GreenRoc Mining plc said that drilling had more than doubled the footprint of the ore deposit at its Amitsoq graphite project in southern Greenland.
PHASE II
The company, of which Alba Mineral Resources plc holds 54%, completed its Phase II drill on 17 September with 19 holes drilled for 2,844m.
“All holes reached target depths and intersected significant graphite layers, extending the deposit to the west by about 100m and to the northwest and the north by about 150m in horizontal directions, more than doubling the deposit footprint, which continues to remain open,” added GreenRoc in a statement.
GRAPHITE LAYERS
The company said that the lower graphite layer (LGL) shows mineable thicknesses greater than 2m in all 19 holes with true thickness (where present) varying between 2.5m and 20.69m.
The upper graphite layer (UGL) shows mineable thicknesses greater than 2m in eight holes with true thickness varying between 2.72m and 7.99m.
The LGL appeared to form the main orebody of the deposit with surface outcrops suggesting a “potential continuation of significant LGL thicknesses for several hundred metres towards the north”.
GreenRoc added that visual inspection of drill core suggests that Phase II intersections are similar in ore grade to those in Phase I which were up to 23.01% graphitic carbon (C(g)) in the LGL and up to 19.83% C(g) in the UGL.
ROCK CORE
The company expects that analyses of the results, due during Q4 2022, will support a “significant upgrade” in resource tonnage, while the deposit remaining open towards the north, west and southwest.
Chief executive Stefan Bernstein said that Amitsoq continued to prove to be an “exceptional graphite deposit” and that drilling results had surpassed expectations.
“The general quality of the rock core, whether actual graphite ore, hangingwall, or footwall, is very high – with only a low amount of fracturing, pointing to uncomplicated mining operations in stable rock.
“This can indeed be appreciated when entering the old mine workings, which are intact despite the 100 years that have passed by.”
MINING OPERATION
GreenRoc had completed second year environmental baseline work and continues EIA/SIA work.
Mr Bernstein added that the expected revised resource assessment would be sufficient to underpin feasibility studies to support a “substantial” mining operation at Amitsoq.