Strategic Minerals PLC Hanns Camp Drilling Results and Change of Broker (1596G)

TIDMSML

RNS Number : 1596G

Strategic Minerals PLC

03 August 2016

Dissemination of a regulatory announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

3 August 2016

Strategic Minerals plc

("Strategic Minerals" or the "Company")

Hanns Camp Drilling Results Confirm Nickel Sulphide and Platinum Findings

and Change of Broker

Strategic Minerals PLC (AIM: SML; USOTC; SMCDY), the multi-minerals production, exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has received encouraging assay results from the maiden drill programme at its Hanns Camp Project and that these have confirmed the existence of Nickel Sulphide and Platinum within the

tenements.   These results are set out in the tables below. 

Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd ("CARE"), the owner of the Hanns Camp Project and which the Company now has a 50% ownership, now plans to re-assay the samples with elevated Platinum for the rest of the Platinum Group Elements (PGEs) and undertake an expedited Mineral Resource estimate around the supergene Nickel enrichment in the weathered zone in order to combine CARE's drilling results with the historic drilling which also identified this mineralisation. Depending upon the nature of the historical data being utilised, the Mineral Resource estimate may or may not be made under the JORC code.

CARE is now also examining the prospect of drilling its Mount Weld, Western Australia tenements, which the management of CARE believe is prospective for rare earths and gold.

Nickel:

 
 Hole     From   To     Interval   Weathering         Ni     Max Ni 
  ID       (m)    (m)    (m)                           (%)    (%) 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      16     24          8   Extreme            0.91     1.03 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      24     28          4   Moderate           0.61     0.68 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      28     30          2   Transitional       0.74     0.78 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      16     30         14   COMBINED AVERAGE   0.80     1.03 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      30     42         12   Transitional       0.58     0.70 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC001      16     42         26   COMBINED AVERAGE   0.70     1.03 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 
 HC003      36     50         14   Extreme            0.66     0.97 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC003      50     56          6   Extreme            0.68     0.99 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 HC003      36     56         20   COMBINED AVERAGE   0.67     0.99 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------------  -----  ------- 
 

Platinum:

 
 Hole     From   To     Interval   Weathering   Pt (ppb)   Max Pt 
  ID       (m)    (m)    (m)                                (ppb) 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------  ---------  ------- 
 HC003      35     49         14   Extreme           216      392 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------  ---------  ------- 
 HC003      51     54          3   Extreme           113      136 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------  ---------  ------- 
 HC003      35     54         19   Extreme           187      392 
-------  -----  -----  ---------  -----------  ---------  ------- 
 

Strategic Mineral's Managing Director, John Peters, said:

"The confirmation provided in the assay results is encouraging, however, to gain an understanding as to the potential value of the tenement an initial Mineral Resource estimate is required, which is likely to be followed by further land based electromagnetic surveys and targeted drilling.

"This is the beginning of the process and the Board is encouraged by both the findings to date and the trend in Nickel prices."

Change of Broker

The Company advises that with effect from 9 August 2016, Allenby Capital Limited will be the sole broker to the Company and remains its Nominated Adviser.

For further information, please contact:

 
  Strategic Minerals plc 
   John Peters 
   Managing Director              [phone] 
 Allenby Capital Limited 
  Nominated Adviser and Broker 
  John Depasquale 
  Jeremy Porter 
  James Reeve                     [phone] 
 Yellow Jersey PR 
  Financial PR 
  Dominic Barretto                [phone] 
  Alistair de Kare-Silver          715 
 

Notes to Editors:

Strategic Minerals Plc is an AIM-quoted, diversified mineral development and production company with projects in the United States of America and Australia. The Company is focused on acquiring and developing cash generative, high quality projects which meet local market demand for commodities and utilising this cash flow to undertake value added exploration.

In September 2011, Strategic Minerals purchased its first cash generating asset, the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. The portfolio was expanded in January 2016 with the acquisition of shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that are prospective for nickel sulphides, platinum and rare earths. Strategic Minerals has completed drill-testing the highest priority nickel sulphide targets within the tenements and has successfully intersected nickel sulphide and platinum. In May 2016, the Company also entered arrangements to buy up to 50% of the Redmoor tin/tungsten exploration project in Cornwall, UK.

Qualified Person's Statement:

Cadre Geology and Mining's principal geologist, Ben Pollard, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has reviewed and verified the information contained in this announcement. Mr Pollard has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and a Qualified Person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Pollard consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Forward Looking Statements:

This release includes forward looking statements. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "continue", and "guidance", or other similar words and may include, without limitation statements regarding plans, strategies and objectives of management, anticipated production or construction commencement dates and expected costs or production outputs. Forward looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, the capital and operating cost estimates and economic analyses from the Study.

Forward looking statements inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licences and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of resources or reserves, political and social risks, changes to the regulatory framework within which the company operates or may in the future operate, environmental conditions including extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel, industrial relations issues and litigation.

Forward looking statements are based on the company and its management's good faith assumptions relating to the financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that will exist and affect the company's business and operations in the future. The company does not give any assurance that the assumptions on which forward looking statements are based will prove to be correct, or that the company's business or operations will not be affected in any material manner by these or other factors not foreseen or foreseeable by the company or management or beyond the company's control.

Although the company attempts to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results, performance, achievements or events not to be anticipated, estimated or intended, and many events are beyond the reasonable control of the company. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

Forward looking statements in this release are given as at the date of issue only. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange listing rules, in providing this information the company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward looking statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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August 03, 2016 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)