Savannah Resources Plc Preliminary Metallurgical Test Work, Portugal

Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) (‘Savannah’ or ‘the Company’), the AIM quoted resource development company, announced yesterday that preliminary metallurgical test work on a composite lithium sample from the Mina do Barroso project in northern Portugal confirms that a very pure low iron spodumene concentrate can be produced. Savannah has a 75% interest in Slipstream Resources Portugal Unipessol Lda, which is the registered holder of the Mina do Barroso mining licence.  

HIGHLIGHTS:

·  Metallurgical test work undertaken on a composite sample from Mina do Barroso to determine if lithium bearing minerals can be recovered using commercially available technology to produce a saleable product;

·  Work confirms that a high-grade, very pure, low iron spodumene concentrate can be produced;

·  Single analysis of the combined sample confirmed a high Li₂O head grade (~1.95% Li₂O) and low Fe₂O₃ head grade (~0.9%);

·  Heavy Liquid Separation (‘HLS’) shows a very pure (~8%) Li₂O product can be produced;

·  Floatation results utilising a simple one stage float without any optimisation achieved ~83.7% Li₂O recovery at ~5.9% Li₂O, this is very positive and can be improved through optimisation;

·  Microscopy confirmed that the concentrate was almost entirely spodumene with only very minor amounts of petalite;

·  Test work confirms that a high quality spodumene concentrate can be produced using conventional commercially available processing technologies; and

·  3,000-5,000m drill programme to commence shortly, focusing on defining a JORC mineral resource estimate to support potential mine development.

Savannah’s CEO, David Archer said: We are delighted with these results as they confirm that a high-grade, low impurity spodumene concentrate can be produced using conventional, well understood processing techniques.  Furthermore, based on the quality of the results, we believe that our spodumene concentrate is likely to be highly sought after by manufacturers of battery grade lithium.

 Whilst it is still early days, we are working to highlight what we believe to be the superior characteristics of our Portuguese lithium project, namely:

·  Spodumene dominant mineralisation;

·  Granted Mining Leases;

·  Conventional and well understood processing techniques;

·  High-grade, low impurity spodumene concentrates;

·  Extensive lithium mineralisation over at least 6km; and

·  Excellent regional lithium exploration potential from extensive pegmatite fields.

 All of this is within a premier mining jurisdiction with a government intent on supporting the development of a lithium industry in Portugal.  Accordingly, we are highly encouraged with the results received to date and will be moving forward with drilling shortly as we look to define a JORC mineral resource estimate.

Figure 1. Project Location Map – See PDF

Technical Data

The scope of work was to conduct preliminary ore characterisation test work on a composite sample from the NOA and Reservatorio Deposits (sample site 3, 10, 11, 12 on Figure 1) on the Mina do Barroso mining lease to determine if the lithium bearing minerals could be recovered from the rock using commercially available technology and a saleable product produced. The work was conducted by lithium specialists Nagrom Metallurgical in Perth, Australia.

The test work is outlined as follows:

·  Sample analysis by x-ray fluorescence (‘XRF’) and inductively coupled plasma (‘ICP’) to determine lithium grade of the sample and any potential penalty elements;

·  Size analysis to determine what size fraction contains the lithium minerals

·  Microscopy for mineral identification;

·  Heavy Liquid Separation at SG 2.7 to determine if gravity separation can recover the lithium minerals; and

·  Single stage floatation test to determine if lithium minerals can be recovered via flotation.

Results

Location data and individual analysis of the samples taken and combined into the preliminary metallurgical test sample is provided below and confirmed the rocks were lithium bearing.

Single analysis of the combined sample confirmed a high Li₂O head grade (~1.95% Li₂O) and low Fe₂O₃ head grade (~0.9%) as shown below.

Dense media separation (‘DMS’) and HLS test work summarised below was conducted to determine how the mineralisation might respond to conventional gravity concentration methods.

·  Rougher DMS at SG 2.7 is suggested as ~60% mass rejection is feasible at ~10% Li₂O loss. DMS Crush size and Cleaner DMS SG to be optimised; and

·  HLS shows a very pure (~8%) Li₂O product can be produced.

·  Floatation results below utilising a simple one stage float without any optimisation achieved ~83.7% Li₂O recovery at ~5.9% Li₂O; and

·  This is very positive and can be improved through further optimisation.

·  Microscopy confirmed that the concentrate was almost entirely spodumene with only very minor amounts of petalite confirming that a simple conventional recovery process is likely

·  Further metallurgical test work will now be conducted to further optimise the lithium recovery process.

Image 1. Photograph of the re-cleaner 1 Concentrate showing spodumene rich concentrate (source: Company photo). – See PDF