13 May 2015 17:33
Regency Mines Plc
("Regency" or the "Company")
Sudan Update - Mobilisation to Jebel Abyad Phosphate Block
13 May 2015
Regency, the natural resources exploration and investment company with interests in oil in the United States, and nickel and other minerals in Australia, Greenland, Papua New Guinea and Sudan, is pleased to announce mobilisation of a geological team to the Jebel Abyad (Phos 7) Block in Sudan, a project where Regency has farm-in rights under an option agreement with International Mineral Resources (Agrominerals Sudan) Ltd ("IMRAS").
A team led by Regency geologists has been mobilised to Sudan to spend two weeks on-site carrying out exploration work on the Jebel Abyad Phosphate Block. The primary goals of the programme are to generate new phosphate anomalies and ground truth existing anomalies in order to advance the project towards drill testing.
Figure 1: Sudan Project Block map: http://tinyurl.com/pwk2hht
Regency's exploration work to date indicates that the rocks of Jebel Abyad represent an embayment of the Tethys Ocean and are stratigraphically and lithologically similar to those of other South Tethyan Phosphorite Province (STPP) phosphate deposits, which are globally significant.
During the upcoming programme, the team plans to collect ~100 samples from alluvial fans and dry stream (wadi) channels in order to further define the Areas of Interest highlighted from previous exploration work. All samples collected will have their chemical composition tested on site by a handheld XRF analyser (X-Ray Fluorescence) after which a selection will be sent to a laboratory for cross-check analysis. On site spectrometer readings will be taken from all samples.
Figure 2: Jebel Abyad Block map showing areas to be investigated during the upcoming programme: http://tinyurl.com/py5uhlb
Further to the announcement released on the 26th August 2014, since Regency's previous visit to Jebel Abyad the team has completed a detailed ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite imagery analysis over the Block area to aid the identification of potential phosphate anomalies. The study identified phosphate targets that overlay the stratigraphic target (Tam/Tal contact) identified during the 2013 exploration visit to Jebel Abyad. Traversing and geological logging of these areas will form a core component of the programme.
In addition, the team intends to complete a soil orientation study to identify where phosphate is positioned within the local soil profile. This is a crucial precursor to designing an effective soil sampling programme in a region where little exploration has taken place.
The team will be based from 4-wheel drive mobilised field camps for the duration of the trip and will be working with geologists from Sudan's Geological Survey (GRAS). The team will also be accompanied by consulting geologist Dr João Beckel whose extensive experience will be invaluable during the programme and in follow-up analysis.
Gary Hurst, Project Manager, commented:
"Since our last visit to Jebel Abyad, Regency has gained valuable and encouraging insights into both the geology and the prospectivity of the Block through a comprehensive analysis of ASTER satellite imagery. The ASTER targeting supported our ground observations and the upcoming programme will now further define our targets using cost effective methods such as alluvial channel sampling. We have taken a systematic approach at target generation in order to comb the vast area for significant phosphate deposits cost effectively. We anticipate interesting results."
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.