Technical Director of Alba has reviewed theinformation contained herein. Dr. Archibald has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style ofmineralisation under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking as aqualified person as defined by the Guidance Note for Mining and Oil & GasCompanies under the AIM Rules for Companies. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange