 AIM
and Frankfurt listings in 2005
Active
explorers and active deal-makers
46%+
significant Manganese resource discovery in Zambia
66%+
promising Iron Ore discovery in Western Australia
Other
Manganese, Iron, Gold and Uranium prospects await detailed
exploration
Red
Rock Resources PLC (AIM: RRR) is quoted on the Alternative
Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange Ltd in London,
and Frankfurt (R2T).
History
Red Rock Resources listing in July 2005 and is focused on
high grade manganese and iron ore: the 695 sq km Oakover
tenements in the East Pilbara Manganese Province in Western
Australia (WA), and 619 sq km of haematite and magnetite prospective
ground in WA and Tasmania including the Mt
Ida and Mt Alfred tenements.
RRR later acquired additional 2,227 sq km of tenements
in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. These contained
further iron ore mineralization and manganese targets, but
also significant uranium and gold occurrences on which previous
exploration had been carried out.
RRR in December 2005 extended its uranium portfolio to
include two significant licenses totaling 459 sq km in Malawi,
with a further license under application.
RRR in May 2006 acquired a license covering a significant
high grade manganese deposit in Mkushi, Zambia.
In August 2007 Red Rock completed a deal with Retail Star
Ltd (RSL) whereby it sold its Uranium portfolio to RSL,
an ASX listed Company. As a result Red Rock has the largest
single shareholding in RSL, and management control through
their appointment of a highly qualified Managing Director
and control of the board. More importantly RSL has Au$2m
in cash that will be used toward continuing exploration
on the properties, and so creating more shareholder value.
The company’s focus therefore is now back on manganese,
iron ore, and gold. The company is exploring the possibility
of enlarging and separately funding its gold portfolio,
in order to further concentrate its funds on moving to early
bulk production and sales of manganese.
Manganese
Over 90% of Manganese production goes into the manufacturing
of steel, and in this application there is no known substitute
for Manganese. High, or metallurgical, grade Manganese substantially
comes from three areas currently: Australia, now the number
1 producer, South Africa, and Gabon. Manganese demand is therefore
directly influenced by the industrial revolution affecting
China and India, some 40% of the world’s population,
and the growing demand for steel it has caused. India, a large
producer of iron ore, does not enjoy the same position in
metallurgical grade Manganese. The Manganese price, currently
just over $3.00 per unit (so c. $150 fob for 50% Manganese),
is expected to remain relatively stable while demand will
increase.
The company’s extensive tenements at Oakover
are north and north west of the Consolidated Minerals mine
at Woodie Woodie, now one of the major world producers of
metallurgical grade manganese, in what is currently the major
emerging province for incremental production. They surround
that company’s Ripon Hills manganese discoveries and
adjacent areas. Limited test work on the licenses has encountered
manganese grades generally in excess of 25% and sometimes
exceeding 50%. The company is the major tenement owner in
the area after Consolidated Minerals.
The first phase of the company’s exploration programme
at Chiwefwe in Zambia has established
an Indicated Resource of 2.36m tons of high grade Manganese
at c.46%+ grade on a 550m strike length with a further 6 km
of strike extension showing continuous mineralization. Further
exploration and drilling are under way to bring further resources
to Measured and Indicated status and test depth of mineralization,
and the company will then embark on feasibility and planning
with the objective of starting production in 2007.
The company’s aspiration is to become a significant
producer in world terms in both the short and the long term
and from more than one location.
Iron
Ore
The company’s iron ore projects in WA include two known
large high-grade occurrences of Banded Iron Formation (BIF)
in hills at Mt Ida, including a haematite
lens returning 66.64% iron and 0.05% phosphorus in surface
sampling. A joint venture and option agreement covering Mt
Ida and Mt Hope was entered into with
Jupiter
Mines Ltd in May 2006 in order to stimulate exploration
of the area and in June 2006 Jupiter announced drill results
with numerous good grade intersections including 29m at 63.3%
Fe at its neighbouring small Mt Mason tenement, which forms
a continuation of the Mt Ida trend. In August 2006 Jupiter
announced a massive haematite discovery grading over 66% Fe
on the Mt Ida tenement, and a planned drilling programme at
Mt Hope.
On 28th May 2007 Jupiter Mines Ltd exercised the option it
had to acquire full ownership of Mt Ida and Mt Hope for Au$250,000
cash, 4,617,178 Jupiter shares and a 1.5% royalty on production.
The nearby 201 sq km Mt Alfred tenement
has been retained by the company, is regarded as highly prospective,
and will be explored with a view to proving up high grade
direct shipping haematite deposits.
In Tasmania the extensive holdings consist of strike extensions
of the limited life Savage River magnetite mine, considered
prospective for further massive magnetite bodies.
Uranium
Uranium represents the only major long-term energy source
that can replace or compete with fossil fuels and that can
enable industrialized countries to meet their Kyoto obligations.
The long term prospects for uranium are strong, and there
is a need for a greater geographical diversity of source.
In August 2007 Red Rock signed a deal with Retail Star Ltd
(RSL) the company believes will create significant shareholder
value. In return for transferring all the Red Rock Uranium
licences to RSL, Red Rock received up to 29% of RSL’s
issued share capital, two seats on the board of directors,
which with the appointment of a Red Rock appointed Managing
Director, gives Red Rock board and management control.
Ian Scott was appointed as MD of RSL at the time of the deal.
Ian has spent his career working in the exploration and mining
of Uranium, he was previously chief geologist at Olympic Dam.
Ian’s experience and the Au$2m RSL has in cash will
be used to further explore Red Rock’s Uranium assets.
An exploration programme is now underway.
The company’s assets include uranium occurrences and
prospects at Chintheche and Machinga
in Malawi and at Woolgni, Celia,
and Marrakai in the prospective belts
of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Northern Territory
is the historic location for several uranium mines, but until
recently opposition to uranium mining by the Territory Government
was an obstacle to exploration. Malawi is the location of
a major uranium project, discovered by the Central Electricity
Generating Board of the U.K. and now being developed by Paladin
Resources of Australia.
Previous exploration by Uranerz at the company’s Mt
Alfred iron ore tenement in WA has also identified uranium.
Gold
At Oakover in WA, besides the Manganese,
numerous gold targets are known, with stream sediment samples
showing gold running at up to 591 ppb. Despite these highly
anomalous and encouraging results, and the presence nearby
to the east of the massive (30m oz +) Telfer mine, no drilling
has yet been carried out.
The Tasmanian licenses are also considered prospective
for gold.
The company is considering the possibility of acquiring
additional advanced gold assets and funding this separately
under the Red Rock umbrella in order to release funding
for
Manganese development.
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20/01/08
Red Rock announces
sampling grades up to 70.72% at Mt Alfred.
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click
here to view a sample map |
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07/12/06
"Investors
Chronicle" |
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tips Red Rock shares. |
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07/11/06
Red
Rock announces Final Results |
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7 Nov - Red Rock announces Final Results for year to 30th June
2006 and intention to fast track Zambian project
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09/08/06
Red
Rock Outlines 2m Tonnes of Manganese |
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Red Rock on 9th August announces an indicated resource of 2.36m
tonnes of manganese ore with a grade of over 46%
in its Chiwefwe deposit near Mkushi in Zambia. |
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03/08/06
Mt Ida Fe discovery
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Red Rock on 3rd August announces that JV partner, Jupiter Mines,
has made a “significant new iron discovery” of high
grade (66% Iron) Haematite at the recently merged
Mt Ida tenement Western Australia |
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03/08/06
Sunvest Corp
make investment |
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Red Rock on 3rd August announces the completion of a placement
at 2p per share. Sunvest Corporation Ltd, the Australian
quoted natural resource investor have increased
their holdings in Red Rock to 5.5%. |
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23/05/06
Red Rock partners
with Jupiter Mines |
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Red Rock on 23rd May announces it is granting options in
share-plus-cash-plus-royalty deals over two of its
iron ore licences in Western Australia to ASX–listed
Jupiter Mines. Jupiter is committed to spending
A$250k in a 12 month period on exploration. |
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