17 Jun 2015 07:00
Regency Mines Plc
("Regency" or the "Company")
Sudan Operational Update
17 June 15
Regency, the natural resources exploration and investment company with interests in oil and in nickel and other minerals in Australia, Greenland, Papua New Guinea and Sudan, announces an update to its agromineral exploration program in Sudan.
Operational Update
As announced on the 13th May 2015, a team led by Regency geologists has safely returned to London having completed two weeks on-site carrying out exploration work on the Jebel Abyad Phosphate Block, Phos 7.
During the programme, 72 dry stream (wadi), 18 soil orientation and 10 rock chip samples were collected from the concession area. Samples have had their chemical compositions tested on site by a handheld XRF analyser (X-Ray Fluorescence) to give immediate indications of phosphate levels. All samples deemed anomalous will be sent to an accredited laboratory for cross-check analysis.
Preliminary results from stream sediments indicate four zones with elevated phosphate concentrations (*up to 1.8% P2O5) within the block. Due to the nature of stream sediment sampling, even weakly anomalous readings have the potential to indicate significant phosphate beds upstream of the sample location and are expected to give indications of one of two major stratigraphic targets under consideration. The second stratigraphic target is yet to be tested and could yield additional exploration upside.
Regency geologists are analysing the field data and samples are currently on route to the lab for more detailed analysis. The Company will report the full results in due course.
Gary Hurst, Project Manager, comments: "We accomplished a great deal in two weeks despite difficult operating conditions that included 48°C+ temperatures and dust storms. Our expedition began in Khartoum and we were able to cover approximately 2/3rds of the license area during our time in the field.
Our focus this trip was to further narrow down areas of interest via stream sediment sampling techniques. This method of sampling does not generate definitive grades of potential phosphate beds, but does allow us to eliminate large areas of the license and allows much sharper focus on the remaining targets.
Preliminary results are encouraging as the elevated readings encountered are clustered in several areas, indicating where further potential remains and where it does not. Each trip to Jebel Abyad improves our understanding of the underlying geology and brings us one step closer to our aim of ultimately defining an economic phosphate resource.
We will follow up with complete results and further exploration plans in due course."
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Bell 0207 747 9960 or 0776 647 4849 Chairman Regency Mines Plc
Roland Cornish/Rosalind Hill Abrahams 0207 628 3396 NOMAD Beaumont Cornish Limited
Jason Robertson 0129 351 7744 Broker Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers Ltd.
Christian Pickel 0203 128 8208 Media Relations MHP Communications
The information in this report that relates to geology is based on information reviewed by Mr Gary Hurst MSci, who is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and Member of The Society of Economic Geologists. Mr Hurst is an employee of Regency Mines plc.
* Ahead of obtaining laboratory assays, the Company is using a Niton XL3t GOLDD+ handheld XRF analyser to obtain first-pass chemical compositions of all samples. This analysis enables the geological team to obtain instant indications of phosphate grades and live programme re-prioritisation. It should be noted that although the handheld XRF is a good indicator of bulk composition, data can be misrepresented as a result of factors, such as grain size, weathering/alteration and sample heterogeneity. Consequently, the XRF data should be considered an indicative result pending assay verification.