8 Aug 2017 11:57
8 August 2017
Starvest Plc ("Starvest" or "the Company")
Investee Company Alba Mineral Resources PLC - Further Positive News
Starvest PLC (LON:SVE), the London Stock Exchange AIM listed specialist mining and resources investment business is pleased to announce investee company Alba Mineral Resources PLC (Alba) has provided further positive news from a number of its projects.
Highlights
· Significant rise in share price of investee company Alba Mineral Resources PLC;
· Starvest retains its holding of more than 26,000,000 shares in Alba Mineral Resources PLC;
· Alba holds a diversified portfolio of strategic projects;
· Horse Hill 1 oil well flow rates positive.
Callum Baxter, Chairman and CEO commented: "Starvest have been a long term investor and supporter of Alba Mineral Resources plc. The team at Alba, headed by George Frangeskides and Michael Nott (former CEO now non-executive director), have worked very hard to assemble a portfolio of strategic projects. It is encouraging to see the recent share price rise for Alba reflecting the advancement of their projects and acquisition of new licences. We look forward to further positive news from Alba.'
Alba Mineral Resource PLC are an explorer focused on oil and gas, graphite, uranium and base metals with holdings in UK (oil and gas), Ireland (base metals), Greenland (graphite) and Mauritania (uranium).
Weald Basin Hydrocarbons (Horse Hill) - UK
Alba holds a 15% interest in the hydrocarbon company Horse Hill Developments Limited (HHDL) which owns 65% of the Horse Hill licences (PEDL137 and 246) in the Weald Basin in Surrey. It also holds a 5% interest in production licence 235 which comprises the producing onshore Brockham Oil Field in Surrey.
HHDL have applied for permission for long-term production testing at HH-1, its discovery well site, and to drill two further wells. The Horse Hill planning application will be determined by the Surrey County Council Planning Committee meeting during the current quarter, with flow testing expected to begin at Horse Hill in the latter part of this year. Previous testing in 2016 showed very positive flow rates of approximately 1,700 barrels oil per day.
Brockham oil field, operated by Angus Energy, has undergone extensive modification and upgrade works recently in preparation for the new planned oil production, commencing summer 2017. Results were released showing the Brockham side-track X4Z reservoir consists of numerous interbedded layers of limestone and shale with abundant natural fracturing and an estimated gross thickness of 385m in the Kimmeridge reservoir (part of the Weald Basin). It is planned to place 200m of this into production following permission from the UK Oil and Gas Authority.
Graphite (Amitsoq) - Greenland
Alba holds a 90% interest in graphite project in Greenland which includes Amitsoq, a former graphite mine, and extensive exploration ground around the former mine. In late July the Company reported that multiple new graphite beds, including graphite zones and extensions of the former graphite mine, had been discovered at Amitsoq verifying several graphite anomalies that had been targeted by an electromagnetic survey conducted at the end of 2016.
Graphite has shown, and is forecast to continue to show, a steady increase in demand due to its use in lithium-ion batteries and in the graphene sector
As well as graphite the project area is also prospective for gold, copper, nickel and platinum group elements.
Ilmenite (Thule) - Greenland
The Company recently announced the granting of a new licence in the Thule black sand province in north west Greenland, an area prospective for heavy mineral sands, in particular ilmenite. The area has excellent infrastructure and proximity to a deep-water port and airport. Ilmenite is a source of titanium dioxide used in pigment in plastics and paints among other things and has shown a steady demand over the last 2-3 years with increased demand forecast for the next 5-6 years.
Other - Ireland, Mauritania
Other projects also held by Alba include a drill stage base metal exploration area in Ireland and an early stage uranium exploration project in Mauritania, both of which continue to be advanced by the Company.
Callum N Baxter
Chairman & Chief Executive
8 August 2017
Enquiries to:
Starvest PLC
Callum Baxter Chairman/CEO 07922 255 933 cbaxter@starvest.co.uk
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nomad)
Colin Aaronson or Harrison Clarke 02073 835 100
SI Capital Ltd (Appointed Broker)
Nick Emerson or Andy Thacker 01483 413 500