- Mpama South is a high-grade tin discovery, located 750m south of Alphamin’s operating Bisie mine
- The Mpama South Prospect continues to deliver exceptional tin intercepts
- Alphamin has completed the first two phases of drilling by the end of May for a total of 10,000 metres and forty-six drill holes
- Phase 3 for 6,800 metres and twenty-four holes has already commenced for expected completion in August 2021
- Alphamin Resources Corp is engaged in the business of production and sale of tin concentrate from the Bisie Tin mine in the DRC
- Alphamin Resources Corp. (AFM) is trading at C$0.75 per share at 10 am ET.
Alphamin Resources Corp. (AFM) is pleased to provide additional assay results on its Mpama South exploration drilling programme.
HIGHLIGHTS
Further high-grade intercepts from the Main Zone:-
- BGH033: 6.4 metres @ 7.32% Sn from 259.0 metres
- BGH035: 13.0 metres @ 2.96% Sn (incl. 5.3 metres @ 6.4% Sn) from 152.0 metres
- BGH039: 21.0 metres @ 2.20% Sn (incl. 8.0 metres @ 4.26% Sn) from 145.0 metres
- BGH045: 6.9 metres @ 3.24% Sn from 176.7 metres
Further high-grade intercepts from the newly discovered footwall zone:-
- BGH037: 3.0 metres @ 3.81% Sn from 154.0 metres
- BGH038: 2.9 metres @ 5.22% Sn from 151.7 metres
- BGH045: 1.1 metres @ 31.55% Sn from 120.7 metres
10,000m of the planned 16,800m Diamond Drill programme completed (46 of the 70-hole programme) with independent laboratory assays received for 29 holes to date.
Phase 3 drilling (~6,800m and 24 holes) commenced to test downdip and strike extension of the interpreted high-grade shoot.
Chief Executive Officer, Maritz Smith comments,
“The Mpama South Prospect continues to deliver exceptional tin intercepts. Based on the first two batches of drill results, the continued presence and orientation of high-grade samples point to the potential for yet another high-grade deposit, some 750m south of our current operation. With the recent commencement of the deeper drilling phase at Mpama South, we believe we are heading into even more exciting times”.
Mpama South Exploration Drilling Update
Mpama South is a high-grade tin discovery, located 750m south of Alphamin’s operating Bisie mine. A small diamond drilling programme of sixteen (16) drill holes completed in 2016 recorded notable cassiterite intercepts in similar alteration styles to the Mpama North mine.
Alphamin re-commenced its Mpama South diamond drilling exploration activities in December 2020 and completed the first two phases of drilling by the end of May for a total of 10,000 metres and forty-six drill holes.
Phase 3 for 6,800 metres and twenty-four holes has already commenced for expected completion in August 2021.
All three phases for ~16,800 metres are intended to form the basis of a Mineral Resource estimation exercise, the results of which are expected to be announced by the end of 2021. Infill drilling and further step-out drilling will continue from August for the remainder of 2021.
Selected significant intercepts from the new batch of assays received in the Main Zone from the Mpama South drilling program are listed below as apparent widths. Sample preparation is detailed in Appendix 1 and all intercepts >0.5% Sn are detailed in Appendix 2:-
- BGH033: 6.4 metres @ 7.32% Sn from 259.0 metres
- BGH035: 13.0 metres @ 2.96% Sn (incl. 5.3 metres @ 6.4% Sn) from 152.0 metres
- BGH039: 21.0 metres @ 2.20% Sn (incl. 8.0 metres @ 4.26% Sn) from 145.0 metres
- BGH045: 6.9 metres @ 3.24% Sn from 176.7 metres
While significant new intercepts in the newly discovered footwall zone are as follows:-
- BGH037: 3.0 metres @ 3.81% Sn from 154.0 metres
- BGH038: 2.9 metres @ 5.22% Sn from 151.7 metres
- BGH045: 1.1 metres @ 31.55% Sn from 120.7 metres
The above intercepts together with the previously announced batch of significant intercepts repeated below, point to a potential high-grade deposit at Mpama South:
Main Zone:
- BGH030: 10.6 metres @ 4.85% Sn from 141.9 metres
- BGH032: 20.0 metres @ 2.07% Sn from 185.0 metres
- BGH025: 14.6 metres @ 2.70% Sn from 220.10 metres
Footwall Zone:
- BGH034 3.2 metres @ 11.99% Sn from 174.8 metres
- BGH022: 5.5 metres @ 3.99% Sn from 75.0 metres
- BGH030: 1.4 metres @ 7.24% Sn from 110.0 metres
Although only shallowly drilled to date, tell-tale signs already lead management to believe that the potential for a high-grade shoot exists at Mpama South (Figure 1), possibly similar to that at the adjacent producing Mpama North mine.
Appendix 1: SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSES AND QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (QAQC)
After receipt of diamond drill core from the drillers at the drill rig in marked core trays, the core was transported to the Company’s core shed by the site geologist for logging and sampling. After sample mark-up, lithological and geotechnical logging and photography, the core was split longitudinally in half using a water-cooled rotating diamond blade core saw. The cut core was replaced into the core tray with the half to be sampled facing upward. Based on previous experience at Bisie with high-density variability, specific gravity (SG) was performed exclusively on the half core that was to be sampled. The Archimedes method of weight in air vs weight in water was used on the whole length of the half core that was to be sampled and then replaced in the core trays.
Air-dried samples were placed in pre-numbered sample bags together with pre-printed numbered sample tickets, which were cross-checked afterwards to prevent sample swaps. Sample bags were sealed using a plastic cable tie and then placed into poly-weave sacks which were in turn sealed with plastic cable ties.
Each poly-weave sack was marked with a number and the sample numbers contained within, ready for delivery to the on-site Alphamin-Bisie laboratory for sample preparation.
At the laboratory, samples were first checked off against the submission list supplied and then weighed and oven-dried for 2 hours at 105 degrees Celsius. The dried samples were crushed by jaw crusher to 75% passing 2mm, from which a 250g riffle split was taken. This 250g split was pulverized in-ring mills to 90% passing 75μm from which a sample for analysis was taken. Samples were homogenized using a corner-to-corner methodology and two samples were taken from each pulp, one of 10g for on-site laboratory assaying and another 150g sample for export and independent accredited 3rd party laboratory assaying.
For the initial on-site laboratory assay, 10 grams of pulverized sample is mixed with 2 grams of binder before press pellet preparation at 20t/psi for 1 minute. Press pellets are analyzed in a desktop Spectro Xepos XRF analyzer, twelve at a time, for Sn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ag, Pb and As along with a standard, duplicate and blank.
The analytical method conducted on the pressed pellet has an expected 10% precision and an upper detection limit of 70,000ppm and a lower detection limit of 500ppm. Over-limit samples are titrated by wet chemistry with an upper limit validation of 70% Sn. The on-site laboratory assays are merely an exploration tool and were not used for reporting the exploration results, which are based solely on the ALS assays.
The 150g sample is packaged in sealed paper sample envelopes and packed in a box for export in batches of approximately 500 samples and prepared for export authorization with national authorities. Once authorization is received, samples are air-couriered to ALS Group in Johannesburg South Africa, a subsidiary of ALS Limited, which is an independent commercial analytical facility. ALS operations are ISO 9001:2015 certificated and the Johannesburg office is ISO 17025 accredited for Chemical Analysis by SANAS (South African National Accreditation System, facility number T087), although the accreditation does not extend to the methods used for tin.
Received samples at ALS Johannesburg are checked off against the list of samples supplied and logged in the system. Quality Control is performed in the way of sieve tests every 50 samples and should a sample fail, the preceding 50 samples are ground in a ring mill pulverizer using a carbon steel ring set to 85 % passing 75μm. Samples are analyzed for tin using method code ME-XRF05 conducted on a pressed pellet with 10% precision and an upper limit of 5,000ppm. The over-limit tin samples are analyzed as fused disks according to method ME-XRF15c, which makes use of pre-oxidation and decomposition by fusion with 12:22 lithium borate flux containing 20% Sodium Nitrate as an oxidizing agent, with an upper detection limit of 79% Sn.
Method code ME-ICP61 (HF, HNO3, HClO4 and HCl leach with ICP-AES finish) is used for 33 elements including base metals. ME-OG62, four-acid digestion, is used on ore grade samples for lead, zinc, copper and silver. Both methods are accredited by SANAS.
The program is designed to include a comprehensive analytical quality assurance and control routine comprising the systematic use of Company inserted standards, blanks and field duplicate samples, internal laboratory standards and analysis at an accredited laboratory. The pulps were accompanied by blind QAQC samples inserted into the sample stream by the Alphamin-Bisie geologists. These comprised blank samples, certified reference materials and pulp duplicates each at an insertion rate of approximately 5 per cent.
The QAQC results demonstrate that the assay results are both accurate and precise with an insignificant amount of contamination (in the order of 60pmm Sn on average) and negligible sampling errors.
Further verification work is in progress by additional check assays by SGS South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Alphamin Resources Corp is engaged in the business of production and sale of tin concentrate from the Bisie Tin mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Alphamin Resources Corp. (AFM) is trading at C$0.75 per share at 10 am ET.
