Phase 1 Motzfeldt Test Work Completed

Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA), the gold and critical raw materials focused exploration and development company, is pleased to confirm the successful completion of the first stage of the commissioned mineralogical and scoping test work on the Rare Earth ("REE"), Niobium ("Nb"), Tantalum ("Ta") and Zirconium (Zr) mineralisation at the Aries Deposit, part of the Motzfeldt Critical Metals Project in south Greenland.

Highlights

• First phase of mineralogical and scoping test work has confirmed the minerals which host the critical metals at the Aries deposit area.
• All the confirmed mineral species have established global extractive pathways, a key advantage for Motzfeldt.
• The next test work phases will assess the most appropriate separation techniques for concentrating the key critical minerals.

Details

100kg was taken from a ~350 kg crushed representative bulk sample of surface rocks from the JORC resource estimate area at Aries. This sample was milled to ~1000 μm, with a representative 5 kg subsample taken and screened into 3 size fractions which were subsequently analysed by a combination of bulk techniques and state-of-the-art QEMSCAN analysis to fully characterise the mineralogy of the sample without bias.

This analysis has provided third party verification that the following minerals host the critical metals at Aries: pyrochlore, columbite (Nb, Ta, REE) bastnäsite, parisite, monazite, xenotime (REE) and zircon (Zr) in the sample, supporting our mineralisation model. These mineral species all have established extractive industries globally, highlighting a key advantage of the Motzfeldt project.

The next test work phases will assess the efficacy of separation techniques (gravitational and magnetic) on splitting the target minerals from gangue (or waste material) phases. This process will be key in identifying the most appropriate techniques for concentrating the key critical minerals before further processing. More updates will be issued upon the completion of this next phase of work.

Company Comment

Dr Curtis Rooks, Alba's Principal Geologist, commented:

"This test work programme represents the most advanced mineralogical study completed in the history of the Motzfeldt project, giving us the most thorough characterisation of Aries mineralisation to date. The results of this and subsequent phases of work will be vital in building industrial pathways from raw material to critical mineral products for Motzfeldt and in connecting the project to global supply chains."