8 February 2024
Golden Metal Resources
plc
('Golden Metal' or the
'Company')
Pilot Mountain Project:
Significant Garnet Potential
Golden Metal Resources plc
(LON:GMET, OTCQB:GMTLF), a strategic
development and mineral exploration company focused on Nevada, USA,
is pleased to announce an update on the 100% owned, flagship, Pilot
Mountain project ("Pilot Mountain" or the "Project") located within
the prolific Walker Lake Mineral Belt in Nevada, USA.
Pilot Mountain hosts what the
Company believes to be the largest undeveloped tungsten resource in
the United States, with a Mineral Resource estimate ("MRE") of
12.53Mt at 0.27% WO3 with significant copper-silver-zinc
credits, published in 2018. Exploration work undertaken by the
Company in 2023 identified five compelling target areas that
show potential for significantly greater in-ground
resources than currently stated. Further information in this
regard is available in the Company's announcement linked
below:
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/GMET/pilot-mountain-further-targets-identified/16005627
In addition to the advancements made
regarding the Project's exploration potential, work has been
undertaken to further the Company's understanding of the potential
for a garnet industrial mineral resource at Pilot Mountain, which
is the focus of this announcement.
HIGHLIGHTS
§ From technical review of
historical drilling logs and metallurgical test reports (and the
significant evidence of garnet composition homogeneity across
mineralised intervals) it is demonstrated that the industrial
mineral garnet comprises approximately 40% of the mineralised
intervals across the known deposit areas (Desert Scheelite &
Garnet).1,2
§ Assuming approximately 40%
garnet and based on the current MRE of 12,530,000t of mineralised
material, Golden Metal considers that, subject to commissioning
appropriate studies, a significant quantity of garnet likely exists
at Pilot Mountain.
§ The historical studies report
that the dominant form of industrial garnet at Pilot Mountain is
the mineral species Andradite with a lesser proportion reported as
being the Grossular garnet species 1,2. A tonne of
garnet imported into the USA in 2023 traded at an average price of
USD $190 with domestic garnet trading at a premium price of $220
per tonne.3
§ The tungsten, copper, silver
and zinc within the MRE is considered recoverable based on the
metallurgical work previously completed on Pilot Mountain, however
the industrial garnet potential was not previously
considered. Based on the work undertaken and the above data
points, the contained garnet at Pilot Mountain could be very
material to the overall economics of Pilot Mountain, subject to the
completion of appropriate studies.
§ The Company is now seeking to
appoint a garnet specialist to complete a detailed market and
project specific analysis.
§ In additional, drill permits
applications for Pilot Mountain are being finalised and will be
submitted to the local Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") office
shortly. Permits will cover a range of exploratory and infill drill
pad locations.
Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal,
commented:
"I
believe that Pilot Mountain has taken another significant, yet
unexpected, step forward as the potential scale of the contained
garnet and its potential impact on future Project economics is
becoming apparent.
"Whilst it is the tungsten MRE and its potential scalability
that excites us most about Pilot Mountain, especially given
tungsten is on the United States critical minerals list, all
recoverable materials have the potential to supplement future
overall Project economics.
"The potential economic implications cannot be understated,
not only because it could represent a fifth recoverable and
saleable product from Pilot Mountain, but also for several other
factors. Subject to commissioning appropriate studies, the Company
considers it likely that the garnet could be recovered via gravity
and/or magnetic separation methods prior to the grinding and
flotation stages - therefore significantly decreasing the wear and
tear on the overall processing circuit and therefore the potential
operating costs.
"The findings to date are very positive, and we look forward
to working with a garnet market specialist as we start the process
of better understanding the broader implications the contained
garnet has on the Project economics and on our business as a
whole."
FURTHER INFORMATION
Industrial garnet is used in a wide
array of industries including abrasive blasting, water-filtration
media, water-jet-assisted cutting, in abrasive powders, nonslip
coatings and sandpaper.3 The industries that are known
consumers of industrial garnet include aircraft and motor vehicle
manufacturers, ceramics and glass producers, electronic component
manufacturers, filtration plants, glass polishing, petroleum
industry, shipbuilders, textile stonewashing as well as
wood-furniture finishing operations.3 The global
abrasives market was valued at USD 35.5B in 2022 and is projected
to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2024 -2030.4
PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
Golden Metal holds a 100% interest
in the Pilot Mountain Project through its wholly-owned Nevada-based
operating companies BFM Resources Inc and Pilot Metals
Inc.
COMPETENT PERSON
STATEMENT
The technical information contained
in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly
(MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and
acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining
and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal consultant
working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained
by Golden Metal Resources plc to provide technical
support.
REFERENCES
1
The Development of Separation Technology from the Pilot Mountain
Tungsten Project, Nevada, USA (2013). Zhang, J., Liu, Jianguo.,
Liang, D., Hong, Q.
2
Report on Laboratory Test on W03-Cu-Zn Ore Samples from the Pilot
Mountain Tungsten Project, USA (2019).
3
United States Geological Survey (USGS), Mineral Commodity Summaries
2024.
4
https://www.marknteladvisors.com/research-library/global-abrasives-market.html
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of
domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018).
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains
forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated
future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in
nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business
conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process
and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties
resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties
resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction,
uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties
regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights,
uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and
other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding
the Company's or any third party's ability to execute and implement
future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected
events.
Actual results achieved may vary
from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known
and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.
For further information visit
www.goldenmetalresources.com
or contact the following:
Golden Metal Resources plc
Oliver Friesen (CEO)
|
Tel: +44 (0)
20 7583 8304
|
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP
Nominated Adviser
Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise
O'Driscoll
|
Tel: +44 20 7213 0880
|
First Equity Limited
Broker
Jonathan Brown/Jason
Robertson
|
Tel: +44 20 7374 2212
|
|
|
THE
PROJECTS
Pilot Mountain Project
The Pilot Mountain project is
an advanced exploration and mineral resource definition stage
project located in Mineral County in western Nevada.
The project covers an area of 14.80 km2 (3,656.1 acres)
and is located 200km southeast of Reno and 18km east
of Mina, Nevada. It is well situated for the supply of power,
water and skilled labour and proximity to transport infrastructure
in Mineral County and is centred around four existing
mineral deposits: Garnet; Good Hope; Gunmetal and Desert Scheelite,
all of which possess significant skarn-style
tungsten-copper-silver-zinc mineralisation. The Pilot
Mountain project consists of 176 active lode mining claims and
4 filed mill site claims. The four mill site claims filed at the
former Dunham mill site have secure access to groundwater supply
sufficient for the proposed project.
Garfield Project
The Garfield Project is an exciting
copper-gold-silver prospect consisting of 65 lode mining claims
covering 5.4 km2 (1,338 acres) located in Mineral
County, Nevada, approximately 14km due east of the town
of Hawthorne and 120km due west-northwest
of Tonopah. Exploration to date has included detailed
geochemical sampling and follow up analysis which highlighted the
presence of both porphyry and skarn-type mineralisation and
alteration at the 'High-Grade Zone'. Further to this, mapping,
prospecting and rock sampling was recently completed with results
confirming presence of high-grade copper, silver and gold
mineralisation as well as leading to the bedrock discovery of the
Pamlico Au Zone with individual rock samples up to 18.35g/t Au,
1,225g/t Ag & 1.89% Cu. Following this, geochemical analysis of
the full suite of data confirmed the strong presence of porphyry
style mineralisation across the Project, as well as potentially
overprinting epithermal style mineralisation leading to increased
gold-silver prospectivity.
Kibby Basin Lithium
Project
The Kibby Basin Project covers
two claim packages which are prospective for lithium brine
mineralisation. The southern claim package is less than 250m from a
2022 drillhole which returned a significant interval (169m) of
lithium brine mineralisation which was determined to be open in all
directions. The Project is less than 5km to the southeast of the
Company's flagship Pilot Mountain Project.
Golconda Summit Project
Golden Metal is the operator of the
Golconda Summit project, which is held under an earn-in right to
acquire up to 100 per cent. of the project from the mineral claim
owner pursuant to an option agreement. The Golconda Summit project
is an exploration stage gold and silver project located
in Humboldt County and situated at the confluence of the
Getchell and Battle
Mountain - Eureka metallogenic trends, and consists
of 44 lode mining claims, covering a total area of approximately
3.22 km2 (795.4 acres) located approximately 27km east
of Winnemucca.
Stonewall Project
The Stonewall project is an
exploration stage gold-silver property prospective for epithermal
gold-silver mineralisation. The property consists of 19 lode mining
claims covering 1.59 km2 (392.5 acres) located on the
northern flank of Stonewall Mountain, on the western edge of
the Nellis Airforce Range Restricted Access Area, in Nye
County, Nevada, approximately 24km south-east of the historic gold
mining town of Goldfield and 60km due south
of Tonopah.