21 November 2024
Power Metal Resources
PLC
("Power Metal" or the
"Company")
Technical Overview of Drake Lake-Silas
Project
Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW,
OTCQB:POWMF), the London-listed exploration company with a global
project portfolio, is pleased to report on results from the
uranium-focused joint venture (the "Joint Venture" or "JV") with
UCAM Ltd ("UCAM" or the "Investor") involving Power Metal's
portfolio of uranium licences. The
following release provides a technical overview of the JV's Drake
Lake-Silas Uranium Project (the "Drake Lake-Silas" or the
"Project"); additional details regarding the Project's recently
completed fieldwork will be released in due course. Drake
Lake-Silas is located in the Central Mineral Belt of Newfoundland
& Labrador, Canada.
HIGHLIGHTS:
· Drake
Lake-Silas is comprised of two non-contiguous licences covering
1,250-hectares (12.5km2) and 500-hectares
(5.0km2) respectively.
· The
Project's geology bears distinct geological similarities to the
contiguous ATHA Energy Corp (TSXV: SASK). Central Mineral
Belt Project which hosts a 14.5M lbs U3O8
historical indicated and inferred resource.1
· The
Project hosts two known uranium occurrences located along trend of
the nearby resource. The two occurrences include up to 798ppm
U-in-soil and a drilled intersection of 0.27%
U3O8 over 0.20m.
· A
phase I field programme has now been completed on the Project, and
the Company has gained access to results from a recently completed
gravity and magnetic survey that was flown over the Project by
Xcaliber Multiphysics.
Sean Wade, Chief Executive
Officer of Power Metal Resources PLC commented:
"I
am grateful to Jack Dann, our Technical Director, for this
comprehensive overview of the opportunity at Drake Lake
Silas.
"My hope is that shareholders now have a good understanding of
where we are directing our initial efforts, and we look forward to
updating on the progress of the work in due
course."
Figure 1: The Location of the Drake Lake-Silas Project within
the Central Mineral Belt, with notable deposits and other nearby
operators shown.
FURTHER
DETAILS
Introduction to
the Central Mineral Belt
The Drake Lake-Silas Project is located within
the Central Mineral Belt ("CMB") of Newfoundland & Labrador,
Canada. The CMB is a 100km long, approx. 30km wide area of eastern
Canada which is composed of diverse geology that hosts widespread
uranium mineralisation. It contains a variety of different styles
of uranium mineralisation that are developed within a number of
different rock units.
In contrast to the Athabasca Basin, the CMB has
comparatively few operators (Figure 1). The vast majority of claims
are held by Latitude Uranium (part of ATHA Energy Corp; TSXV: SASK)
and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN), the former of which totally surrounds
the Drake Lake-Silas Project.
The CMB spans several different structural
provinces, each with their own distinct geology. Those provinces
include portions of the Archean Nain Province, the Paleoproterozoic
Makkovik and Churchill provinces, and the Mesoproterozoic Grenville
Province. The CMB has no firm geographic boundaries but is instead
defined by the distribution of the various mineral occurrences
throughout the region. It is host to most of the uranium
mineralisation known within Labrador and is also well-known for
uranium, copper, molybdenum and rare-earth element mineralisation,
and considered to be prospective for Iron Oxide Copper Gold
("IOCG") Deposits.
Figure 2: Drake Lake Silas Property Geology and Nearby Uranium
Deposits/Targets.
Geology of
Drake Lake-Silas
In the northwestern part of the Drake Lake and
Silas claim blocks, the Heggart Lake Formation of Helikian age (850
Ma - 1,600 Ma) dominated by sedimentary rocks including sandstones
and conglomerate overlies, through a thrust contact, the Joe Pond
Formation, which makes up the southeast of both claim blocks. The
Joe Pond Formation is composed of Aphebian (1,600 Ma - 2,500 Ma)
metamorphosed mafic volcanic rocks - including pillow lavas and
massive basalts, alongside local lenses of metasedimentary
lithologies, including shales and iron formations.
Uranium
Mineralisation in Proximity to Drake Lake-Silas
Within 1km of the Project and hosted within
identical geology, the Moran Lake 'C' Zone deposit contains a
combined historical resource of over 5M lbs
U3O8 indicated and 5.82M lbs
U3O8 inferred.2 The Moran Lake 'C'
Zone is split into four zones, as shown on Figure 2:
Ø Upper 'C' Zone;
contained historical resource of 5,190,000lb U indicated at a grade
of 0.034% U3O8 , 2,840,000 lb U
inferred, at a grade 0.24% U3O8.
Ø Lower 'C' Zone;
contained historical resource of 1,600,000lb U inferred, at a grade
of 0.05% U3O8
Ø Trout Pond; contained
historical resource of 480,000lb U inferred, at a grade of 0.055%
U3O8
Ø Armstrong; contained
historical resource of 900,000lb U inferred, at a grade of 0.041%
U3O8
The Upper 'C' Zone consists of uranium
mineralisation hosted within strongly brecciated and altered mafic
volcanic rocks and shear zones, hosted by the Joe Pond Formation of
the Moran Lake Group. Mineralisation at Trout Pond and Armstrong is
similar to that at Upper 'C' Zone,3 both are open along
strike and at depth.
The Lower 'C' Zone contains a different style
of mineralisation than at the Upper C zone,4 with
uranium hosted in a sandstone and conglomerate that rests above a
sequence of volcanic rocks of the Bruce River Group.2 In
addition, to the uranium resources of the Moran Lake 'C' Zone,
inferred vanadium resource of 15.81 million pounds of
V2O5, at 0.088% V2O5
are present.5
Both the Bruce River and Moran Lake groups
extend into the Drake Lake-Silas Project (Figure 2).
Uranium
Occurrences on the Drake Lake - Silas Project
There are currently two uranium occurrences and
one copper occurrence6 found within the Project (Figure
2). The first uranium occurrence is located along strike from the
Moran Lake 'C' zone as outlined above. This occurrence is named
'Anomaly No. 16 prospect' ("No. 16") and it consists of a
significant radiometric anomaly, which ground-based prospecting has
indicated is composed of three subparallel zones measuring from 50
to 150 m wide which trend approximately east-west. From this zone
chip sample assay values yielded up to 2.02%
U3O8.6 Recent mapping has
suggested that No. 16 is part of the larger Moran Lake 'C' zone
mineralisation corridor and likely represents the extension of
mineralisation developed in the area of the Armstrong
deposit.3 No. 16 also contains hematite-rich breccias
associated with uranium mineralisation, which are similar to those
seen in the Upper 'C' Zone deposit.3 Geochemical
sampling by a previous operator7 has identified up to
798 ppm U-in-soil from No. 16 as well as a Cu-in-soil
anomaly.
Located 1.7 km to the southwest of No. 16, and
in the same mapped geology to the Lower 'C' Zone, the 'Anomaly No.
15 prospect' ("No. 15"), is another significant radiometric
anomaly, on which limited exploration has uncovered two uranium
occurrences hosted in east‒west-trending fractures within a conglomerate.
Significantly, a small drill programme by Brinex in 1979
intersected alteration similar to that found at the Lower 'C' Zone
including 0.27% U3O8 over
0.20m.7
On the Silus claim block, there is one recorded
mineral occurrence, the 'Northeast Silas Lake Copper showing',
which consists of a small occurrence of chalcopyrite within a shale
unit. Historical exploration9 has identified a
mineralised boulder field with results up to 2.48%
U3O8 for which the source is inferred to be
from within the centre of the Silas Block within the Bruce River
Formation which would be 'up ice' from the copper-rich boulder
occurrence.
Gravity And
Magnetic Survey
Xcaliber Multiphysics flew the FALCON airborne
gravity and magnetic survey over the property as part of a wider
survey on the ATHA uranium claims within which Drake Lake-Silas
sits. The helicopter survey was flown on a 200m line spacing, with
4,000m tie lines in late summer 2023.
The previous operator of the Project, and
subsequently the JV, were provided with the results of the survey
as it was an operational convenience for Xcaliber Multiphysics and
ATHA to fly over the company's claims, and thus the data was
supplied gratis.
GLOSSARY
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Archean
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The Archean Eon is a division of
geologic time that spans from around 4 billion years ago to 2.5
billion years ago.
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Paleoproterozoic
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The Paleoproterozoic is a geological
eon that spans from approximately 2.5 billion years ago to 1.6
billion years ago. It is the first subdivision of the Proterozoic
Eon.
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Mesoproterozoic
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The Mesoproterozoic is a geological
eon that spans from approximately 1.6 billion years ago to 1
billion years ago.
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Conglomerate
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Conglomerate is a type of
sedimentary rock composed of rounded fragments or clasts that are
larger than 2 millimetres in diameter. These clasts are typically
cemented together by a matrix of finer-grained material, such as
sand, silt, or clay.
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Mafic
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"Mafic" is a term used to describe
igneous rocks or minerals that are rich in magnesium (Mg) and iron
(Fe).
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Brecciated
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"Brecciated" is a term used to
describe a type of rock or mineral texture characterised by the
presence of angular fragments or clasts that are cemented together
by a matrix of finer-grained material. Brecciation is important for
geologists, as it illustrates a highly pressured fluid passed
through the rock. Fluid flow is a key factor in the development of
many economic mineral deposits.
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Hematite
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Hematite is a common mineral with
the chemical formula Fe2O3, composed of iron
(Fe) and oxygen (O). It is often associated with hydrothermal
alteration and is often found associated with mineral
deposits.
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Altered/alteration
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Hydrothermal alteration occurs when
hot, mineral-rich fluids migrate through rocks, causing chemical
reactions that lead to the formation of new minerals and the
alteration of existing ones.
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REFERENCES
1:
ATHA Energy Corp https://athaenergy.com/projects/cmb/
2:
Morgan, J.A. and Giroux, G.H.2008: Form 43-101 Technical Report on
The Central Mineral Belt (CMB) Uranium Project, Labrador, Canada.NI
43-101 Technical report
3:
Sparkes, G.W.
2017: Uranium mineralization within the Central Mineral Belt of
Labrador: A summary of the diverse styles, settings and timing of
mineralization. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department
of Natural Resources, Geological Survey, St. John's, Open File
LAB/1684, 198 pages
4:
Sparkes, G.W. and Kerr, A.2008: Diverse styles of uranium
mineralization in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador: an overview
and preliminary discussion. In Current Research. Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Natural Resources,
Geological Survey, Report 08-1, pages 193-227.
5:
Kruse, S.K., 2021, NI43-101, Moran Lake Project, Central Mineral
Belt, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
6:
The Mineral Occurrence Data System (MODS) is the inventory of
mineral occurrences in the province. It consists of an MS Access
digital database containing information on approximately 6000
mineral occurrences, and a collection of mineral occurrence maps.
For more information visit:
https://www.gov.nl.ca/iet/mines/geoscience/mods/
7:
Perry, J. 1979: Annual exploration report for 1978 with appendix5-9
on the Moran and Seal Lake areas, Labrador. Newfoundland and
Labrador Geological Survey, Assessment File LAB/0437, 282
pages.
8:
Barret, S., 2012, 8th Year
Assessment Report (2011) on Prospecting, Soil Sampling, and
Trenching On The Croteau Property Of The CMB Project, Labrador,
Canada, on behalf of Aurora Energy Ltd.
9:
Christopher, T., 2022, First Year Assessment
Report Central Mineral Belt Uranium Properties, For 4375779 Nova
Scotia Ltd, Work completed from March 2021 to March
2022.
QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained
in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly
(MSc, DIC, MIMMM QMR, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist
and acts as the Qualified 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 Power Metal Resources PLC to provide technical
support.
This announcement contains inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms
part of UK domestic law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under
Article 17 of MAR.
For further information please
visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or
contact:
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Power Metal Resources plc
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Sean Wade (Chief Executive
Officer)
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+44 (0) 20 3778 1396
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SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad
and Joint Broker)
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Ewan Leggat/Caroline Rowe
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+44 (0) 20 3470 0470
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SI Capital Limited (Joint
Broker)
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Nick Emerson
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+44 (0) 1483 413 500
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First Equity Limited (Joint
Broker)
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David Cockbill/Jason
Robertson
BlytheRay (PR Advisors)
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray
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+44 (0) 20 7330 1883
+44 (0) 20 7138 3204
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Power Metal Resources plc -
Background
Power Metal Resources
plc (LON:POW) is an AIM listed metals exploration company
which finances and manages global resource projects and is seeking
large scale metal discoveries.
The Company has a principal focus on
opportunities offering district scale potential across a global
portfolio including precious, base and strategic metal exploration
in North America, Africa and Australia.
Project interests range from
early-stage greenfield exploration to later-stage prospects
currently subject to drill programmes.
Power Metal will develop projects
internally or through strategic joint ventures until a project
becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or separate
listing on a recognised stock exchange thereby crystallising the
value generated from our internal exploration and development
work.
Value generated through disposals
will be deployed internally to drive the Company's growth or may be
returned to shareholders through share buy backs, dividends or
in-specie