Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited Investment Update (7359H)

TIDMMAFL

RNS Number : 7359H

Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited

12 June 2017

MINERAL & FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED

("Mineral & Financial", "MAFL", or the "Company")

Investment Update: TH Crestgate Initiates Drilling Program To Expand Lagoa Salgada LS-1 Resource

HIGHLIGHTS:

   -   TH Crestgate announces a 6 hole drill program on the LS-1 Resource; 
   -   Objective is to expand the resource from 4.5Mt to between 8.0Mt and 10.0Mt 

- Drill holes will be angled and should allow for the definition of the mineralization's true width

   -   Exploration potential remains very significant 
   -   Resource will remain open to the N-NE and to the S-SE following drilling 
   -   LS-1 is but one of 17 gravimetric anomalies identified to date on the Lagoa Salgada project 

George Town, Cayman Island - June 12, 2017 - Mineral & Financial Investments announces that its 49%-owned investment, TH Crestgate GmbH, a private Swiss based investment company has initiated a further exploration program on the LS-1 resource. The objective of the program is to increase the 4.5M tonnes of mineralization between 8.0M and 10.0M tonnes.

Lagoa Salgada Location in Portugal & Features Of The Iberian Pyrite Belt

(Fig. 1)

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7359H_-2017-6-9.pdf

Jacques Vaillancourt, Chairman of Mineral and Financial, stated: "We remain excited about the progress of our investment in TH Crestgate. The potential expansion of its LS-1 resource could significantly alter the economics of this project on its own. However, in conjunction with the mineralization identified in the Central Sector by the recent drill program, located 1,000 meters to the south of the LS-1 resource, this potential resource expansion becomes even more exciting. In addition, there remain 16 other known gravimetric anomalies on the Lagoa Salgada property that need to be drilled and could result in additional mineralized zones being identified and defined. Lagoa Salgada is located in a jurisdiction that is mining "friendly", and that already hosts some of Europe's biggest mines nearby. We understand Portugal is very eager to benefit from the job creation possibilities that a new mine could create. Lagoa Salgada's is well located with power, water, and an experienced workforce in the area and is only 5 km from Grãndola with a population of 20,000.

Map Of Lagoa Salgada With Historic (Black) And Planned (Green) Drill Holes

(Fig.2)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

TH Crestgate's geological team in Portugal has been modelling the preliminary 4.5M tonne resource for some time. This modelling has been done in conjunction with the Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia, the Portuguese Government Laboratory for Energy and Geology, and with Tetra Tech Wardrop.

Lagoa Salgada is part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) where orebodies are typically folded, faulted, and tend to occur mostly on the subvertical-overturned and intensely faulted limbs of a southwest-verging anticline (Matos et al., 2003). Lagoa Salgada is additionally further offset by an east-west-trending Alpine-age fault in the north, with a 50-m down-throw of the northern block, the horizontal amount and sense of displacement of which is unknown (Matos et al., 2000).

There are four types of mineralization at Lagoa Salgada. Firstly, there is massive sulphide mineralization. Secondly, there is gossan mineralization, resulting from weathering of the primary mineralization. Thirdly, there is copper-rich stock work mineralization. Fourthly, there are medium to high-grade gold silicified zones which appear structurally controlled. The mineralized system has been drill tested over a strike extent of approximately 425m to date and appears to be open to the south and east.

The massive sulphide mineralization occurs in steeply dipping to vertical isoclinally folded volcanic rocks. Primary massive sulphide mineralization has been intersected in several diamond drill holes. This mineralization has variable, but significant, base and precious metal values. The best example of this style of mineralization was intersected in hole LS-22 (Table 1).

LS-22 -- Historical Drill Results

(Table 1)

 
                                                                                  Cu        Zn 
                 Depth                                                           Equiv.    Equiv. 
                            Thickness    Cu     Zn      Pb      Au       Ag 
    Hole          (m)          (m)       (%)    (%)     (%)    (g/t)    (g/t)    (%)[1]    (%)(1) 
-----------  ------------  ----------  -----  ------  -----  -------  -------  --------  -------- 
              156.5 
 LS-22         to 218.2       61.65     0.26   9.23    5.79    1.46    85.97     8.87%    18.58% 
-----------  ------------  ----------  -----  ------  -----  -------  -------  --------  -------- 
                 156.5 
  Including    to 177.95      21.40     0.38   9.24    8.12    2.20    87.58    10.46%    21.90% 
-----------  ------------  ----------  -----  ------  -----  -------  -------  --------  -------- 
                 169.2 
  Including     to 187.8      18.60     0.27   13.16   2.42    1.62    83.65     9.50%    10.90% 
-----------  ------------  ----------  -----  ------  -----  -------  -------  --------  -------- 
                155.75 
  Including     to 159.9      4.15      1.83   1.75    16.8   5.33     465.7    17.83%    37.35% 
-----------  ------------  ----------  -----  ------  -----  -------  -------  --------  -------- 
 

The thick overburden cover and the depth of the mineralized body renders low angle dipping drilling the deposit challenging. For this reason, most of the drilling on the deposit has been either with vertical or steeply dipping drill holes. This has resulted in drill hole intersections that are sub-optimal and almost parallel to the primary stratigraphy of the sulphide body. The true thickness of the deposit therefore cannot be determined from single drill hole intersections. The thickness of the deposit is inferred as being somewhere between holes that intersected the massive sulphide and those that have intersected the footwall or hanging wall rocks. Additional drilling is required to determine the size of the known massive sulphide deposit.

Gossan mineralization results from the weathering of primary massive sulphide mineralization. It is preserved at Lagoa Salgada as a result of the Tertiary sedimentary rocks covering the palaeosurface, in a situation analogous to the Las Cruces copper deposit in Spain. Gossan mineralization at Lagoa Salgada seems to be comprised of a lead-rich leached cap underlain by a precious metal-rich supergene enrichment zone. This is well displayed in hole LS22, displayed (see Table 1). It should be noted that there were two holes drilled (PX-02 and PX-05) after the resources was calculated, which intercepted mineralization believed to be contiguous to the LS-1 resource, the results of which were not included in the resource calculation

The mineralization of the central stockwork zone comprises sulphide veins and semimassive sulphide lenses and is mainly hosted by a thick (up to 250 m) and strongly chloritized quartz-phyric rhyodacite unit. This type of mineralization is well-developed in other IPB deposits, such as Feitais (Aljustrel) and Neves Corvo. The most recent estimated NI-43-101 Compliant Resource estimate of the LS-1 section of the Lagoa Salgada Project was completed by Tetra-Tech Wardrop in 2012, as summarized below in Table 2. The full estimate is set out in the announcement dated 7 June 2016:

Summarized Resource of LS-1

(Table 2)

 
  Category     Tonnage    Pb (%)   Zn (%)   Cu (%)   Ag (g/t)   Au (g/t) 
-----------  ----------  -------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Indicated    2,942,000    2.94     3.40     0.34     54.72       0.82 
-----------  ----------  -------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
  Inferred    1,554,000    2.50     1.80     0.35     51.00       0.78 
-----------  ----------  -------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 

Simplified Geology And Historical Drill Hole Location Map Of Lagoa Salgada LS-1 Resource

(Fig 3 A & B)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

Outline of the LS-1 VMS Deposit and it's possible extensions to the NW and SE

(Fig. 4)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

The six proposed angle drill holes are expected to provide a better definition of the deposits true width. Additionally, the drill holes should aid in defining the grade variation in the massive sulphides at depth towards the east. Additionally, the increase of sample data, and spatial location, of this drilling further define the continuity of geology and grade. It is hoped that the six planned drill holes will result in a significant increase to the existing resource. The following images (fig. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) depict both the ore body, the planned drill holes and the areas of estimated mineralization and potential increased mineralization which we need to confirm by the planned drilling. In Fig. 4, planned drill holes are in green. No drilling will be done to define the potential NW and SE extensions, therefore the mineralization will remain open along strike.

Possible Extensions Of The VMS Mineralization Of The Lagoa Salgada Deposit

(Fig. 5)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

3D View (N-NW) Of The Lagoa Salgada Deposit (Red) With The Estimated Increase Of The Massive Sulphide Resources (Purple) After The Planned 6 Angle Drill Holes (Green).

(Fig. 6)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

3D View (From Surface) Of The Lagoa Salgada Deposit (Red) With Estimated The Increase Of The Massive Sulphide Resources (Purple) After The Planned 6 Angle Drill Holes.

(Fig. 7)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

3D Model (View To NW) Of The Lagoa Salgada Deposit (Red) After The New Drill Holes And The Estimated Increase (Purple) Of The Gossan Cap (Brown) Over The Deposit.

(Fig. 8)

(See document Link in Fig 1)

ASSET DESCRIPTION

The 13,400-hectare Lagoa Salgada project currently has 17 identified gravimetric anomalies as well as a preliminary resource. The preliminary resource is located on one of these gravimetric anomalies, the LS-1 zone. The Central Sector is located within the LS-1 zone and is approximately 1,2 Km SE of LS-1's 4.5 million tonne zinc / lead polymetallic preliminary resource.

The Lagoa Salgada resource is focused on one gravimetric anomaly, LS-1. There are a total of 17 gravimetric anomalies on the property These anomalies remain to be fully tested. The petrographic study focused on the LS-1 area of the Lagoa Salgada property and also indicated the presence of anomalously high levels of indium. The orebody is composed of a central stock work zone - a more than 700 m thick volcano-sedimentary complex - and a massive sulphide lens in the northwest. It is covered by more than one hundred meters of sediments of the Sado Tertiary basin (Lima et al., 2013, see below).

The historical, Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM) compliant, resource estimate, located on LS-1, completed in 2012 by Paul Daigle, P.Geo, is summarized below:

 
 Category                                 Net Attributable to TH Crestgate 
                                                       (100%) 
----------------------  ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
   LS-1                    Tonnes                 Mineral     Grade     Contained     Units 
   Sector                                                               Metal 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Pb 
                                                 (%)        2.94      190,686,436   Lbs. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Zn 
                                                 (%)        3.40      220,521,729   Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Cu 
                                                 (%)        0.34      22,052,173    Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Ag 
                                                 (g/t)      54.72     5,175,824     Oz. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Au 
            Indicated               2,942,000    (g/t)      0.82      77,562        Oz. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Pb 
                                                 (%)        2.50      85,648,710    Lbs. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Zn 
                                                 (%)        1.80      61,667,071    Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Cu 
                                                 (%)        0.35      11,990,819    Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Ag 
                                                 (g/t)      51.00     2,548,073     Oz. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Au 
            Inferred                1,554,000    (g/t)      0.78      38,971        Oz. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Pb 
                                                 (%)        2.79      276,335,146   Lbs. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Zn 
                                                 (%)        2.85      282,188,800   Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Cu 
                                                 (%)        0.34      34,042,992    Lbs. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Ag 
                                                 (g/t)      53.43     7,723,897     Oz. 
                                               ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
                                                Au 
            Total                   4,496,000    (g/t)      0.81      116,532       Oz. 
----------------------  ---------------------  ----------  --------  ------------  -------- 
 

Source: Tetra-Tech Wardrop

References in this announcement to exploration results and resource updates have been approved for release by Joao Barros, BSc (Engineering), MSc (Geology), who has more than 14 years of relevant experience in the field of activity concerned. Mr Barros is a Member of the Portuguese Engineers Association. Mr. Barros, who is employed by Redcorp Empreedimentos Mineiros, Lda., a wholly owned subsidiary of TH Crestgate GmbH, consented to the inclusion of the material in the form and context in which it appears.

This report should be seen as indicative of possible mineral content and not definitive, as the sample group is insufficient to arrive at any economic conclusions.

N.B. A full version of this press release with all of the maps and charts inserted is available on our site: www.mineralandfinancial.com

For more information:

   Katy Mitchell, WH Ireland                               [phone] 
   Jacques Vaillancourt, Chairman                       [phone] 

[1] Cu. and Zn. equivalency calculated using the following spot prices: Cu $5,782 /t; Zn $2,761/t; Pb $2,307/t; Au $1,252/oz.; Ag $18.33/oz.

This information is provided by RNS

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June 12, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)