TIDMEEE
RNS Number : 0908J
Empire Metals Limited
19 August 2021
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Empire Metals Limited / AIM: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources
19 August 2021
Empire Metals Limited ('Empire' or the 'Company')
Drilling to Commence at the Central Menzies Gold Project
Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce the commencement of a
Reverse Circulation ('RC') drilling campaign at the Central Menzies
Gold Project ('Central Menzies' or the 'Project'). The drilling
campaign follows the successful completion of a soil sampling
programme at the Project, and a review of the historical drillhole
database which identified two mineralised corridors with elevated
gold concentrations, known as the Teglio and Nugget Patch
prospects.
Highlights:
-- An RC drilling programme of over 2,100 metres has been
designed for Central Menzies and is expected to be completed in
September, keeping the fast-track development of the Project on
schedule and within budget.
-- The recently purchased high-resolution magnetic data has been
useful in providing the location and extent of the shallow
ironstone cover across the licence area and provided focus for the
soil geochemical sampling programme just completed.
-- The areas selected for soil sampling represented areas of the
greatest prospectivity based on the location of historical workings
as well as areas of limited previous drilling.
-- Anomalies from basement geology have been identified in
ironstone-free areas at the historical Teglio workings and other
mineralised corridors are evident from the existing drill
dataset.
-- Two of these mineralised corridors have been identified for
immediate RC drilling (Teglio and Nugget Patch) based on elevated
gold concentration within the licence and the potential to generate
significant strike and lateral extension from old workings.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "The technical focus and
determined effort made by our geological team to identify
drill-ready targets has been extremely encouraging and has meant
that we can now start a substantial drilling campaign with a high
degree of confidence in the targets selected. After reviewing the
historical drilling database, and taking into account the
geophysical data analysis, we have confirmed two highly prospective
mineralised zones which will be the primary focus of the coming RC
drilling campaign. We anticipate adding further drilling targets to
the development plan as we complete the geochemical mapping based
on the recently completed soil sampling programme.
"I look forward to updating shareholders once we have reviewed
the soil sampling data and when drill results become available. In
the meantime, we are completing our initial assessment of the
small-scale mining opportunities at our Eclipse Gold Project and
expect to provide a technical update shortly."
The Central Menzies Gold Project
In May 2021 Empire entered into an option agreement to acquire a
75% interest in the Central Menzies Gold Project, located in the
Menzies Shire, approximately 115km north of the city of
Kalgoorlie-Boulder and 10km south of the township of Menzies
(Figure 1). Central Menzies consists of four exploration tenements
(P26/2631, 2362, 2363 and 2364) covering a total area of 618
hectares.
The tenements are located within a north-north-west trending
greenstone belt, with basalts as the dominant hosts together with
interbedded shales and magnetite-rich banded iron formations
("BIF"), with mineralisation hosted within the Bardoc-Menzies Shear
Zone, or associated fault splays. Gold-bearing quartz veins occur
along the sheared contacts between basalts and sediments. A series
of structurally controlled high-grade gold deposits have been
historically mined in the region and display widespread exploration
potential for high-grade extensions.
Geophysical mapping
Empire Metals recently purchased close-spaced (25 metres)
airborne magnetic and radiometric data over the four exploration
licences from Kingwest Resources Ltd which had commissioned an
airborne geophysical survey across the adjacent tenements in Q4
2019.
Gridding, imaging and a review of the magnetic data was
conducted by Touchstone Geophysics Pty Ltd (Figure 2), with the
following key findings:
-- the survey data shows that magnetic ironstone cover is
extensive and covers most of the licence area, obscuring the
response from the weakly magnetic basement basalt and
metasediments;
-- anomalies from basement geology in ironstone-free areas have been identified;
-- these results can assist in planning and interpreting geochemical programmes.
The new 2019 magnetic data has been useful in providing the
location and extent of the shallow ironstone cover which covers
most of the Empire's licences. In earlier, higher flown datasets,
it was unclear as to whether the magnetic anomalies were due to
basement or shallow sources.
Further geophysical studies will be considered and may be
warranted, such as electrical surveys (Resistivity/IP), SAM
(Sub-Audio Magnetics), and GPR (Ground Penetration Radar) surveys
which will assist in identifying geology and mineralisation below
the ironstone and provide additional drill targets.
Geochemical Mapping
A soil programme comprising 688 sites was designed for Central
Menzies and site sampling was completed in July, with assays
pending shortly. The sampling sites were situated on each of the
four licences, although largely focused on P29/2361 and P29/2363.
The sampling grid was 160m x 40m and samples were collected from
10-30cm below surface using standard industry practices.
The areas selected for sampling represented areas of the
greatest prospectivity based on the location of historical workings
as well as where there has been a low density of drilling (Figure
3). Essentially the tenements, other than P29/2364 which has been
the subject of previous rotary air blast ("RAB") drilling
campaigns, were devoid of surface geochemistry hence the primary
target of this soil sampling programme was to delineate a
mineralised footprint around the old "Teglio" mine workings (Figure
4) and locate anomalism indicative of new primary lodes.
The presence of banded iron formation as indicated by the
historical drilling in the vicinity of Teglio and the iron-rich lag
evident in the recently acquired magnetics (Figure 2) invites the
possibility of near-surface laterite-hosted gold mineralisation.
This is further supported by the presence of nuggets, found by the
current owner/prospector from shallow scrapings on licence
P29/2634, currently referred to as "Nugget Patch" (Figure 4).
Finally, the regional aeromagnetic imagery sourced from a flight
flown at a greater height suggests a paleochannel passes through
the southern portion of the Project (Figure 4). The soil sampling
programme will also help assess if this area has potential for gold
mineralisation.
Planned Drilling Programme
Several mineralised corridors have been interpreted from the
existing drill dataset (Figure 4.) Two of these have been
prioritised for immediate RC drilling (Teglio and Nugget Patch)
based on elevated gold concentrations within the licence, and the
potential to generate significant strike and lateral extension.
Both targets are along strike from the Yunndaga deposit (Figure 1),
historically the largest gold mine in the Menzies field with over
300,000oz produced.
A programme of 26 RC holes for a total of 2,140 metres has been
designed with these two prospects targeted. 13 RC holes for 1,100
metres has been designed at Teglio, testing a strike length of 520
metres. A total of seven sections of drill holes span this length.
At Nugget Patch a further 13 holes have been designed for 1,040
metres.
Historically, 777 metres of RC drilling has been completed at
the property by the current owner, Mel Dalla-Costa, with several
high-grade intercepts previously reported near the Teglio
workings:
-- MCD02: 5m @ 19.59 g/t Au from 30 metres
-- MCD04: 3m @ 5.15 g/t Au from 35 metres
-- MCD10: 2m @ 5.51 g/t Au from 30 metres
-- MCD11: 1m @ 14.18 g/t Au from 48 metres
Geological observations indicate that gold encountered in both
drill sections at Teglio occurred within sheared basalt in
proximity to interflow sediments. Most holes were completed in
relatively fresh basalt. Quartz veining was observed in most
instances where gold mineralisation occurred. This is the
foundation for the geology component of the drill design rationale
at the Teglio prospect.
The Nugget Patch prospect is characterised by a broad low grade
(0.1 - 0.5 g/t Au) mineralised zone intercepted by RAB drilling
with the occasional moderate to high grade drill intercept.
The cost for the drill programme as designed is approximately
A$265,000, taking the total forecast expenditure to date for the
Project to just under A$350,000 (includes geophysics, geochemistry
etc). The Company has committed to a total expenditure of at least
A$500,000 during the 9-month Option period so there are funds
available for additional drilling should the geochemistry soil
mapping confirm additional mineralised targets.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this
announcement.
**S**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or
contact:
Shaun Bunn Empire Metals Ltd Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Mike Struthers Empire Metals Ltd Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Ewan Leggat S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Adam Cowl S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Damon Heath Shard Capital Partners Joint Broker Tel: 020 7186
LLP 9950
Susie Geliher St Brides Partners Ltd PR Tel: 020 7236
1177
Selina Lovell St Brides Partners Ltd PR Tel: 020 7236
1177
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and
resource development company with a project portfolio comprising
gold interests in Australia and Austria.
The Company strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at
different stages in the development curve. Its current focus is on
the high-grade Eclipse Gold Project and the Central Menzies Gold
Project in Western Australia, with the goal to expand through the
addition of further projects in the region to develop a viable and
compelling portfolio of precious metals assets.
Empire also holds a portfolio of three precious metals projects
located in an historically high-grade gold production region
comprising the Rotgulden, Schonberg and Walchen prospects in
central-southern Austria.
The Board continues to evaluate opportunities through which to
realise the value of its wider portfolio and reviews further assets
which meet the Company's investment criteria.
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END
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