お知らせ • Nov 22
Alba Mineral Resources plc Provides an Update on Regional Exploration Activities At its Dolgellau Gold Field Project
Alba Mineral Resources plc provided an update on regional exploration activities at its Dolgellau Gold Field Project ('DGF' or the 'Project') in Wales as well as an update on the Company's application to dewater the Llechfraith Shaft at the Clogau-St David's Gold Mine. In the Company's, the company reported on a new regional gold target within the company's exploration licence area, close to Gwynfynydd, with grab samples grading up to 24 g/t Au. The company's field geologists have since returned to that target, Hafod Owen, to conduct further sampling, have initiated field exploration at the former Carndochan Gold Mine, situated in the most easterly of package of licence areas, and have confirmed the potential of a new target, Afon Gain, which shows significant potential for polymetallic mineralisation. Following the recent grant to the Company of an additional licence area in the DGF, Alba's field team has also conducted field reconnaissance at the historic Caerwych mine site, situated in the new licence area, taking samples which have returned notable copper grades. Alba has conducted follow-up field exploration at Hafod Owen after samples taken in May 2021 returned significant grades of up to 24.1 g/t Au. The 24.1 g/t sample was taken from a boulder close to historic mine workings in a major N-S valley. A thin vein (MHO-03) with a similar mineralogy was observed in outcrop in another N-S valley 300 m to the east of the original high-grade sample. This was sampled and assayed, returning 1.5 g/t Au, thereby confirming the potential for widespread gold mineralisation at Hafod Owen. Assaying of an additional sample (MHO-04) taken from a historic mine waste tip associated with a possible N-S structure 250 m southwest of the 24.1 g/t Au sample returned grades of 0.363g/t Au as well as high-grade copper at 6.76 % Cu. This highlights the potential for polymetallic mineralisation in the lodes at Hafod Owen. A sample (MHO-05) taken from an outcrop with visible quartz veining graded 0.487 g/t Au, confirming the presence of auriferous mineralising fluids close to the easternmost target structure identified by Alba. Additional samples were taken from road cutting outcrops, with sample MHO-09 assaying at 0.198 g/t Au, highlighting the presence of mineralising fluids in a quartz vein sub-parallel to an adjacent NNW-trending shear zone. To date, outcrop sampling has shown the presence of elevated gold concentrations in relatively poorly mineralised bedrock, indicating auriferous hydrothermal fluid activity in the region. The vein samples previously taken from a spoil tip at the prospect demonstrate the potential for high-grade mineralisation at Hafod Owen, and the relatively poor outcrop exposure in this region leads the Company to believe that examples of these veins and the breccia mineralisation have remained hidden below superficial cover. Alba's technical team is finalising an exploration strategy to unlock the significant potential of the Hafod Owen Prospect, with a view to identifying targets for drilling. The Carndochan Gold Mine, the furthest east of all the notable historic gold mines in the region, was intermittently operated up until the early 20th Century, reportedly producing 2,643 oz Au from 6,956 tonnes of ore. The mine produced gold at an average grade of 11.88 g/t, as well as significant silver and lead credits. In addition to free-milling gold, the lode hosted galena shoots which were rich in gold and silver. Alba's field work at the mine has involved collecting structural data to create an initial 3D model, as well as taking samples from a historical waste tip. Samples were cut on-site, revealing the presence of coarse galena and subordinate sphalerite and pyrite in the vein material. Assay results have returned high-grade gold-silver, with significant zinc-lead credits. Notably, sample CCD-02 represents a good representation of the target mineralisation at Carndochan, displaying coarse aggregates of galena with sphalerite and pyrite grains. The sample (weighing 2.3 kg) returned grades of 20.6 g/t Au, 27.1 g/t Ag, 1.175 % Pb and 0.257 % Zn. Sample CCD-03 showed stronger sphalerite mineralisation, grading 1.63% Zn and 0.392 g/t Au. Identified in Alba's previous work on geochemically prospective drainage basins as a possible area of interest, recent analysis of three historical stream sediment datasets has confirmed the prospectivity of two key drainage basins in the catchment of the Afon Gain. A field visit to the prospect involved ground-truthing two known mineral occurrences, which confirmed the presence of trial mining sites on mineralised quartz veins in and above the Clogau Formation, a shale unit which is a critical control on gold mineralisation at the Clogau St. David's Gold Mine and elsewhere in the DGF. Following the grant of the north-west extension to Alba's licence areas over the DGF, Alba has conducted field reconnaissance at the historic Caerwych mine site. The focus of historic production at Caerwych is understood to have been on base metals, possibly prior to the discovery of gold at Cwmheisian in the 1840s. The lode at Caerwych showed some signs of chalcopyrite and pyrite mineralisation, particularly in association with wall-rock contacts. While seven samples taken by Alba from outcropping mineralisation and spoil tips showed no significant gold grades, samples CRW-01 and CRW-03 showed notable copper grades of 1.335 % Cu and 2.92 % Cu respectively.