Zulu Drilling Update

RNS Number : 7065D

Premier African Minerals Limited

02 February 2018

 

2 February 2018

Premier African Minerals Limited

Zulu drilling update

Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company") is pleased to share further assay results from the Company's Zulu Lithium Project near Fort Rixon in Zimbabwe ("Zulu"). 

Results now released are from the drilling programme completed in late 2017, immediately preceding the wet season. The bore hole programme was wide-spaced with the dual purpose of expanding the identified mineralised zones as well as increasing the Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 20.1 million tonnes grading 1.06% Li₂O. Every bore hole has intersected mineralised pegmatite ore bodies and all but one has returned wide intersections with grades ranging from over 4% Li₂O equivalent to our cut-off grade of 0.5% Li₂O.

Highlights from the latest results include:

Hole ZDD-48

·     Located 250m east of the Main Zone intersected multiple pegmatites with a cumulative width of 29.96m at an average grade of 1.17% Li₂O, including:

o  3.80m at 1.70% Li₂O from 49.00m

o  5.55m at 1.13% Li₂O from 118.36m

o  10.35m at 1.04% Li₂O from 136.40m

Hole ZDD-47

·     Located 250m east of the Main Zone intersected multiple pegmatites with a cumulative width of 17.16m at an average grade of 1.04% Li₂O, including:  

o  6.29m at 1.14% Li₂O from 84.24m

o  2.94m at 1.02% Li₂O from 107.80m

George Roach, Premier's CEO, commented: "These drilling results reaffirm the size potential of the Zulu deposit. The results also continue to return high ratios of spodumene to petalite and confirm a core of high-grade mineralisation that is strongly supportive of the high internal rates of return and very rapid payback predicted in our recently released scoping study.

"The next drilling programme will seek to expand the wide intersections and further define the high-grade core. This is expected to result in an elevated level of confidence in the resource and the ability to move rapidly to a definitive study based on a mining plan optimised to take advantage of this tightly confined and relatively shallow high-grade core of spodumene.

"Meanwhile, activity at a corporate level has been extremely busy as we continue to engage with potential new stakeholders and partners to advance the Zulu Lithium Project and have recently seen a significant increase in interest from foreign investors in the Zimbabwean mining sector."

Drilling at Zulu:

As previously reported, the Company completed a further 24 drill holes, equivalent to 3,638.54m since completion of the initial 2,500m drilling programme that resulted in the Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at Zulu of 20.1 million tonnes grading 1.06% Li₂O (as announced on 6 June 2017). The additional drilling programme was focussed on expanding as well as upgrading the resources in the Main Zone, and, to delineate further the Li mineralisation in the new south-eastern zone. All of the 24 new drill holes have intersected mineralisation. ZDD-47 was drilled into step-out zone SO2, whereas ZDD48 was drilled into step-out zone SO1. The intersected pegmatites are predominantly spodumene rich, petalite and lepidolite are scarce. ZDD-41 was drilled into step-out zone SO4 and is situated 600m east of the Main Zone.  

The mineralised pegmatite bodies in the step-out zones, in particular in the southern parts of the concession seem to be more massive and show better continuity than most of the mineralised pegmatites of the Main Zone.

Table 1 below sets out the drilling results for hole ZDD-41, the remaining results for hole ZDD-45 which was reported earlier, as well as holes ZDD-47 and ZDD-48.

Table 1: Drill Intercepts

ZDD-41(Azimuth: N34, dip: -60°, total length: 160.18m)

ZDD-45 (Azimuth: N237, dip: -60°, total length: 277.53m)

ZDD-47 (Azimuth: N24, dip: -60°, total length: 160.213m)

ZDD-48 (Azimuth: N240, dip: -60°, total length: 160.28m)

Drill hole	From (m)	To (m)	Interval length (m)*	Li2O (%)	Comments
ZDD-41	38.40	39.12	0.72	1.91
ZDD-41	39.65	41.00	1.35	0.89
ZDD-41	47.06	48.24	1.18	0.93
	258.50	259.32	0.82	0.31
ZDD-45	261.73	264.89	2.95	0.58
ZDD-45	268.76	270.89	2.13	1.15	incl. 1.22m @ 1.73% Li2O
ZDD-47	84.24	90.53	6.29	1.14	incl. 1.76m @ 1.65% Li2O
ZDD-47	106.08	107.80	1.72	1.11
ZDD-47	107.80	110.74	2.94	1.02	incl. 0.61@ 1.76% Li2O
ZDD-47	121.32	122.00	0.68	1.57
ZDD-47	122.49	128.02	5.53	0.85
ZDD-48	49.00	52.80	3.80	1.70	incl. 0.93m @ 3.16% Li2O
ZDD-48	53.48	56.18	2.70	1.15
ZDD-48	109.90	112.00	2.10	0.85
ZDD-48	118.36	123.91	5.55	1.13	incl. 1.09m @ 1.58% Li2O and 1.17m @ 1.62% Li2O and 0.96m @ 1.76% Li2O
ZDD-48	125.94	129.47	3.53	1.15
ZDD-48	133.67	134.70	1.03	1.48
ZDD-48	136.40	146.77	10.35	1.04	Incl. 0.94m @ 2.08% Li2O
ZDD-48	147.72	148.62	0.90	1.08

*: drilled widths

Qualified Person:

Wolfgang Hampel, Senior Geologist with Premier African Minerals Limited, has reviewed and approved this release to the extent that reference is made to the Zulu Lithium Project. Mr Hampel has 27 years' experience in the African, American, European and Asian exploration and mining industry and holds a Diploma in Economic Geology (Dipl.-Geol.) from the Technical University of Munich. He is a registered European Geologist (EurGeol). n° 1261 with the European Federation of Geologists.

Enquiries:

Fuad Sillem	Premier African Minerals Limited	Tel: [phone]
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish	Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Jerry Keen/Edward Mansfield	Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited	Tel: [phone]
Jon Belliss	Beaufort Securities Limited	Tel: [phone]
Charles Goodwin/Harriet Jackson	Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused in Southern and Western Africa with production started at its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.

The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. In addition, the Company holds an interest in Circum Minerals Limited , the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset. Premier also has an interest in Casa Mining Limited, a privately-owned exploration company that has a 71.25% interest in the 1.5-million-ounce inferred resource Akyanga gold deposit in the DRC.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.  A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Glossary of Technical Terms:

"Li2O"	means lithium oxide
"lepidolite"	is the mineral name for lithium bearing mica KLi2Al(Si4O10)(F,OH)2  an important ore of lithium
"pegmatite"	is an exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rock, with interlocking crystals, usually found as irregular dikes, lenses, or veins, esp. at the margins of granitic intrusions
"petalite"	" is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate LiAl(Si4O10) an important ore of lithium
"spodumene"	is the mineral name for lithium aluminium silicate LiAlSi2O6 an important ore of lithium

ENDS

 

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