# Savannah Resources Plc Q&A: Outstanding Lithium Results (LON:SAV)

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/savannah-resources-plc-qa-outstanding-lithium-results-lonsav/412742184
- Published: 2017-12-14T11:57:36+00:00
- Author: Amilia Stone

**Savannah Resources Plc** (LON:SAV) Chief Executive Officer David Archer caught
up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss their outstanding lithium
results in Portugal, the next steps for the project and other projects in their 
portfolio.

 

**Q1: You announced outstanding lithium results today from your drill program in
Portugal, can you tell us a bit more about the results, what they mean for Savannah
and a bit of background to the project if you could?**

**A1**: Well, first of all, it really provides Savannah Resources’ shareholders 
with a white Christmas, these lithium pegmatites are white material so we’re certainly
celebrating.

The results really do represent some of the best intersections ever reported for
a European deposit of spodumene, so we see them as being very significant and we
see them to be results that are very much hard to better. We’ve got intersections
over 100 metres in length and grades over 2% Li₂O so it doesn’t get much better 
than that.

What’s more is that we’ve identified Grandao as the most significant of the deposits
on our mining lease and we’re going furiously ahead with our drilling around that
at the moment.

 

**Q2: When do you hope to deliver a JORC resource for the project?**

**A2**: We’ve indicated that the first JORC resource will be around the Reservatorio
deposit, we announced some results on that a month or so ago and we should have 
that, if you like, starter or maiden resource out sometime next week. That will 
be very much the Mark I version of the overall resource that we’ll be able to report
for the Mina do Barroso project and we believe they’ll be a number of further iterations
going into the new year.

 

**Q3: You have a mining license already for the Portuguese asset, what are the next
steps?**

**A3**: That’s certainly very significant that we do have a mining lease, it gives
us an enormous head start in terms of taking the project forward towards production.

In terms of next steps, we’re probably looking to bring on a second drill rig to
help with the resource definition programme that’ll be on-site in the early part
of the new year. We’ve also got a very extensive round of metallurgical test work
that’s underway at the moment in Perth and we hope to be announcing the results 
for that in the new year as well.

So, certainly a very active programme in the valuation and the results that we reported
today only spur us on to move this project forward very quickly and we see the project
as really being one of the foundation stones for a vibrant lithium value-added chain
in Europe.

 

**Q4: We know Savannah Resources isn’t a one-trick pony, can you tell us a bit more
about the other projects in your portfolio and what stages they’re at?**

**A4**: Well, we’ve certainly been keeping ourselves busy in other geographies as
well.

Firstly, in Oman, we’re now coming very close to the successful conclusion of our
mine licensing in Oman around the receipt of final ministerial approvals. Once we
have those and the final mining lease issued, we’ll be moving into mining and production
in 2018 of high grade copper concentrates.

Secondly, the other major project is of course is our Mozambique heavy minerals 
sands project, in joint venture with [Rio Tinto plc](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/ftse-company/rio-tinto-plc/rio.l)(
[LON:RIO](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/ftse-company/rio-tinto-plc/rio.l)).
We’re undertaking a pre-feasibility study on that project at the moment and we’re
also moving forward to applying for a mining lease over that project. We’ve also
been doing a lot of work with both the government and community over the last few
weeks and had a very very successful week in Mozambique engaging with local community
and opening our pilot plant.

So, in summary, we’re certainly very busy at Savannah and delighted that we’re finishing
on a very high note with these lithium results in Portugal.

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