Operational and Strategic Update on
Bluejay's Finland Projects &
Positive Visual Indications from Drilling at
the Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Au-Ag Project
All projects are held by Bluejay's 100% owned subsidiaries,
Highlights
· Geochemical assay results from Phase 1 of recent diamond drilling programme at Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Au-Ag Project are expected shortly. A short programme of follow up drilling is due to commence
o All seven Phase 1 drill holes intersected broad zones of disseminated to semi-massive sulphide mineralisation corresponding to the E-lode orebody, some of which exceeded 10 metres ('m') in width.
· Bluejay and Rio Tinto have concluded their Joint Venture Agreement and Earn-in Agreement ('JV') on the
o Drilling of up to 1,500m planned in late 2023 to test the Makkola, Hälvalä and Kiislampi targets (subject to availability of funding and drilling contractor).
· Detailed ground gravity and airborne magnetic surveys planned for the Outokumpu Cu-Zn-Ni-Co-Ag-Au Project to progress the high-priority Haapovaara target (subject to availability of funding).
o Haapovaara is located only a few kilometres ('km') along strike, to the North East, of
o Bluejay recently increased its licence areas and is now the largest landholder on the highly prospective Outokumpu belt, that hosts three past producing high-grade, polymetallic mines.
· Divestment of the Company's non-core Finnish projects is progressing with the first day of trading of
Executive Chairman of
"Bluejay remains convinced that our portfolio of base metal projects in Greenland and Finland present commercial opportunities to generate value well in excess of outlay. As we have previously stated, we have been keen to advance our Finnish exploration portfolio in 2023 as we believe that the opportunities merit expenditure due to the geological opportunity combined with the relative ease and low cost of execution. Bluejay's exploration activities in Finland are supported by our in-country exploration office, core storage and logging facilities located in the town of Outokumpu.
"Firstly, the Strategic Review (see Bluejay press release dated:
"Secondly, Bluejay will retain its 100% interest in the 15 km long Enonkoski Belt post the conclusion of the RTX JV agreement. Like Hammaslahti, the licence area hosts former producing mines as well as high ranking targets which we aim to pursue, subject to availability of funding. Quite a significant body of work was completed under the JV including diamond drilling, top of bedrock diamond drilling, extensive geophysical surveys and a significant amount of analyses, measurements and relogging of historic drill core that highlights several mafic-ultramafic intrusions within the belt. Of highest priority to Bluejay is the Makkola intrusion which is located close to the former Hälvälä
"Thirdly, the
Drilling planned (subject to availability of funding)
On
The JV has enabled Bluejay to significantly advance the
The highest priority target is the Makkola intrusion (see 'E' in Figure 2), which is located close to the Hälvälä
At Kiislampi (see 'G' in Figure 2), recent 3D inversion of historic ground gravity data has identified a highly anomalous zone of high density that warrants drill testing. A shallow historical drillhole, M421102R350, drilled by the
Bluejay intends carry out a drill programme of up to 1,500 m testing the Makkola, Hälvalä near-mine and Kiislampi targets in late 2023 to (subject to availability of funding and drilling contractor). Alongside these activities, we will be assessing strategies for the Project going forward for the best outcome for our shareholders.
Figure 1.
Figure 2. Map of the Enonkoski Belt showing Bluejay's Licence areas, drill holes drilled during the JV Agreement with Rio Tinto, confirmed mafic-ultramafic intrusions, high priority target areas and the Laukunkangas Mining Lease.
Figure 3. Map of the Enonkoski Belt showing Bluejay's Licence areas as blue polygons and the location of the geophysical survey conducted during the JV Agreement with Rio Tinto.
Figure 4. Belt-scale target ranking based on explorability and technical evidence and prioritisation for the
Highlights of exploration completed at Enonkoski under the JV with Rio Tinto:
· Total exploration expenditures by Rio Tinto totalled US$ 4.65 million over a 32-month period. FinnAust were the operator under the JV and received a management fee for these services.
· 9,667 m of diamond drilling for a total of 29 new drill holes and extensions of 2 historic drill holes. The diamond drilling carried out during the JV was focussed on the Laukunlampi, Laukunsuo, Muhelampi and Tevanjoki near-mine target areas (see 'A' and 'C' in Figure 2), all surrounding the former
· Rio Tinto's primary interest from start of the JV was on the targets previously identified by Bluejay immediately outside the Laukunkangas Mining Lease. All diamond drill holes drilled during the JV were within a maximum distance of 1.3 km from the Mining Lease and most drill holes are only a few hundred metres away from the Mining Lease boundary. Much of the >15 km long Enonkoski Belt remains largely untested by drilling (see Figure 2).
· Re-logging and sampling historical drill cores drilled by the Finnish state mining company,
· 160 ToB diamond drill holes for a total of 1,633.5 m of drilling over 7 targets.
· 161.5 line-kilometres ('line-km') of ground magnetics over 2 targets (see Figure 3).
· 2018 line-km of three component ('3C') UAV magnetics surveys, covering 50.2 sq km (see Figure 3).
· A 747-station ground gravity survey, covering a 2 sq km area at the Makkola-Hälvälä target (see Figure 3).
· Downhole electromagnetic ('DHEM') surveys were completed on a total of more than 50 drillholes for a total of >22,000m including measurements of both historic and new drill holes with several loop configurations.
· 2.5D airborne electromagnetic inversion processing completed on 1,055 line-km of HeliTEM data by Intrepid Geophysics.
· Geological, geophysical and geochemical modelling (Leapfrog Geo/Edge, ioGAS).
· Lithogeochemical and petrological studies by consultant geologist, Dr Hannu Makkonen.
· Prospectivity analysis and ranking of all known intrusions.
· Geological mapping and outcrop sampling.
· LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) scanning of selected drill core.
Figure 5. Belt-scale target ranking and prioritisation for the
Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Au-Ag Project:
Drill Programme Successfully Completed
Bluejay is pleased to share the preliminary results from the first exploration programme of 2023 at the Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Au-Ag Project ('Hammaslahti') in eastern Finland. Bluejay's most recent fund raise of
· During Phase 1, seven diamond drill holes (see Figure 7) for a total of 1,935.7 m were completed at Hammaslahti during May-June, targeting extensions of the E-lode mineralisation discovered by the Company during previous exploration drilling testing favourable geological contacts close to the historic Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Au-Ag Mine (see Figure 6).
· Encouragingly all seven drill holes intersected sulphide mineralisation corresponding to the E-lode orebody. Mineralised zones of disseminated to semi-massive sulphide (pyrrhotite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, with subordinate galena and pyrite), some of which are in excess of 10 m width, have been intersected. Systematic measurements using a handheld pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence) instrument confirm the presence of anomalous copper, zinc and lead within the mineralised intervals. Mineralisation is associated with strong sericite, carbonate and tremolite alteration and silicification.
· Selected drill core samples from the mineralised zones have been submitted for geochemical analysis at
· Prospect of a further short drill programme to be carried out in August, followed by 3D resource modelling of the E-lode once all assay results have been received with a view to developing a maiden MRE for the E-lode as well as the down-plunge extensions to previously mined ore-lodes that were drilled by the Company in earlier drilling campaigns.
· The Project has the potential to provide meaningful value to shareholders in a short timeframe.
The Phase 1 programme undertaken in May-
All historic ore bodies are located close to the same contact between black schist and strongly hydrothermally altered rocks, but the E-lode is so far the only significant mineralisation found east of the former mine on the other side of a large fold structure. No drilling targeting possible structural repetitions of the E-lode have so far been conducted, providing significant further potential to the Project.
Two distinct gravity anomalies north-northeast of the E-lode, within FinnAust's Exploration Licence areas, will be tested by shallow drilling during the next phase of drilling, these anomalies could represent near surface parts of previously unidentified sulphide mineralisation close to the E-lode mineralisation. The gravity anomalies are furthermore located in a favourable structural position within a hinge zone interpreted from airborne magnetics, considered by the Company to significantly increase the prospectivity of these targets.
The Company will now finalise the geochemical analysis of selected mineralised intervals from the seven holes drilled during Phase 1 of the Hammaslahti drill programme, followed by detailed 3D modelling and interpretation once the assay results have been received. Follow up drilling has been planned to commence early August.
Commenting on the results of the recent drilling programme at Hammaslahti,
Thomas Levin, Chief Operating Officer of Bluejay subsidiary
"The E-lode mineralisation that was discovered by the Company during a near-mine drilling campaign almost a decade ago has since then been a drill ready exploration target, and I am delighted to report that the first phase of the follow up drilling has now been successfully completed.
"The majority of the assay results are still pending, but visually we have been able to confirm extensions of the E-lode copper-zinc ± gold-silver-lead sulphide mineralisation within the new drill core. The visual observations have also been confirmed by data from pXRF measurements. All seven new drill holes intersected the mineralisation, with five out of seven drill holes showing anomalous sulphide content over intervals in excess of 10 m. The accuracy of the depths at which we intersected the E-lode, relative to the expected depths validates that our geological model for the E-lode is robust - an important step as we move towards undertaking a maiden MRE.
"The conducted infill drilling focused on up-dip and down-dip extensions of the mineralisation, with the aim to get a better understanding of the volume and grades of the E-lode. Previous drilling targeting the E-lode consisted mainly of single drill holes on sections 50-100 m apart, with most of these historic drill holes also intersecting mineralisation. Future drilling will focus on the possible down plunge and up plunge extensions, as well as possible structural repetitions of the E-lode.
"Two distinct gravity anomalies have been identified close to a fold closure along strike from the historic mine and the E-lode, and these targets are of very high priority for future drilling since they might represent shallow parts of previously unknown areas of mineralisation.
"I am also delighted to report that we have a drill rig secured for follow up drilling in August. Several highly interesting target areas have been identified further east of the historic
Figure 6. Hammaslahti Cu-Zn-Ag-Au Project permit areas, as of
Figure 7. Oblique long section looking west northwest. The mined Hammaslahti ore lodes (named S-, N- and Z-lodes) all remain open down plunge. In 2014, Bluejay discovered a new ore lode (E-lode) to the east of the former mine. The completed Phase 1 drill programme focussed on testing both the up and down dip and up plunge extensions to the E-lode. The red grade shells show mineralisation exceeding 1% copper-equivalent ('CuEq'), much of which was mined by
Figure 8. Photos of the E-lode sulphide mineralisation from drill hole HAM0001 (left) and HAM0005 (right).
Figure 9. Close-up photo of the E-lode sulphide mineralisation from drill hole HAM0001 at 191.6 m, showing pyrrhotite and sphalerite with minor chalcopyrite with strong actinolite alteration and silicification.
Bluejay owns 100% of the
The Company's exploration efforts have so far mostly focused on brownfields targets in the near-mine area, with only minor exploration conducted elsewhere on the belt to date. Drilling by FinnAust has confirmed that all previously mined ore lodes at Hammaslahti (namely, the Z-, N- and S-lodes) remain open down plunge to the South and has also resulted in the discovery of a new ore lode, the E-lode in 2014. The E-lode discovery hole (Hole ID: M424114-R325) returned 8.65 m grading 2.2% Cu, 2.0% Zn, 0.5 % Pb, 47.5 g/t Ag, and 0.5 g/t Au, including 5.60 m grading 3.2% Cu, 3.2% Zn, 81.1 g/t Ag, and 0.9 g/t Au hosted in semi-massive to massive sulphides (see FinnAust Mining press release dated:
Figure 10. Bluejay's licence areas in the southern part of the Hammaslahti Belt, showing historical highest-grade float and outcrops samples with underlying airborne regional magnetics. Bluejay's geologists are currently carrying out fieldwork in these areas to follow up on these occurrences.
Outokumpu Cu-Zn-Ni-Co-Ag-Au Project:
Ground Gravity and Airborne Magnetic Surveys Planned
Bluejay plans to undertake detailed ground gravity and 3C UAV magnetics surveys over the high-priority Haapovaara target Belt (subject to availability of funding) at its Outokumpu Cu-Zn-Ni-Co-Ag-Au Project (see Figure 12). The planned gravity survey will comprise of approximately 600 stations, covering an area of 12 sq km. The 3C UAV magnetic survey will cover the same area. Haapovaara is located immediately along strike, to the NE, of the
Both the Kylylahti deposit and Bluejay's Haapovaara target are coincident with two gravity highs in existing regional gravity data. Whilst the two gravity highs over Haapovaara are weaker, this likely reflects a difference the thickness of the overlying overburden as the area is covered by glacial till. Despite its proximity to the
Figure 11. Outokumpu Cu-Zn-Ni-Co-Ag-Au Project permit areas, as of
Figure 12. Map of the Haapovaara area, in the northern part of the Outokumpu Belt, showing the extent of the planned ground gravity (blue polygon) and 3C UAV magnetic (black polygon) surveys. Background image is regional gravity. The recently operating
About the Outokumpu Cu-Zn-Ni-Co-Ag-Au Project
Bluejay, through its subsidiary, FinnAust, is the largest licence holder on the over 40 km long Outokumpu Belt. Earlier this year, Bluejay further increased its licence area (see Bluejay press release dated:
The metal basket that the unique Outokumpu-type ore provides is a compelling exploration target in the context of increasing demand for base metals related to the battery industrial ecosystems, electrification and the green transition including copper, cobalt, and nickel. Cobalt grades present at Outokumpu underscore the importance of the Outokumpu Belt as a secure and sustainable domestic supply of cobalt for European markets.
Black Schist Projects:
Update on the divestment of projects to
In
Metals One is advancing a suite of battery metal projects at brownfields sites in Finland and Norway. The consideration for the divestment has recently been increased to
Upon listing, Bluejay's COO, Thomas Levin, will be appointed as Non-Executive Director to the board of Metals One. Bluejay will also support Metals One with the execution of initial exploration programmes on the
The expected first day of trading of Metals One on the AIM is
About the (Paltamo and Rautavaara) Black Schist Projects
The Black Schist projects, currently held by
The Black Schists projects have demonstrated exploration potential with significant mineralisation already identified at both R1 at Rautavaara and P5 at Paltamo. An inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 28.1 Mt at a grade of 0.19% Ni, 0.10% Cu, 0.01% Co and 0.38% Zn has been estimated at the
Comments on
The historic mines and deposits discussed in this news release provide context for Bluejay's portfolio of exploration projects in Finland, which occur in similar geologic settings, but this is not necessarily indicative that the projects host similar quantities, grades, or styles of mineralisation.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the
For further information please visit http://www.bluejaymining.com or contact:
Kevin Sheil |
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Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl |
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+44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray |
BlytheRay |
+44 (0) 20 7138 3205 |
About
Bluejay is listed on the London AIM market and
Bluejay, through its wholly owned subsidiary
In Finland, Bluejay currently holds three large scale multi-metal projects through its wholly owned subsidiary