Press release from Companies
Published: 2020-09-17 08:00:00
17 September 2020 Beowulf Mining plc ("Beowulf" or the "Company") Kallak Products – Market Leading Potential Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), the mineral exploration and development company, announces the findings of an expert market assessment by Dr. Bo Arvidson, which investigated the market potential of future products from the Kallak North ("Kallak") deposit, based on the results of laboratory and pilot plant testwork conducted to date. Highlights: Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented: "The Kallak deposit is unique considering the quality of the magnetite concentrate it can produce. Beowulf has been stating this since 2015 and, with Dr. Arvidson’s latest assessment, significant knowledge of the iron ore market and the testwork completed on Kallak ore, he has validated Kallak’s market leading attributes. "Sweden wants to be a leader in sustainable mining and a Green Transition. When considering Kallak’s magnetite concentrate, you have a product that ‘ticks all the boxes’, that can increase energy efficiency, reduce the carbon footprint of traditional steel manufacturing, minimize waste and the impact of waste disposal. "Recently, the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, together with Isabella Lövin, Minister for Environment and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister, started up the HYBRIT plant. HYBRIT is a joint initiative between the steel manufacturer SSAB, the mining company LKAB and the energy company Vattenfall. The purpose of the collaboration is to develop the world's first fossil-free ore-based steelmaking process. "The Prime Minister spoke of the historic opportunity to do things that provide jobs here and now – but also hasten the climate transition that everyone realises is necessary. "Sweden’s ambition is for fossil-free steel production and to do that you need high-quality feedstock. It is potentially an important tool in the Swedish Government’s ambition to make Green Transition part of its efforts to restart the Swedish economy after the COVID-19 crisis. That’s where Beowulf believes Kallak fits in to the ‘big picture’, bringing much need investment and hundreds of jobs to Jokkmokk and Norrbotten. "Benchmark iron ore prices climbed to around $130 a dry metric tonne in late August, the highest level since 2014, and with prices set to remain strong for the remainder of the year, now is the time to be giving the ‘green light’ to Kallak." 2015 - Metallurgical testwork The impetus for the 2015 programme was the belief that even higher grade magnetite concentrate could be produced through the application of reverse flotation, and that the results would prove the suitability of the Kallak North magnetite concentrate for use in Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") facilities and as chemical grade raw material. Kallak North has three main ore types, classified as follows: 1. 'Blue' ore - magnetite rich; 2. 'Green' ore - magnetite rich with hematite; and 3. 'Red' ore - hematite rich. The work at GTK applied reverse flotation on two of the three ore types, Blue and Green. Flotation of the magnetite portion of the Red ore type will be done at a later stage. Head assays for the samples used were performed using X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") analysis for Green, Blue and Red samples. The main elements of interest are shown below: This assay work was carried out by Labtium, who have a geo-analytical laboratory in Outokumpu City and are accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 by FINAS (Finnish accreditation service). Concentrate product results: The table below shows detailed product specifications for concentrates produced in 2015, and in italics the results from the previous, initial, programme in 2014: Key: Fe - Iron, SiO2- Silica, S - Sulphur, CaO - Calcium Oxide,Al2O3- Alumina, TiO2- Titanium Dioxide, K2O - Potassium Oxide, P2O5- Phosphate, MnO - Manganese Oxide. About Kallak The Kallak iron ore deposit is located approximately 40 kilometres ("km") west of Jokkmokk in the County of Norrbotten, Northern Sweden, 80 km southwest of the major iron ore mining centre of Malmberget, and approximately 120 km to the southwest of LKAB’s Kiruna iron ore mine. The first Exploration Licence for Kallak was awarded by the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden in 2006. A Mineral Resource Estimate for Kallak North and South, based on 27,895 m of drilling conducted between 2010-2014, 131 drillholes, was finalised on 28 November 2014. Following the guidelines of the JORC Code, 2012 edition, an Indicated Resource of 118.5 Mt at 27.5 per cent iron content ("Fe") and an Inferred Resource of 33.8 Mt at 26.2 per cent Fe was defined. In addition, there is an exploration target of 90-100 Mt at 22-30 per cent Fe. Testwork on Kallak ore has shown that an exceptionally high-grade magnetite concentrate can be produced, yielding over 71 per cent iron content, with low levels of deleterious elements, including phosphorous and sulphur, lending itself to pelletisation and consumption in Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") facilities in Europe and the Middle East, and attracting a potential price premium. In April 2013, the Company applied for an Exploitation Concession for Kallak North (the "Concession") and in October 2015, the Mining Inspectorate recommended to the Swedish Government that the Concession be awarded. The Company is still waiting on the Swedish Government to take a decision. Kallak - 'Big Picture' Qualified Person Review: Dr. Arvidson, MSc Mining/Mineral Processing, PhD Mineral Processing (equivalent), both read at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules. Dr. Arvidson has over 50 years relevant experience in the minerals industry, and has developed over 80 new applications within the industrial minerals and iron ore areas. Dr. Arvidson has visited the Kallak site and supervised laboratory and pilot plant testing of samples extracted from trenches on the site. References: Arvidson, B. (2020). BO ARVIDSON’S IRON ORE AND DRY MINERAL PROCESSING. Lakewood, CO 80228, USA: Bo Arvidson Consulting LLC. Waldon, D. (2015). CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS. Lakefield, Ontario, Canada: SGS Canada Inc. Enquiries: Cautionary Statement Statements and assumptions made in this document with respect to the Company's current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might", "seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions. These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions in light of currently available information. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to , (i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to the geological information available in respect of the various projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern; (iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral project at an early stage of its development, the actual results could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to immediately update any such statements and/or fore
Element
Green
Blue
Red
Fe %
31.9
36.5
37.9
SiO2 %
47.7
40.6
40.8
Al2O3 %
2.92
2.41
1.84
CaO %
1.2
2.51
1.05
MgO %
2.37
2.58
2.59
P2O5 %
0.068
0.096
0.081
MnO %
0.229
0.51
0.296
Fe%
SiO2%
S%
CaO%
MgO%
Al2O3%
TiO2%
Na2O%
K2O%
P2O5%
MnO%
Magnetite (SGS certified,2015)
71.5
0.62
<0.01
0.03
0.03
0.10
<0.01
<0.01
0.01
<0.01
0.48
Magnetite (GTK,2014)
69+
3.9
0.003
0.109
0.11
0.24
0.010
0.03
0.19
0.009
0.444
Hematite (GTK,2015)
68.3
2.03
0.005
0.15
0.25
0.20
0.26
0.02
0.019
0.04
0.023
Hematite (GTK,2014)
65.8
4.1
0.018
0.54
0.50
0.43
0.449
0.05
0.03
0.093
0.183
Beowulf Mining plc
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3771 6993
SP Angel(Nominated Adviser & Broker)
Ewan Leggat / Soltan Tagiev
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Blytheweigh
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204