Last checked at 31 Jul 2017 07:00
Phoenix Global Mining Ltd / Ticker: PGM / Sector: Mining
31 July 2017
Phoenix Global Mining (PGM) (the "Company" or "Phoenix")
Empire Copper Mine Update
Phoenix Global Mining Ltd (AIM:PGM), the AIM quoted, US-focused copper exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update regarding exploration and development activities at the Empire Copper Mine in Idaho, USA.
Highlights
· 19 drill holes completed as part of the 28-hole (2,200 metre) "infill" drilling programme at the AP Pit
· The drilling programme is targeting to upgrade the current JORC Inferred resources of 5,546,000 Mt to measured and indicated
· The major intersections encountered in the five holes assayed to date have exceeded the average grade in the current JORC Resource
· Further drilling results will be published imminently
· Metallurgical studies and Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") underway - the revised JORC resource will be calculated as part of the PFS programme and published in Q4 2017
· Imminent appointment of the mining contractor to open the 300, 700 and 1100 Level portals and refurbish and ventilate the old workings to allow sampling, mapping and drilling to commence the assessment of the underground sulphide resource potential
Dennis Thomas, the Company's CEO, said, "Our 2017 Drill Programme is progressing encouragingly as these initial results to date demonstrate that we have a stronger average grade than the current JORC Resource which was 0.53% in the AP Pit. We now look forward to publishing more assays and demonstrating that the current resources in the AP Pit will form a robust basis to deliver 7,000 tonnes of copper cathode per annum when we reach production. We will be looking at publishing a revised JORC resource by the end of the year and in parallel with our PFS programme.
"Moreover, the Empire Copper Mine is now a hive of activity, with two senior geologists and two junior geologists plus support staff on site who are all working well under the Project Manager, Ryan McDermott. Negotiations with consulting groups, contractors and metallurgical test laboratories to carry the mine forward as planned are well advanced and we look forward to presenting regular updates of our progress to our shareholders in the coming weeks."
Drilling Programme and Results to date
The Company's drilling contractor, AK Drilling, Inc. has completed 19 of the planned 28 drill holes as at 26 July 2017. The intention of the drilling programme is to "infill" the inferred resource and upgrade and increase the current JORC resource (12.8mt grading 0.53% copper for 68,200 tonnes contained metal) derived from the AP Pit.
14 of the 21-reverse circulation ('RC') drill holes (1,156 metres) and five of the seven diamond drill holes (434 metres) were complete as of 26 July 2017. This includes three of the four large diameter PQ diamond drill holes which will provide the samples for the metallurgical test work programme. Only three such holes were originally planned.
To date, samples from the first twelve drill holes have been shipped to the ALS Global's laboratory in Nevada, USA for assaying. The following summarises the status as of 26 July 2017:
| Planned | Actual to 26 July 2017 | Assay Results | |||
| No. of Holes | Total Metres | No. of Holes | Total Metres | Holes Received | Holes with ALS lab |
Reverse Circulation | 21 | 1,645 | 14 | 1,156 | 5 | 6 |
Diamond Drill (PQ & HQ) | 7 | 657 | 5 | 434 | 1 | |
Total: | 28 | 2,302 | 19 | 1,590 | 5 | 7 |
Significant assay results from the first five drill holes are summarised as follows:
Hole Number | Intersection Metres | Total Cu | Zn | Ag | Au | ||
From | To | Intercept | % | % | g/t | g/t | |
KX-17-2 | 0.0 | 29.0 | 29.0 | 0.46 | 0.07 | 7.7 | |
KX-17-3 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 22.9 | 0.66 | 0.10 | 40.8 | |
Including | 16.8 | 21.3 | 4.6 | 2.06 | 0.05 | 92.9 | |
29.0 | 36.6 | 7.6 | 0.37 | 0.10 | 16.0 | ||
41.2 | 62.5 | 21.3 | 0.86 | 1.22 | 13.0 | ||
Including | 56.4 | 61.0 | 4.6 | 1.65 | 2.30 | 3.4 | |
KX17-4 | 0.0 | 16.8 | 16.8 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 7.9 | 0.6 |
39.6 | 86.9 | 47.3 | 0.23 | 0.11 | 6.6 | ||
Drill holes KX17-1 and KX17-5 contained 15.2 metres averaging 9.6g/t Ag, and 4.6 metres averaging 0.17% Total Cu, respectively. The Company continues its Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) confirmation of the lab results as required by NI43-101 standards.
In addition to the 2017 Drilling Programme, the Company has undertaken additional exploration, development and planning initiatives to advance the Empire Copper Mine. This includes the re-evaluation of core and RC cuttings currently in inventory from previous drilling campaigns and the completion of the MSHA (Mines Safety & Health Administration) surface and underground training plans as required for safety compliance in preparation for the planned reopening of the underground workings as part of the deep sulphide evaluation programme. The Company has also been advised that Dunn Land Surveys has completed the collection of field data for the aerial drone topographic survey and the final topographic results are expected shortly.
Qualified Person
Information in this announcement relating to drilling results is based on data reviewed by Roger Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., Chief Technical Officer and Director of the Company. Mr Turner is a graduate mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years' experience in mine development, construction and operation and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr Turner consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they appear.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.pgmining.com or contact:
Phoenix Global Mining Ltd | Dennis Thomas & Richard Wilkins | c/o St Brides Partners +44 20 7236 1177
|
SP Angel (Nominated Advisor)
| Lindsay Mair / Caroline Rowe | Tel: +44 20 3470 0470 |
Brandon Hill Capital (Broker) | Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield/ Alex Walker /Robert Beenstock
| Tel: +44 20 3463 5000 |
St Brides Partners (Financial PR) | Charlotte Page / Susie Geliher / Hugo de Salis | Tel: +44 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
Phoenix Global Mining Ltd (AIM: PGM) is a US-focused, base metal explorer and developer, which is fast-tracking the historically-producing Empire Mine in Idaho, USA back into production.
Having established an initial copper oxide JORC resource of 12.8mt grading 0.53% copper ('Cu') for 68,200t contained Cu from historical drill holes, Phoenix has defined a two-phase development strategy. Phase One is focused on commencing low cost, open pit production from the current oxide resource, targeting 7,000t copper cathode per annum by 2020 via an SX-EW plant. Stage Two will look to extend the life of mine by targeting the deeper (below c.120m), higher grade copper sulphides, where intercepts of up to 11.4% Cu have been recovered. Pre-feasibility Study work on the priority open pit oxide resource is already underway.
It is estimated that only 5% of the potential ore system has been explored to date and accordingly there is significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased exploration; the current resource relates to the oxide resource only, which remains open along strike and does not include the deeper, higher grade sulphides. Furthermore, the Mine has an exploration target of between 3.4 to 6.7 million tonnes (derived from historic data), grading 0.34% to 0.50% Cu for 11,560 to 33,500 tonnes of additional contained copper and there is potential to extract additional metals, including gold, silver, zinc and tungsten.
With a management team that has successfully constructed, commissioned and operated mines and a low risk, mining-friendly jurisdiction with excellent infrastructure, Phoenix is looking to fulfil its ambitions to become a mid-tier copper producing company.