Last checked at 9 Nov 2016 11:00
SUNRISE RESOURCES PLC
("Sunrise" or the "Company")
9 November 2016
New Industrial Mineral/Base Metal Prospect
Ridge Limestone Project
Sunrise Resources plc (ticker symbol 'SRES'), the AIM-traded diversified mineral exploration and development company ("the Company"), is pleased to announce the staking of an additional industrial mineral project in Nevada in line with its published strategy.
HIGHLIGHTS - THE RIDGE LIMESTONE PROJECT
· New industrial mineral/base-metal project acquired by US subsidiary SR Minerals Inc.
· 18 claims staked to cover large surface area of high purity limestone.
· Potential for use in higher-value industrial applications.
· Favourably located adjacent to sealed highway and amenable to open-pit mining.
· Claims also cover prospector-scale mine workings with grab sampling results up to 15.8% zinc.
Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said: "We are continuing to build our industrial minerals portfolio in the western USA at low cost and in line with our strategy to acquire projects with the potential to generate sustaining cash flow. The Ridge Limestone Project now sits alongside our County Line Diatomite Project, currently leased to EP Minerals, LLC and our Pozz Project, also in Nevada, where further evaluation work is in progress.
Further information:
Sunrise Resources plc Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman | Tel: | +44 (0)1625 838 884 |
Northland Capital Partners Limited Nominated Adviser & Broker Edward Hutton/David Hignell John Howes/Rob Rees
| Tel: | +44 (0)20 3861 6625
|
Beaufort Securities Limited Joint Broker Jon Belliss | Tel: | +44 (0)20 7382 8300 |
Detailed Information
The Company has a well-defined strategy to acquire, at low-cost, industrial minerals projects that have the potential to provide a sustaining cash flow for the Company and to seek to develop those interests at minimal cost to the Company in cooperation with industry-leading companies.
This strategy was highlighted in the Company's news release of 19 September 2016 and is exemplified by the Company's acquisition of the County Line Diatomite Project and the subsequent leasing of the project to diatomite producer EP Minerals, LLC.
Consistent with this strategy the Company has now staked 18 mining claims over an area containing high purity limestone. The deposit is located adjacent to a sealed highway and 55 miles from sidings on the Union Pacific Railroad. There is no public record that this limestone occurrence has previously been targeted for industrial evaluation.
The Company's initial reconnaissance of this area was motivated by an examination of small-scale mine workings for gold mineralisation in a geologically complex area where an uplifted fault block ("horst") of so called "lower plate" limestone occurs in a setting favourable for the occurrence of intrusion related precious metal, skarn and Carlin-style gold mineralisation.
The limestone deposit forms a prominent ridge and lends itself to low-cost open-cast mining with potentially large tonnages evidenced by a large exposed surface area (5.4 sq. km.). The uplifted limestone is metamorphosed and recrystallised suggesting proximity to an underlying intrusive rock. Metamorphism can be an important process in the formation of high purity limestone deposits where high temperatures can bleach and recrystallise the rock and disperse impurities.
High purity limestones may have a higher value than those used in construction aggregates and are used, for example, in the chemical industries, in glass manufacturing, flue gas desulphurisation and in various fillers and extenders in the rubber, sealants, plastic and paper industries. It is also used in the manufacture of lime (calcium oxide, CaO) which is used extensively in the mining industry.
The field recognition of high purity limestone was confirmed by three reconnaissance samples which returned the following analytical results1. These analyses include samples from two areas that can be classified by calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content as very high grade limestone2.
Calculated |
Calculated |
XRF Analysis
| |||||||
Sample No. | CaCO3 | MgCO3 | CaO | MgO | SiO2 | Fe2O3 | Na2O | K2O | Al2O3 |
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
383086 | 99.06 | 0.59 | 55.50 | 0.28 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.04 | ||
810008 | 99.06 | 1.26 | 55.50 | 0.60 | 0.29 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.06 | |
810009 | 92.99 | 6.90 | 52.10 | 3.30 | 0.33 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.09 | |
Preliminary samples include limestone low in iron and silica suggesting that the limestone could meet the specifications of a wide range of higher value industrial applications if these surface samples prove to be representative of sufficiently large areas of the deposit.
The Company's grab samples of mineralised material from old workings have shown high zinc values in material with results up to 15.8% zinc in the form of white oxidised zinc minerals. Such minerals are difficult to identify in field samples of the pale limestones and were not expected. Further work is required to evaluate the economic significance of these results.
The first stage in the evaluation of the Ridge Limestone Project will include more systematic mapping and surface sampling and brightness testing to evaluate the suitability of the limestone for higher value industrial applications. We will also evaluate the significance of the high zinc values found in reconnaissance samples.
The Company continues to be active on its industrial minerals projects and expects to be able to provide further updates in due course.
Notes:
1. Limestone samples for which analyses are being reported were prepared and analysed by independent laboratory ALSGlobal in Reno, Nevada using an XRF method.
2. Carbonate rocks are comprised of various proportions of the minerals calcium carbonate (calcite- CaCO3) and calcium-magnesium carbonate (dolomite-CaMg(CO3)2) together with varying amounts of mineral "impurities" such as silica, iron oxides and clay minerals, etc. Limestone is the most common carbonate rock and different industrial applications require different levels of purity and calcite/dolomite ratios. The higher value carbonates are high purity calcite carbonates and those with a high brightness/whiteness have the highest values in filler applications.
For industrial purposes a practical chemical classification is as follows*:
Very High Purity Limestone: >98.5% CaCO3
High Purity Limestone: 97.0 - 98.5% CaCO3
Medium Purity Limestone: 93.5% - 97.0% CaCO3
*Source; British Geological Survey Publication
3. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
4. The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr. Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.
Notes to Editors:
About Sunrise Resources plc
Sunrise Resources plc is an AIM-traded diversified mineral exploration and development company. The Company's objective is to develop profitable mining operations to sustain the Company's wider exploration efforts and create value for shareholders through the discovery of world-class deposits.
The Company is exploring a number of precious metal, base metal and industrial mineral projects in Nevada, USA. The Company holds a royalty interest from EP Minerals in a diatomite project in Nevada and holds a white barite project in South-West Ireland. The Company also holds diamond and gold exploration interests in Western Australia.
Shares in the Company trade on AIM. EPIC: "SRES"
Website: www.sunriseresourcesplc.com