Rafaella Resources

AT The Forefront

Rafaella Resources

Resources Feature

AT The Forefront 2

Issue 103 ·Business Enquirer Magazine

Issue 103 · Business Enquirer Magazine

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PROJECT DIRECTED BY

WRITTEN BY

Liam O’Hara

Romana Moares

Rafaella Resources

R

afaella Resources is positioning itself to become a leading western European supplier of tungsten. As a global developer and explorer of world-class mineral deposits considered critical to an ever-increasing technologically driven world economy, the company is progressing in line with its ambitious plans.

Rafaella Resources Ltd is an Australia-based company engaged in the exploration and development of minerals. Rafaella owns the Santa Comba tungsten and tin development project in Spain, as well as the McCleery cobalt-copper project and the Midrim and Laforce high-grade nickel-copper-PGE sulphide projects in Canada.

Santa Comba is located in a productive tungsten and tin province adjacent to critical infrastructure. The McCleery project was previously under-explored and holds significant potential.

The Midrim and Laforce projects have had extensive drilling with some exciting intersections and offer significant upside for the company.

While progressing work on all of its assets, Rafaella announced in November 2021 that it has reached an agreement to acquire two tungsten projects in northern Portugal.

Santa Comba project location

The Santa Comba project is located 60 km from the nearest deep-water port by sealed road and has substantial infrastructure already in place, including grid power, a partially completed processing plant, workshops and offices, and a tailings dam. With the mine having full permits for underground mining and for the construction of a process plant as well as potential access to open pit resources through the local aggregate quarry operator, the project is well placed for fast-tracking through to production.

An updated Mineral Resource Estimate was released in August 2021, showing a 42% increase in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories. Of the total open pit Resources of 9.97 million tonnes, 87% are now contained within the Measured and Indicated categories. This result will allow significantly greater resources to be modelled in the updated mine schedules, which combined with a strongly rising tungsten price is expected to generate an uplift to the overall mine life and project economics.

The company has recently announced that it has successfully delivered initial production as set out in March 2021, with the safe installation of a pilot plant and first production from high-grade stockpiles left from previous operations dating back to 1985.

Managing Director Steven Turner said: “The successful and safe delivery of the pilot plant, working closely with the authorities to ensure that all permits and approvals were obtained, is a testament to the capabilities of the growing team at site and in Madrid.”

Steve Turner Managing Director, Rafaella Resources

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Issue 103 ·Business Enquirer Magazine

“This is the first real step in bringing the Santa Comba tungsten and tin mine back into production, 36 years from when the underground mine was last commercially operated. We are delighted to be the company leading the way, applying the highest health, safety and environment standards, as we continue to invest in and support the region”.

Business Enquirer Magazine · Issue 103

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Rafaella Resources

Resources Feature The Midrim/Laforce Project is located in the Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt in Quebec, and the McCleery Project is located approximately 170 kilometres southeast of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory.

This is the first real step in bringing the Santa Comba tungsten and tin mine back into production.

In August 2020, Rafaella entered into a conditional agreement with Meteoric Resources NL and Ressources Météore Sub Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meteoric, to acquire 100% of the projects. Soon afterwards, the Company engaged CSA Global and leading geophysicists Southern Geoscience Consultants (SGC) to assist in the technical due diligence required for the acquisition. The acquisition was completed in October 2020.

At the start of 2021, Rafaella contracted Geotech Limited to conduct a low frequency helicopter-borne VTEM survey over the projects with the objective of identifying deeper conductive anomalies that may be indicators of a feeder system for the shallower high grade mineralisation. In March 2021, Geotech completed the survey, identifying a discrete, late-time bedrock conductor within a recognised Ni/Cu/PGE region.

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In June 2021, the McCleery Project received funding under the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program for the second consecutive year. The Company also received a Class 1 permit approval in order to commence exploration activities during this year’s field season.

Rafaella has now commenced further field work to conduct additional sampling over the prospective areas identified in 2020, and is planning a comprehensive drill programme to maximise the opportunity to discover and define a potential large-scale nickel, copper and PGE mineralisation source supporting the high grades already encountered at the shallow depths.

Rafaella Resources’ Tungsten Mine

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Resoures Feature In terms of strategic investment, Rafaella Resources has returned to Europe, having executed a binding heads of agreement with PanEx Resources for the acquisition of Pan Iberia. Pan Iberia owns the contractual rights to acquire 100% of the Borralha tungsten project and 90% of the Vila Verde tungsten project, both of which are located in Portugal.

The Borralha and Vila Verde projects lie 210 kilometres and 250 kilometres respectively from Rafaella’s Santa Comba tungsten and tin project in Spain.

Both have been subject to historical mining with work dating back to the early 20th century. Total consideration for the acquisition is €4 million which is based upon an independent mineral resource estimate for Borralha of at least 25,000 tonnes of tungsten trioxide at a minimum grade of 0.14%. The first €1 million is to be paid in cash with the remainder payable in Rafaella shares at a value yet to be determined. Execution of agreement is expected by 31 January 2022.

The acquisition will further boost Rafaella’s position in global markets. Tungsten is a highly-sought-after transition metal. A significant proportion of the tungsten consumed by major Western economies is used in cemented carbide parts for cutting and wear-resistant engineering applications.

Rafaella Resources Managing Director Steven Turner commented on the latest development: “This is an important acquisition for the company as we position ourselves to become a leading western European supplier of tungsten, a critical metal facing significant supply chain risks due to the dominance of supply from China. Rafaella will be able to apply many of its findings at Santa Comba to the Borraha and Vila Verde development programmes.”

In October 2021, the Portuguese General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG) awarded an exploitation licence to the Borralha project.

The licence has a 25-year term with two 15-year extensions. The Vila Verde project is due to receive a mining licence from DGEG. “The Borralha and Vila Verde deposits are widely considered the most attractive undeveloped tungsten projects in Portugal,” said Mr Turner.

“With Santa Comba advancing through the feasibility study and with the open-pit permit application to be submitted in 2022, the addition of these Portuguese projects provides Rafaella with a portfolio of resources in various stages of the development cycle.”

Rafaella expects the acquisition to complement its Santa Comba project while significantly strengthening its strategic position in the Iberian Peninsula.

The Borralha and Vila Verde deposits are widely considered the most attractive undeveloped tungsten projects in Portugal.

The advantage of cemented carbide is it can withstand deformation, heavy load, high pressure and temperature as well as corrosion. With these qualities, tungsten is difficult to substitute, and is a key component in many production processes in the defence, automotive, telecommunications, lighting and other industrial sectors. It can even be found in jewellery shops, sporting equipment and dentist surgeries. Its industrial applications are continuing to expand, with its use increasing in the medical and technology sectors.

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Issue 103 · Business Enquirer Magazine

Issue 103 · Business Enquirer Magazine

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Rafaella Resources +61 9481 0389 www.rafaellaresources.com.au

info@busenq.com www.busenq.com