5 Sep 2014 07:00
REGENCY MINES PLC
("Regency" or the "Company")
Sudan Project Update - Area Extensions Granted to the Red Sea and Jebel Abyad Concessions
4th September 2014
Regency Mines Plc ("Regency" or the "Company"), the natural resources exploration and investment company with interests in oil in the United Kingdom, and nickel and other minerals in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Sudan, is pleased to announce the approval of area extensions to its agromineral concessions in Sudan, where Regency has farm-in rights under an option agreement with International Mineral Resources (Agrominerals Sudan) Ltd ("IMRAS").
PDFs of Figures 1, 2 and 3 referred to below can be accessed using the following:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9103Q_-2014-9-4.pdf
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9103Q_1-2014-9-4.pdf
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9103Q_2-2014-9-4.pdf
Highlights
· Red Sea concession area expanded by 422.4 km2, to include areas where historic oil well data indicates potassium rich beds ("potash") potentially extend to surface
· Jebel Abyad concession area increased by 5,342 km2 to include additional areas deemed prospective for phosphate, identified from remote sensing studies and on-site exploration work
Following applications made earlier this year, area extensions to the RS 9 and Phos 7 concessions have been granted by the Ministry of Minerals. RS 9, known as the "Red Sea" concession, has been extended by 422.4 km2 and now totals 499 km2 along the potash-prospective coastline of Sudan. The phosphate exploration concession Phos-7, known as "Jebel Abyad" has also been expanded by 5,342 km2 and now totals 31,406 km2. The decision to increase the size of both concessions was made as a direct consequence of positive findings from fieldwork conducted across both concessions by Regency's technical team in 2013 and, at the Red Sea, from the interpretation of historic well data recently acquired.
FIGURE 1: Red sea concession map
FIGURE 2: Jebel Abyad concession map
As reported on the 21st May 2014, the RGM technical team received information from the historic Dungunub-1 petroleum well, drilled in 1962 by AGIP Mineraria Ltd, directly south of the Red Sea concession area. The extension of the Red Sea concession was tailored to peg areas where drill records and cross sections indicate 'potassium-rich salts', intersected by Dungunub-1 at depth, project to near-surface.
In 1985, Robertson Research International ("RRI") completed a comprehensive re-interpretation and assessment programme* of the down-hole geological and geophysical data acquired during the AGIP drill programme and generated composite logs and cross sections of the Red Sea concession area. Regency's analysis of this data highlighted downhole target horizons at depths of approximately 700m, 900m and 1050m, all within geological units described as 'potassium-rich salts' which display geophysical characteristics suggestive of potash, including high gamma-ray response.
Regency plotted the depths of the three target horizons on the RRI cross section in order to locate where the beds may extend to surface and applied for these areas in the extension. Ground-verification of these target areas will form the focus of the next mapping, pitting and sampling programme, expected before the end of the year.
FIGURE 3: RRI CROSS SECTION AND INTERPRETATION
Project Manager Gary Hurst comments: "The granting of the area extensions is a significant achievement for the project. Now that Regency have secured the exploration rights for additional areas believed to have agromineral potential, as indicated by historic oil well data and ASTER satellite targeting studies, we can progress exploration efforts to ground-truth these anomalies and move towards drill testing. The results of the Dungunab-1 well interpretation significantly improve our confidence in the presence of potash horizons within the region and substantially increases the size of the prospective area."
*RRI were retained by the Geological Research Authority of the Sudan (GRAS, a division of the Ministry of Energy and Mining) to conduct an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the petroleum potential of the Sudanese Red Sea. The objectives of the evaluation were to promote petroleum exploration in the whole of the Sudan to the international oil industry
For further information, please contact:
Regency Mines PLC
Andrew Bell, Chairman 0207 747 9960 or 0776 647 4849
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Rosalind Hill Abrahams
Roland Cornish 0207 628 3396
Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers Ltd (Broker)
Jason Robertson 01293 517744
MHP Communications (Media Relations)
Rupert Trefgarne 0203 128 8817
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.