9 April 2024
Savannah Resources
Plc
(AIM: SAV, FWB: SAV and SWB:
SAV) ('Savannah', or the
'Company')
Project
Update
Milestone reached on land
acquisitions and update on other activities
Savannah Resources Plc, the
developer of the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project') in
Portugal, Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit, is pleased to
provide an update on a number of workstreams as it continues to
advance the Project.
Land acquisition:
·
With the recent purchase of three additional
plots, Savannah has now reached the milestone of 100 plots
purchased for the Project from local landowners.
·
In the ongoing civil action brought by the
Management Commission of the Covas do Barroso Baldios (the 'Baldios
Commission') against certain private landowners in respect of land
packages which they sold to Savannah, the court dismissed the
request made by the Baldios Commission for Savannah to suspend its
work on the land packages concerned while the case
continues.
Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS'):
·
Drilling: As of 4 April, Savannah has completed a
total of 5,508m of reverse circulation and diamond drilling across
60 holes in the first of the two phases planned in the current
programme. Processing and assaying of the diamond core continues
and further results will be released in due course, once
received.
·
Resource updates: The Company expects to publish
the first of its new JORC Resource estimates, on the NOA orebody,
later this month.
·
Process Plant: Work on the preliminary layout of
the plant is nearing completion, with work continuing on the filter
pad and grinding/Dense Media Separation areas. Detailed layout
development has advanced in most areas.
·
Topography: A LiDAR (light detection and ranging)
survey has been initiated to produce a detailed 3D terrain model to
aid in final infrastructure planning.
Environmental Licencing:
·
Environmental: Further baseline surveying for the
RECAPE phase of the licencing process has been completed. This
includes permeability/infiltration tests on the Lameiro areas
(pastures), noise and water levels and quality
monitoring.
·
Biodiversity: The annual monitoring report on the
Iberian Wolf population was completed. This again concluded that no
wolf packs were living on the Mining Lease area.
·
Hydrology: Pump and falling head testing together
with further water sampling is being completed at the new water
bores to aid in the completion of an updated hydrology
model.
Stakeholder engagement:
·
Savannah continues to proactively engage with the
municipal authority, local groups, residents and local media
outlets as it continues to present the Project to local
stakeholders and receive feedback. With the technical team growing
and senior management spending more time in and around the Project,
Savannah is an increasingly visible part of local life.
·
In recent weeks Savannah has welcomed a number of
guests to Boticas and the Project. This included the Australian
Ambassador to Portugal, several representatives of top-tier global
firms in the battery value chain, and several university groups. We
look forward to welcoming more members of the Project's wider
stakeholder group over the coming months.
·
The analysis of the data collected in interviews
conducted by Community Insights Group last year is continuing. The
key takeaways will be summarised for the community in an upcoming
new Community Information sheet. The third edition of our Community
Newsletter will also be published in the coming weeks with both
documents distributed to households throughout the
municipality.
Recruitment:
·
Mr Antonio Neves Costa, an experienced
Communications Manager joined the Savannah team in February. He
brings over 15 years of experience in communications in Portugal
and political strategy, resulting from a previous role in
Brussels.
·
The Company continues to plan for significant
further recruitment across a number of technical and non-technical
disciplines as it moves towards completion of the DFS.
Investor Relations:
·
Savannah will be publishing its 2023 Annual
Results later this month.
·
The Company will be also hosting an online
investor event later in April. Details will be published
separately.
European Research Projects:
·
Savannah is delighted to be part of the new
Horizon Europe 'GoldenRam' research project. The project aims to
enhance raw materials information exchange by developing an Earth
Observation Platform, utilising the latest advances in IT, Cloud
and AI technologies. https://goldenram-project.eu/
·
Savannah is now part of three separate Horizon
Europe research projects, all receiving funding from the European
Commission. The other projects are:
o The
EXCEED project, which is developing sustainable and responsible
extraction routes for recovering other critical raw materials and
industrial minerals as by-products from lithium-bearing hard rock
ores https://exceed-horizon.eu/
o The
LiTHOS project, which is attempting to enhance existing lithium
processing technologies to allow lower grade spodumene ores and
non-spodumene lithium minerals to be treated.
https://lithos-horizon.eu/
Savannah's Chief Executive Officer, Emanuel Proença
said, "Savannah continues to be very
busy on a wide range of fronts as we look to advance our Project,
one of Europe's key lithium assets, towards development and
production.
"We were encouraged to reach the
milestone of 100 land plots acquired recently, but we treat all the
Project's workstreams as equally important and they receive equal
commitment from the Savannah team. On the ground, we have
progressed the work necessary to complete the DFS and the RECAPE
phase of the environmental licencing process, while also working to
further establish ourselves and the Project within local society.
Away from the field, our commercial and funding discussions are
continuing and we will maintain our efforts to build Savannah's
brand nationally and internationally, based on the excellent
Project we have and the responsible approach we are taking to its
development.
"With work set to continue on all
fronts over the coming months, regular news flow can be
expected."
Regulatory Information
This Announcement contains inside
information for the purposes of the UK version of the market abuse
regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of United Kingdom
domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
("UK MAR").
Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy
transition.
**ENDS**
Follow @SavannahRes on X
Follow
Savannah Resources on LinkedIn
For further information please
visit www.savannahresources.com
or contact:
Savannah Resources PLC
Emanuel Proença, CEO
|
Tel: +44 20 7117 2489
|
SP
Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Joint
Broker)
David Hignell/ Charlie Bouverat
(Corporate Finance)
Grant Barker/Abigail Wayne (Sales
& Broking)
|
Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
|
SCP
Resource Finance (Joint Broker)
Filipe Martins/Chris
Tonkin
|
Tel: +44 204 548 1765
|
Camarco (Financial PR)
Gordon Poole/ Emily Hall / Nuthara
Bandara
|
Tel: +44 20 3757 4980
|
LPM
(Portugal Media Relations)
Herminio Santos/ Jorge
Coelho/Margarida Pinheiro
|
Tel: +351 218 508 110
|
About Savannah
Savannah Resources is a mineral
resource development company and the sole owner of the Barroso
Lithium Project in northern Portugal, the largest battery grade
spodumene lithium resource outlined to date in Europe.
Through the Barroso Lithium Project
(the 'Project'), Savannah will help Portugal to play an important
role in providing a long-term, locally sourced, lithium raw
material supply for Europe's rapidly developing lithium battery
value chain. After the Environmental Licence was granted in May
2023 and the Scoping Study confirmed the economic potential of the
Project in June 2023, production is now targeted and on track to
begin in 2026. At that stage, Savannah will start producing enough
lithium for approximately half a million vehicle battery packs per
year, equal to a significant portion of the European Commission's
Critical Raw Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European
endogenous lithium production set for 2030. Savannah is focused on
the responsible development and operation of the Barroso Lithium
Project so that its impact on the environment is minimised and the
socio-economic benefits that it can bring to all its stakeholders
are maximised.
The Company is listed and regulated
on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
and the Company's ordinary shares are also available on the
Quotation Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) under the
symbol FWB: SAV, and the Börse Stuttgart (SWB) under the ticker
"SAV".