GCIGreenRoc Mining on track to commence Phase 2 drilling at Amitsoq
[source: GreenRoc Mining]
(GROC ) will commence Phase 2 drilling operations at the Amitsoq Island Graphite Project in southern Greenland later this month to drill up to 27 holes for a total of up to c.3,200m, with the aim of increasing and upgrading the current maiden JORC Resource.
The Alba Mineral Resources spin-out, a Greenland-focused mining developer, which outlined to investors that operations are expected to last for around 12 weeks, is hoping to upgrade Amitsoq’s current Maiden JORC Resource of 8.28Mt at 19.75% Graphitic Carbon (“C(g)“).
In particular, drilling will test the revised Exploration Target (“ET”) announced for the Amitsoq Island deposit back on 12May 2022, being 5-15 Mt at a grade range of 18-22% C(g), it noted.
The mining firm, which reiterated its “strong confidence” in establishing a higher-tonnage, higher-category resource, said the results delivered from its Phase 2 drilling programme could potentially support the creation of a mine plan to input into a feasibility study going forward.
In fact, the company highlighted that “significant further upside remains’' as the Kalaaq deposit - located to the south of
Amitsoq Island and also part of the Project - remains undrilled. GreenRoc has a maiden drill programme planned for 2023 to test this deposit.
It added that environmental baseline studies will also continue to progress, providing the foundations for the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment for Amitsoq.
GreenRoc’s Interim CEO, Lars Brünner, commented: “We’ve confirmed that Amitsoq hosts a graphite resource that has one of the highest average grades globally, which can be upgraded to a more than 99.95% pure graphite product, making it extremely desirable to EV lithium-ion battery producers - the drivers of a large proportion of soaring market demand.
Our focus is now on building the resource tonnage to maximise the commercial value of the Project.”
Addresings shareholders today, Brünner reiterated his confidence that a “more significant, high-category” resource can be established. He stated: “If, for instance, drilling converts the upper end of the ET into JORC Resources, this will see the current resource estimate for contained graphite increase from 1.63 Mt to 4.93 Mt. It is also worthwhile noting that the
Kalaaq deposit to the south of Amitsoq Island is yet to be drilled, providing further upside potential and giving an indication of just how extensive the Project’s resource could be.”
He added: “With the EIA also underway, we remain more committed than ever to fast-tracking the Project into the development phase and look forward to sharing results in due course.”
View From Vox
Amitsoq Graphite is considered one of the highest-grade graphite deposits in the world, and since more than half of theExploration Target area for Amitsoq Island remains undrilled, GreenRoc’s upcoming drill programme will focus on unlocking this resource potential.
In recent weeks, GreenRoc has significantly increased the exploration target for the Amitsoq Island graphite deposit at the company’s Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern Greenland.
Following the maiden resource estimate announced on 8 March 2022, the exploration target for the Amitsoq Island deposit was recently updated by the company. The new exploration target has increased from a tonnage range of 1.7 Mt-4.5 Mt at a grade range of 24-36%.
The company said there is additional considerable upside potential to come from the, as yet undrilled deposit, which is also known as the “Kalaaq Deposit”, to the south of Amitsoq Island; Greenroc said a revised Exploration Target calculation is being undertaken for this deposit.
If the upper end of the company’s revised exploration target for the Amitsoq Island Deposit is successfully converted into defined Resources following the planned further drilling, GreenRoc said this would place Amitsoq “not only as one of the highest-grade projects globally but also with Resource tonnes which compare favourably with those of Vittangi.”
In a broader context, graphite is considered the core component of an Electric Vehicle (“EV”) battery, with the commodity driving global graphite demand and prices. UBS is estimating a natural graphite deficit of 3.7Mt by 2030, representing around 37% of the global market.
GreenRoc’s technical work to date has confirmed that Amitsoq graphite can be upgraded to a more than 99.95% pure graphite product, which is the specification requirement for EV batteries. As a result, it says it is well positioned to capitalise on the transition to Net Zero.
Graphite is required for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and represents between 20 and 24% of the material needed in a battery. According to analysts at Baker Steel, between 2020 and 2040, a 22-fold increase in graphite for energy technology demand is forecast, and a 10-fold increase across all applications, an increase second only to lithium.
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