European Metals announces upgraded resource at Cinovec

European Metals announced the final drill results and an upgraded mineral resource estimate for the lithium and tin resources in the Cinovec Lithium-Tin deposit in the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm recently completed a drilling campaign at Cinovec South, comprising 22 diamond drill core holes totalling 6,622 metres, with the goal of increasing resource certainty in the existing resource model in and around the initial planned mining areas and upgrading part of the resource from the indicated category to the higher confidence measured category.

It said 53.3 million tonnes was reclassified into the measured resource category, grading 0.47% lithium oxide and 0.08% tin.

A total of 28.5 million tonnes of inferred resource was upgraded to the indicated resource category, meanwhile.

The measured and indicated resource increased to 413.4 million tonnes at 0.47% lithium oxide and 0.05%tin, from 372.4 million tonnes, while the total measured, indicated and inferred resources increased by 12.3 million tonnes to 708.2 million tonnes at 0.43% lithium oxide and 0.05% tin.

Overall resources now stood at 7.39 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

Analysis for the final 10 diamond core holes in the Geomet drilling programme, meanwhile, included 101.7 metres averaging 0.59% lithium oxide, including 11.35 metres 0.85% lithium oxide at hole CIS-16.

On hole CIS-32, the drilling returned 61 metres averaging 0.66% lithium oxide and 0.17% tin, including 30.5 metres at 0.30% tin.

Hole CIS-33 returned 113.3 metres averaging 0.54% lithium oxide, including 14.7 metres at 0.60% lithium oxide, and hole CIS-34 returned 111.4 metres averaging 0.54% lithium oxide and 0.13% tin, including 21.15 metres at 0.71% lithium oxide and 0.57% tin.

“The primary stated aim of this drilling program was to convert a larger portion of the resource to the measured category to provide greater certainty of the financial model and security to financiers,” said executive chairman Keith Coughlan.

“The results clearly indicate that the program has been successful and the robustness and consistency of the Cinovec resource further demonstrated.

“As we move closer to ultimate financing and offtake discussions, this higher degree of certainty provides more funding options for the project.”

Coughlan said results from the final drill holes of the programme had been in line with, or better than, expected.

“As we have reported previously, because zinnwaldite is paramagnetic, wet magnetic separation, the first stage of the ore processing has the effect of greatly increasing the grade of lithium oxide in the concentrate to approximately 2.85%.

“The zinnwaldite concentrate produced from Cinovec requires only roasting, compared to the calcination and roasting required of processing spodumene.

“This not only improves the economics, it will also have the effect of considerably reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the Project when compared to spodumene projects.”

At 1628 BST, shares in European Metals Holdings were up 4.41% at 71p.