Update on Greenland Exploration

RNS Number : 4307I

Rare Earth Minerals PLC

30 May 2014

 



30 May 2014

Rare Earth Minerals Plc.

("Rare Earth Minerals", "REM" or "the Company")

Update on Greenland exploration

Rare Earth Minerals Plc (AIM: REM) is pleased to announce that SRK Exploration Services Ltd ("SRK ES"), the Company's geological consultants for Greenland, have now identified one main rare earth element target and eight gold targets on the Company's 100% owned 2012/15 exploration Licence in South Greenland.

As previously announced on 25 April 2014, REM's exploration effort in Greenland will be managed by Greenland Minerals Energy Limited ("GMEL"); a leading operator in Greenland's emerging minerals industry and owners of the Kvanefjeld rare earth-uranium deposit, one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world. Exploration efforts will now move to ground based exploration with the GMEL field crews expected on site on 17 June 2014.

David Lenigas, the Company's Chairman, commented;

"SRK ES have identified a number of exciting prospects to focus this year's exploration activities in Greenland. We will focus initially on our southernmost of four big licences as we want to focus on an area that has been surprising unexplored and offers the best number of multi-element targets. Efforts will then move later in the season to the Licence immediately adjacent and west of the Kvanefjeld rare earth-uranium deposit, once SRK ES and GMEL have prioritised targets for ground exploration."

"The funds for this exploration programme in Greenland have already been budget for and will come from the Company's current reserves."

SUMMARY OF SRK ES REPORT - 29 MAY 2014:

SRK Exploration Services Ltd. ("SRK ES") has undertaken a structural interpretation on behalf of Rare Earth Minerals plc ("REM") in order to generate exploration targets within their 2012/15 exploration licence in South Greenland.  This was carried out using stereo aerial photographs and an automated 3D viewer facility at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland ("GEUS").

Following this structural study, SRK ES concluded that a range of targets are worthy of exploration within REM's licence 2012/15.  These targets include a micro-kakortokite dyke of significant width (10-30 m) in the northern part of the licence that may have Rare Earth Element ("REE") potential, given its similarities and possible association to lithologies found at nearby world-class REE deposits. 

Most other targets, primarily for gold, are associated in some way to the Saarloq Shear Zone that cuts through the licence area.  This major crustal-thickness feature appears to be highly under-explored and there are no records of previous commercial exploration in this area.  Given the structural setting and the proximity to known gold mineralisation to the southeast (the Vagar project and Nalunaq gold mine), SRK ES feels that the area should be explored for its gold potential.

THE SAARLOQ SHEAR ZONE:

The main structural feature that is found within the licence area is the Saarloq Shear Zone.  This is a major crustal-thickness feature that runs from southwest to northeast across the licence area, and has numerous associated splays and secondary structures.  Shear zone-hosted gold mineralisation is commonly associated with secondary structures such as those observed within REM's licence. The geology of the area is dominated by granites and granodiorites of the Julianehåb Batholith. 

There are some geological and structural similarities to the Vagar gold exploration project about 25 km to the southeast, owned by NunaMinerals A/S.  Drilling at Vagar has revealed prospective intersections for gold such as 79.00 m @ 0.91 g/t Au, including 54.70 m @ 1.33 g/t Au, and including 23.30 m @ 2.47 g/t Au.  The Nalunaq gold mine, also shear zone-hosted, was mined from 2004 until 2013 and is located about 40 km to the southeast.

Despite the prospective structural geology and proximity to known gold mineralisation, research by SRK ES indicates that very little exploration or research has been carried out previously in REM's licence area.  There is some wide-spaced historical geochemical data but this mainly relates to government-funded uranium reconnaissance carried out in the late 1970s and may not be representative for other types of mineralisation.  As far as SRK ES is aware, there has been no (or, at best, very limited) systematic or commercial exploration for gold along the shear zone.

There are also indications of potential rare earth element ("REE") mineralisation in certain parts of the licence area, and these also do not appear to have been explored in any detail.

PROPOSED FIELDWORK:

Based on the structural setting of this area and the targets identified by SRK ES, reconnaissance exploration work in this area is considered worthwhile.  This should take the form of reconnaissance mapping and outcrop sampling, combined with stream sediment sampling in order to characterise the geochemistry of wider areas and identify anomalous zones.  The relatively mild climate of this area allows a longer field season compared to many other parts of Greenland, and fieldwork should be possible from mid-June through to mid-September.

- Ends -

For further information please contact:

Rare Earth Minerals plc                                                                   [phone]

David Lenigas

Kiran Morzaria

WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Joint Broker)                               [phone]

James Joyce

Nick Field

Hume Capital plc (Joint Broker)                                                     [phone]

Guy Peters

Jon Belliss

Square1 Consulting

David Bick, Mark Longson                                                                  [phone]

 

END

 

 

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