3 June
2024
Beowulf Mining Plc
("Beowulf" or the
"Company")
Gállok/ Kallak Iron Ore Project
Update
Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO)
and its wholly owned Swedish subsidiary Jokkmokk Iron Mines AB
("Jokkmokk Iron") are pleased to provide an update on the Gállok or
Kallak Iron Ore project ("Gállok" or "the project").
Highlights
Stakeholder interaction
·
Positive engagement with delegation from UNESCO
("United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization") to discuss the development of Gállok in the context
of the Laponia World Heritage Site
·
Initiation of meetings with local stakeholders
including landowners and Sami villages focused on developing
collaborative approach to future activity
Environmental workstreams
·
Hydrogeology test-work initiated with ramp-up in
activity in coming weeks
·
Continuation of baseline studies including bird
surveys, water sampling and noise monitoring
Technical activity
·
Metallurgical test-work nearing
completion
·
Open pit geotechnical field work completed with
laboratory analysis underway
·
In-fill drilling planned for summer period
primarily to upgrade Inferred resource to Measured and Indicated
category
·
Trade-off study on location of tailings management
facility ("TMF") completed with initial TMF design work
underway
·
Logistics and transport study initiated with
initial trade-off nearing completion
Permitting
·
Preparations are underway for the Environmental
Impact Assessment ("EIA") and environmental permit
application
·
While no specific timelines have been given, the
decision from the Supreme Administrative Court is anticipated
within the coming weeks
Ed
Bowie, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf,
commented:
"Last week, I had the privilege of meeting the UNESCO
delegation on three separate occasions, at our office in Jokkmokk,
in the stunning Laponia World Heritage Site and finally in
Stockholm. We enjoyed a robust discussion and appreciate the advice
imparted by the delegation on their expectations with respect to
delivering a meaningful World Heritage Impact Assessment. We look
forward to incorporating this advice as we work with the Cultural
Heritage Board and other key stakeholders.
"Dmytro has had a busy first month with activity at Gállok
ramping up significantly across many disciplines. Of critical
importance to the future development of the project is building a
transparent and trusting relationship with local stakeholders.
Dmytro, with the support of our lead consultant for Reindeer
Analysis and consultation with local stakeholders, has held a
number of positive meetings with landowners and the Jåhkågaska
tjiellde Sami village. Further meetings, including with the other
Sami villages, are planned.
"With a series of work-streams nearing completion, we look
forward to updating the market over the coming
months."
Dmytro Siergieiev, Project Director of Jokkmokk Iron,
commented:
"It has been a pleasure to meet a number of key local
stakeholders over the course of the month. We have a range of
activities, ongoing and being planned for the summer months, and I
have appreciated the opportunity to explain our plans to the
affected landowners and the Jåhkågaska tjiellde Sami
village.
"It is an exciting time for the project but critical that we
engage with our stakeholders and build local support for
Gállok."
Stakeholder interaction
A delegation representing UNESCO
World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments
and Sites) and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of
Nature) undertook a "Reactive Monitoring Mission" to Laponia World
Heritage Site between May 27th and 31st,
2024. Their objective, as set out in Decision 45 COM 7B.32
https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/8306,
was "to ascertain the present
condition of the property, the nature and extent of the threats to
the property, to provide guidance on the IDIA (In-Depth Impact
Assessment) revision process including the efficacy of the criteria
defined for the evaluation of potential impacts of the proposed
mining and ancillary activities, and to propose measures to
facilitate the conservation of attributes which support the OUV
(Outstanding Universal Values) of the property." The
delegation was hosted for the week by two representatives of
Riksantikvarieämbetet ("RAA" or the "Cultural Heritage Board") and
a representative of the Naturvårdsverket (the Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency or "EPA").
At the request of the Company, we
held a series of meetings with the delegation. On 27 May 2024, the
delegation visited the Jokkmokk Iron office in the town of Jokkmokk
where the team presented the project, its development status,
importance in the context of decarbonising the steel industry and
our planned activities including Reindeer Analysis and World
Heritage Impact Assessment.
On Tuesday 28 May 2024, Ed Bowie
accompanied Anders Forsgren, the Company's lead consultant
responsible for consultation with the Sami, and undertaking the
Reindeer Analysis and World Heritage Impact Assessment. Anders has
spent many years working with environmental permitting processes
and reindeer herding analysis and was previously Chair of Svemin's
(the Swedish Association of Mines, Mineral and Metal Producers)
working group for Reindeer Herding and Biodiversity and a member of
the ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals) working group
for Indigenous People and Biodiversity.
Finally, the Company was supported
by Svemin at a meeting in Stockholm on 31 May 2024. Svemin provided
the delegation with a thorough overview of the Swedish mining
sector and their role in supporting the industry and in particular
in the development of industry-wide policies and guidelines
including in relation to reindeer herding.
The Company looks forward to working
with the RAA and other stakeholders including the Site Management
of Laponia, the EPA and Svemin in developing the World Heritage
Impact Assessment. There will be significant overlap with the
Company's ongoing environmental and social impact assessment
activity including reindeer herding analysis.
In addition to the UNESCO related
engagement, Dmytro and Anders had a kick-off meeting with
representatives of Jåhkågaska tjiellde, the Sami village in which
the Gállok project is situated, to discuss working collaboratively
in completing the reindeer analysis. Follow-up meetings are planned
as well as meetings with the Sirges and Tuorpon Sami
villages.
In a further positive development
since joining the Company at the beginning of May, Dmytro has held
meetings with a number of the landowners in the Gállok area to
discuss the proposed activities over the coming months. While not
all landowners are supportive of the development of Gállok, most
appreciated the direct contact from the Company and the opportunity
to discuss the plans first-hand.
Environmental workstreams
Hydrogeology test-work on boreholes
drilled during 2023 was initiated during the month with further
test-work planned during June. Data generated from this test-work,
which includes pump testing, will be used to model the likely
impacts of developing the open pit and allow water balance and
related impacts to be assessed.
Technical activity
Metallurgical test-work, based on
samples selected in late 2023 from historic drill core and trial
mining material, is nearing completion. Comminution, magnetic
separation and flotation test-work has been completed with the
preliminary results being in line with expectations. Final results
are expected over the coming weeks.
Geotechnical logging of drill core
has been completed by SLR Consulting, lead consultants for the
Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"), supported by the Company's
geologists. Samples have also been selected for a range of
geotechnical tests. The objective of this test work is to determine
the likely rock conditions within the planned open pit and enable
pit slopes and ultimately mine plans to be developed.
The Company has submitted a work
plan, which has been approved by Länsstyrelsen i Norrbotten (the
"Norrbotten County Administrative Board" or "CAB"), to undertake
some limited in-fill drilling. This drilling is planned for the
coming months and has the objective of converting Inferred
resources into Measured and Indicated categories. Inferred
resources accounted for 14% of the total mined material in the
January 2023 Scoping Study mine plan. However, at PFS stage only
Measured and Indicated Resources can be converted into reserves and
included in the mine plan. Inferred resources would therefore be
treated as waste.
The Company has completed a review
of a range of possible locations for the TMF including desk-top and
field assessments of potential impacts on the natural attributes,
communities and reindeer herding as well as technical and economic
analyses. This multi-faceted review has confirmed that the
preferred site is the same general location as the Scoping Study
TMF, and initial design work following international best practice
and the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management (GISTM) is
underway with geotechnical investigation planned for later in the
summer.
The Company has also been reviewing
and updating the logistics and transportation work previously
completed as part of the Scoping Study. The initial trade-off study
is nearing completion. Plans to upgrade and expand port and rail
facilities in the north of Sweden are currently under review,
driven partly by Sweden joining NATO. The Company therefore plans
to maintain a flexible approach to its ultimate infrastructure
solutions.
Permitting
The appeal against the Government's
initial awarding of the Exploitation Concession for Gállok remains
ongoing. The Supreme Administrative Court has not provided any
timeframe in which it will deliver its verdict in the case although
the Company's expectation, based on third-party advice, is that
this will be before the end of June.
Preparations for the EIA and
environmental permit application are well under way. The formal
consultation process with stakeholders is a vital part of the EIA
process, as it helps to identify and mitigate any potential
environmental and social concerns associated with the project. The
Company is ramping up these efforts and working closely with
Bergab, who is responsible for drafting the EIA, to reflect a
proactive approach to environmental stewardship and community
engagement.
Enquiries:
Beowulf Mining
plc
|
|
Ed Bowie, Chief Executive Officer
|
ed.bowie@beowulfmining.com
|
|
|
SP
Angel
|
|
(Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker)
|
|
Ewan Leggat / Stuart Gledhill / Adam
Cowl
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
|
|
|
Alternative
Resource Capital
|
|
(Joint Broker)
|
|
Alex Wood
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9004
|
|
|
BlytheRay
|
|
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
|
About Beowulf Mining plc
Beowulf Mining is a mining company
with main activities in exploration and development in Sweden,
Finland, and Kosovo. Beowulf's portfolio is diversified by
commodity, geography, and stage of development of the projects, and
consists primarily of iron ore, graphite, gold, and base metals.
Beowulf Mining is headquartered in London, England.
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 forecast.