Cornish Metals Inc. - NEAR MINE EXPLORATION TARGET AT SOUTH CROFTY
RNS Number : 1670M
Cornish Metals Inc.
14 November 2024
CORNISH METALS PRODUCES A NEAR MINE EXPLORATION TARGET AT SOUTH CROFTY
Vancouver, November 13, 2024
Cornish Metals Inc.(AIM/TSX-V: CUSN) ("Cornish Metals" or the "Company"), a mineral
exploration and development company focused on the advancement and restart of its 100%
owned and permitted South Crofty high-grade tin project in Cornwall, United Kingdom, is pleased
to announce that it has developed a near mine Exploration Target at South Crofty.
The near mine Exploration Target quantity and grade are conceptual in nature and currently there
is insufficient data to classify this as a Mineral Resource. However, Cornish Metals believes the
Exploration Target demonstrates the potential to define additional mineralisation, which could
expand the current Mineral Resource at the project.
Highlights
· South Crofty is one of the highest-grade tin resources in the world with a tin grade of 1.50% in the Indicated
category
· The near mine Exploration Target points to potential additional mineralisation upside of 6Mt to 13Mt, at a tin
grade of 0.5% to 1.8%, above the current South Crofty Mineral Resource in the Lower Mine area
· South Crofty mine has consistently increased its Mineral Resource in line with production each year for over
the last 20 years when in operation
· Potential to define additional mineralisation, which could expand the current Mineral Resource at the project
·
Further growth opportunities from longer term exploration activities both within the South Crofty mining
permission area and within Cornish Metals' extensive mineral rights holdings in Cornwall providing for a
multi-generational asset
Don Turvey, CEO and Director of Cornish Metals, stated:"This Exploration Target supports
our view that there is a lot more tin at South Crofty waiting to be discovered. South Crofty is a
generational asset with a long history of Mineral Resource discovery and conversion, and we
expect this trend to continue after the mine restarts production. The PEA results represent a
strong foundation for advancing South Crofty to production, but it is only the starting point, and
this Exploration Target illustrates the potential for immense upside."
The assessment of the near mine Exploration Target is based on the current understanding of the
geological controls on mineralisation at the South Crofty project and the target was generated by
extrapolating known structures along strike and down dip, with tonnages estimated by applying
assumed minimum and maximum thicknesses.
South Crofty near mine
Exploration Target
Mass
(Mt)
Grade
(% Sn)
Upper limit
13
1.8
Lower limit
6
0.5
Notes:
1. The near mine Exploration Target is reported exclusive of the current South Crofty Mineral Resource.
2. No economic parameters, mining dilution or recovery factors have been applied to the assessments of
tonnes and average grade.
3. The potential quantity and average grade of the near mine Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and is
an approximation. There is insufficient data to estimate a Mineral Resource in the area considered and it is
uncertain if further exploration will result in the definition of a Mineral Resource.
The near mine Exploration Target was primarily based on extrapolation of known,
previously mined structures beyond the limits of the current South Crofty Mineral
Resource. The mineralisation around South Crofty remains open along strike and down
dip providing further potential beyond the near mine Exploration Target. The
Exploration Target does not consider the wider opportunities within the South Crofty
mining permission area, which also shows significant potential and includes the Wide
Formation exploration project, or within the wider region in Cornwall where Cornish
Metals has extensive mineral rights holdings.
Figure1: Plan view of existing South Crofty Mineral Resource envelopes (orange), near mine
Exploration Targets (light blue) and wider mineralised and mined structures with exploration areas
(dark blue, pink) identified within the South Crofty underground permission boundary.
Historic production at South Crofty demonstrates the consistent discovery of new
mineralisation and subsequent conversion to Reserves (Figure 2). Cornish Metals plans
to test the near mine Exploration Target systematically alongside initial production at
South Crofty, targeting an increase of the Mineral Resource Estimate above that
depleted by production each year. This is expected to be carried out through targeted
development and exploration drilling programmes aimed at extending the existing
Mineral Resource both along strike and down dip during approximately the first five
years of operation.
Figure2: South Crofty cumulative metal mined, and metal added to Reserve - 1974 to 1997.
Note: Reserves estimated based on methodologies and classifications used by South Crofty
in the period.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALISATION
The geology of Cornwall is dominated by granitic intrusions that are part of the Permian
Cornubian batholith, and Devonian metasedimentary and metavolcanics, known locally
as "Killas", that form the metamorphic aureole and host rocks of the intrusions. The
sedimentary and volcanic package was deformed during the Variscan Orogeny where
crustal thickening, followed by subsequent lithospheric extension and crustal
subsidence, resulted in anatexis and formation of the Cornubian batholith.
The South Crofty project area lies on the north side of the Permian Carn Brea Granite.
The project area is underlain by a series of metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks
and associated hornfels and skarns, that occur in close proximity to the granite contact.
At depth, the granite underlies the whole project area dipping towards the north west.
Mineralisation occurs in steeply dipping vein-type structures or "lodes" that generally
strike east-northeast, occurring in both the granite and the overlying Killas. Within the
granite, the principal mineral of economic significance is cassiterite. The project is split
by the Great Crosscourse a late-stage fault which crosscuts and offsets the mineralised
structures. The Great Crosscourse transects the project area dividing the mine into two
areas, east and west.
The area is host to numerous historic mines which initially exploited copper and
subsequently deeper tin. Numerous opportunities exist to test for the continuation of
tin below historic copper mines. This precedent is evident both in the South Crofty
workings and also at the Dolcoath mine which was continuously mined through the
copper mineralisation and into tin mineralisation at depth, demonstrating the vertical
zonation.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
The near mine Exploration Target has been based primarily on extrapolation of known,
previously mined structures beyond the data limits of the current South Crofty Mineral
Resource. Several smaller structures identified within the historical database that show
potential for defining additional mineralisation through further exploration have also
been included. An analogue for continuity of mineralised structures is the Dolcoath
mine, which sits directly to the south of South Crofty and was mined continuously from
surface to over 800m vertical depth with a strike length that is traceable over 2.1km.
Where structures have been extrapolated beyond known data points, they have been
extended half the known strike length of the defined Mineral Resource envelope and
extrapolated a further two mine levels (approximately 75m) down dip (Figure3). Where
structures have data which could be interpreted as belonging to that structure (Figure4),
or where there is an analogy from an existing structure (for example historical workings
above), extrapolations have been expanded to the same extent (Figure5). In all cases
nothing has been extrapolated beyond the mining permission boundary. This approach
assumes the continuity of structures beyond the current known data points.
Tonnage assumptions are based on the projected areas of the extrapolated structures.
The upper tonnage target is based on the mean width of the known Mineral Resource
structure and the lower tonnage target is based on the lower tenth percentile width of
the structure. This method acknowledges that although the mineralised structures at
South Crofty are extremely persistent, there is significant variability in the width. With
the potential volume defined, the mean density of mineralisation at South Crofty of
2.77t/m3 was applied to give an assessment of tonnage.
Average tin grade assumptions were based on the current South Crofty Mineral
Resource sample dataset. A range was derived which represents the likely average
grade of the global near-mine Exploration Target and equates to the lower 40 th and
upper 75 th percentiles of the existing Mineral Resource sample set. This is believed to
give the best indication of expected average grade based on the existing precedent.
Figure3: Long section view looking north showing the existing Dolcoath South Mineral Resource
structure (orange) and the Exploration Target extrapolation (blue).
Figure4: Long section view looking north showing the existing No. 8a Mineral Resource structure
(orange) and the Exploration Target extrapolation (blue).
Figure5: Long section view looking north showing the existing Roskear B-D Mineral Resource (orange)
and the Exploration Target (blue), which has been extrapolated to the length of the historic overlying
North Roskear and South Roskear mines.
This Exploration Target was reviewed and approved by Mr. Nicholas Szebor (MCSM,
BSc, MSc, CGeol, EurGeol, FGS), Regional Manager and Principal Geologist at AMC
Consultants (UK) Limited, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43101) andAIM Rules for Companiesand a Competent Person as defined under the JORC
Code (2012). Mr. Szebor has reviewed the technical content of this news release as it
relates to the Exploration Target and has approved its dissemination.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Owen Mihalop, MCSM, BSc
(Hons), MSc, FGS, MIMMM, CEng, Chief Operating Officer for Cornish Metals Inc. who is
the designated Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and the AIM Rules for Companies and
a Competent Person as defined under the JORC Code (2012). Mr. Mihalop consents to
the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form
and context in which it appears.
ABOUT CORNISH METALS
Cornish Metals is a dual-listed mineral exploration and development company (AIM and
TSX-V: CUSN) that is advancing the South Crofty tin project towards production. South
Crofty:
·
Is a historical, high-grade, underground tin mine located in Cornwall, United
Kingdom and benefits from existing mine infrastructure including multiple shafts
that can be used for future operations;
·
Is fully permitted to commence underground mining (valid to 2071), construct
new processing facilities and for all necessary site infrastructure;
·
Has a 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment that validates the Project's
potential (see news release datedApril 30, 2024and the Technical Report entitled
"South Crofty PEA"):
o US$201 million after-tax NPV8% and 29.8% IRR
o 3-year after-tax payback
o 4,700 tonnes average annual tin production in years two through six
o Life of mine all-in sustaining cost of US$13,660 /tonne of payable tin
o Total after-tax cash flow of US$626 million from start of production
·
Would be the only primary producer of tin in Europe or North America. Tin is a
Critical Mineral as defined by the UK, American, and Canadian governments as it
is
used
in
almost
all
electronic
devices
and
electrical
infrastructure.
Approximately two-thirds of the tin mined today comes from China, Myanmar
and Indonesia;
· Benefits from strong local community, regional and national government support
with a growing team of skilled people, local to Cornwall, and could generate up
to 320 direct jobs.
The 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment for South Crofty is preliminary in nature
and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable
them to be categorised as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the 2024
Preliminary Economic Assessment will be realised. Mineral Resources that are not
Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"Don Turvey"
Don Turvey
Engage
with
us
directly
at
our
investor
hub.
Sign
up
at:https://investors.cornishmetals.com/link/lPdoKr
For additional information please contact:
Cornish Metals
Fawzi Hanano
Irene Dorsman
investors@cornishmetals.com
info@cornishmetals.com
Tel: + 1(604) 200 6664
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
(Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker)
Richard Morrison
Charlie Bouverat
Grant Barker
Tel: +44 203 470 0470
Cavendish Capital Markets Derrick Lee
Limited
Neil McDonald
(Joint Broker)
Tel: +44 131 220 6939
Hannam & Partners
(Financial Adviser)
Matthew Hasson
Andrew Chubb
Jay Ashfield
cornish@hannam.partners
Tel: +44 207 907 8500
BlytheRay
(Financial PR)
Tim Blythe
Megan Ray
cornishmetals@blytheray.com
Tel: +44 207 138 3204
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Caution regarding forward looking statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements"
(collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections,
outlook, guidance, estimates and forecasts and other statements regarding future plans and operations, the
realisation, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates, estimation of commodity
prices, currency exchange rate fluctuations, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of
the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, requirements for
additional capital and the Company's ability to obtain financing when required and on terms acceptable to
the Company, future or estimated mine life and other activities or achievements of Cornish Metals, including
but not limited to: the expected use of proceeds from the secured credit facility with Vision Blue; the balance
of the cash consideration due to Cornish in respect of the sale of the Mactung and Cantung royalty interests;
mineralisation at South Crofty, mine dewatering and construction requirements; the development, operational
and economic results of the preliminary economic assessment, including cash flows, capital expenditures,
development costs, extraction rates, recovery rates, mining cost estimates and returns; estimation of mineral
resources; statements about the estimate of mineral resources and production of minerals; magnitude or
quality of mineral deposits; anticipated advancement of the South Crofty project mine plan; exploration
potential and project growth opportunities for the South Crofty tin project and other Cornwall mineral
properties, the Company's ability to evaluate and develop the South Crofty tin project and other Cornwall
mineral properties, strategic vision of Cornish Metals and expectations regarding the South Crofty mine,
timing and results of projects mentioned. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by
the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential",
"project", "target", "schedule", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will",
"should", "could", "would" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the
negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, are
forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties and there can be no assurance that
such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from
those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not
limited to: risks related to receipt of regulatory approvals, risks related to general economic and market
conditions; risks related to the availability of financing; the timing and content of upcoming work
programmes; actual results of proposed exploration activities; possible variations in Mineral Resources or
grade; outcome of any future studies; projected dates to commence mining operations; failure of plant,
equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and
limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; changes in national and local
government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations. The list is not exhaustive of the factors
that may affect Cornish's forward-looking statements.
Cornish Metals' forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management and
reflect their current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the
date such statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward- looking statements,
there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those
anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and
accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Cornish Metals does not assume any
obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or
opinions should change other than as required by applicable law.
Caution regarding non-IFRS measures
This news release contains certain terms or performance measures commonly used in the mining industry
that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), including "all-in sustaining
costs". Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore they
may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data presented is intended
to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures
of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS and should be read in conjunction with Cornish Metals'
consolidated financial statements and Management Discussion and Analysis, available on its website and on
SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended.
Appendix
"cassiterite" means a tin oxide mineral which is the principal source for tin metal
"Exploration Target" is a statement or estimate of the exploration potential of a mineral deposit in a defined
geological setting where the statement or estimate, quoted as a range of tonnes and a range of grade (or
quality) relates to mineralisation for which there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral
Resource. Any such information must be expressed so that it cannot be misrepresented or misconstrued as
an estimate of a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a
Mineral Resource and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral
Resource.
"grade(s)" means the quantity of ore or metal in a specified quantity of rock
"Indicated Mineral Resource" is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities,
shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of mining,
processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental
factors to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence
is derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to assume
geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. An Indicated Mineral Resource has
a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to
a probable mineral reserve.
"Inferred Mineral Resource" is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are
estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply
but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of
confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a mineral
reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to
Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. An Inferred Mineral Resource is based on limited
information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops,
trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.
"JORC Code" means the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia. The JORC Code
is an acceptable foreign code for purposes of NI 43-101.
"Lodes" means a vein of metal ore in the earth
"MRE" means Mineral Resource Estimate
"km" means kilometres
"kt" means thousand tonnes
"m" means metres
"Mt" means million tonnes
"NI 43-101" means National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects issued by the
Canadian Securities Administrators, which provides standards of disclosure of scientific and technical
information regarding mineral projects
"Sn" means Tin
"t" means tonnes
"t/m3" means tonnes per cubic metre
"tourmaline" means the crystalline silicate mineral groupthat occurs as prismatic crystals in granitic and
other rocks
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