MoU Signed with Oxford Sigma Limited
11 October 2023
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")
Cornwall Resources Limited Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Oxford Sigma Limited
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a profitable producing mineral company, is pleased to announce that its 100% owned subsidiary Cornwall Resources Limited ("CRL") has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Oxford Sigma Limited ("Oxford Sigma"), a nuclear fusion technology company based in Oxfordshire, UK.
Highlights:
· MOU outlines how the two parties will collaborate to explore, develop, promote, and secure critical mineral supply pathways for tungsten to supply the fusion industry.
· As one of the only high-grade tungsten resources in the UK, Redmoor has the potential to be one of these supplies. In turn complementing the UK Government's Critical Minerals Strategy.
· Dennis Rowland, CRL's Project Manager, and Dr Thomas Davis of Oxford Sigma recently held discussions at CRL's Redmoor offices in Cornwall, where Dennis demonstrated the strengths of the Redmoor Project and the nature of its high-grade resource.
· CRL were encouraged by the projections of future tungsten requirements from the fusion industry, with each potential fusion reactor estimated to need between 100 - 5,000 tonnes of tungsten (design dependent), with a requirement to renew tungsten components on a regular timeline further strengthening potential demand.
· MOU signed for an initial 5-year period
Tungsten Supply and Fusion Energy
Currently over 90% of global tungsten supply is controlled by China (84%), Vietnam (5.7%) and Russia (2.7%). It is imperative for the security of supply of this critical material that long-term alternative supplies are established.
Fusion energy is potentially a near-limitless source of carbon-free energy for the future, and tungsten will be a key component in the process, required for dense, highly efficient radiation shielding and plasma-facing components within fusion energy devices.
Fusion energy is actively being developed to reach commercialisation with over US$6.2 billion of mainly private investment worldwide (as of August 2023 according to the Fusion Industry Association). However, without a viable commercial pathway for the supply of tungsten from raw materials to the fusion community, the commercialisation of fusion energy could face significant delays.
The strategic collaboration with Oxford Sigma, further growing its network of tungsten development projects, will provide a combination of skills and assets to secure the source of raw tungsten material in the UK, with the goal of deploying these tungsten-based components across the globe.
Commenting, Dr Thomas Davis, CTO of Oxford Sigma Limited, reflects:
"Following on from other recent MOUs in tungsten supply, Oxford Sigma has entered into a key collaboration agreement with Cornwall Resources Limited. This is a natural fit to further strengthen our approach to securing long-term tungsten supply for the fusion power industry. Commercial fusion power stations are expected to become the ultimate domestic energy source, providing our clean power needs for generations.
"To make fusion sustainable, we must address the need of securing the supply of critical minerals, such as tungsten, and the projects that will produce them. Most of the technology that Oxford Sigma develops for fusion energy depends on large quantities of raw tungsten for various applications (radiation shielding and plasma-facing components). By collaborating with Cornwall Resources, Oxford Sigma continues to grow a network of world class projects, in safe jurisdictions, aiming to establish the supply of tungsten, ensuring a secure sustainable tungsten supply for the world's fusion reactors of the future.
"We look forward to working with CRL, and our other partners, in connecting and building relationships with the fusion community."
Commenting, Peter Wale, Executive Director of Strategic Minerals and Director of CRL, said:
"We are pleased to be working with the Oxford Sigma team who have a deep understanding of the fusion energy industry within the United Kingdom and abroad. Oxford Sigma is working to develop a long-term supply chain approach to sourcing tungsten for this key developing future technology.
"This agreement highlights the high grade, JORC (2012) compliant, tungsten resource at Redmoor. We believe Redmoor to be a world class deposit that has the potential to contribute towards the large quantities of tungsten necessary to advance the UK's ambition to advance nuclear fusion technology into commercial production in the coming decades.
"By working with Oxford Sigma, we intend to further highlight to national government the importance of establishing domestic tungsten mining to provide long-term security of supply for the fusion community, and Redmoor's ability to help meet these needs."
About Oxford Sigma
Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Its mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Its fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader. The company operates in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, and Japan, with offices in the UK and USA. Our roots and headquarters are in Oxford, UK.
Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com
About Cornwall Resources Limited
Cornwall Resources Limited ("CRL") is a wholly owned subsidiary of Strategic Minerals PLC ("SML") (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY) focussed on advancing the high-grade, underground Redmoor Tungsten-Tin-Copper Project, through a current relogging and sampling campaign of historic drill core and continuing to progress towards securing further significant funding, as well as exploring its minerals rights licence area in east Cornwall, Southwest England.
The Redmoor Project is situated within the historically significant Tamar Valley Mining District, yet the sheeted vein system ("SVS") forming the basis of CRL's inferred resource is unmined. SML bought into CRL in 2016, and in 2019 completed the purchase of the project. CRL completed a JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for Redmoor using a comprehensive archive of historical data and through the completion of two exploration campaigns, in 2017 and 2018, totalling 32 boreholes for 14,000m of drilling. An updated Scoping Study, published in 2020 shows that Redmoor has potentially economic viability as a new, underground mine.
Mineral Resource Estimate published February 2019, as summarised below:
|
Cut-off (SnEq%) |
Tonnage (Mt) |
WO3 % |
Sn % |
Cu % |
Sn Eq1 % |
WO3 Eq % |
|
>0.45 <0.65 |
1.5 |
0.18 |
0.21 |
0.3 |
0.58 |
0.41 |
|
>0.65 |
10.2 |
0.62 |
0.16 |
0.53 |
1.26 |
0.88 |
|
Total Inferred Resource |
11.7 |
0.56 |
0.16 |
0.5 |
1.17 |
0.82 |
1 Equivalent metal calculation notes; Sn(Eq)% = Sn%*1 + WO3%*1.43 + Cu%*0.40. Commodity price assumptions: WO3 US$ 33,000/t, Sn US$ 22,000/t, Cu US$ 7,000/t. Recovery assumptions: total WO3 recovery 72%, total Sn recovery 68% & total Cu recovery 85% and payability assumptions of 81%, 90% and 90% respectively
Subject to the completion of necessary funding, CRL has in place permissions for drill programs, in the Target Tip Valley ("TTV"), to test at depth previously reported high-grade auger and trenching results (as reported 17 November 2021), as a possible western extension of the current Redmoor resource, and for further exploration of the Redmoor Tungsten-Tin-Copper resource. A General Permitted Development Order application, for necessary drilling consents, was approved by Cornwall Council for the TTV program and a full Planning Permission has been granted by Cornwall Council for future drilling at Redmoor.
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For further information, please contact: |
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Strategic Minerals plc |
+61 (0) 414 727 965 |
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John Peters |
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Managing Director |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP |
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Nominated Adviser and Broker |
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Matthew Johnson |
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Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals plc:
Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted, profitable operating minerals company actively developing projects tailored to materials expected to benefit from strong demand in the future. It has an operation in the United States of America along with development projects in the UK and Australia. The Company is focused on utilising its operating cash flows, along with capital raisings, to develop high quality projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals likely to be highly demanded in the future.
In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the distribution rights to the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, a cash-generating asset, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. This operating revenue stream is utilised to cover company overheads and invest in development projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals likely to be highly demanded in the future.
In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited and, in February 2017, acquired 50% of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. The bulk of the funds from the Company's investment were utilised to complete a drilling programme that year. The drilling programme resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource. This was followed in 2018 with a 12-hole 2018 drilling programme has now been completed and the resource update that resulted was announced in February 2019. In March 2019, the Company entered into arrangements to acquire the balance of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project which was settled on 24 July 2019 by way of a vendor loan which was fully repaid on 26 June 2020.
In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and brought the project temporarily into production in April 2019. In July 2021, the project was granted a conditional approval by the South Australian Government for a Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) in relation to mining of its Paltridge North deposit and processing at the Mountain of Light installation. In early January 2022, an updated PEPR, addressing the conditions associated with the July 2021 approval, was lodged.
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