2016.09.21 - IronRidge Goes Unconditional on Tekton Deal · “Tekton brings with it a highly...

21 September 2016

Tekton Deal Now Unconditional IronRidge Increases Stake in Tekton

Extensive and Highly Prospective Tenure Package with Gold Discoveries in a New Gold

Province in Chad, Central Africa

IronRidge Resources Limited (AIM: IRR, ‘IronRidge’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to provide an update on the partnership with Tekton Minerals Pte Ltd (‘Tekton’), which provides IronRidge with access to exclusive rights to an extensive existing tenure package and associated major new gold discovery (the ‘Projects’) in Chad, Central Africa. The agreement was first announced on 12th August 2016.

Corporate Highlights:

Tekton satisfies all agreement terms ahead of schedule to successfully ratify the partnership with IronRidge.

IronRidge to proceed with the investment of up to US$3.5m in Tekton to obtain up to a 58% shareholding in Tekton (the “Investment”).

IronRidge subscribes for a separate pre‐Investment interest in Tekton to increase its post‐Investment holding to 60%.

IronRidge directors formally appointed to the board of Tekton.

Tekton team already in country from late August 2016.

Project Highlights:

First mover advantage with Tekton’s secured exploration rights over 1,400km2 of gold mineralised, province‐scale geological structures.

Multiple high‐priority gold targets defined within the Dorothe, Echbara and Am Ouchar licences.

One drill ready target defined at Dorothe and additional untested lithium, graphite, base metal and uranium targets within the license portfolio.

Extensive active and historic artisanal gold workings observed over 3km2 within weathered and fresh rock within the Dorothe target alone.

40% of the Dorothe rock chips and 28% of the trench samples have grades greater than 0.5g/t Au and up to 103g/t Au over a >3km2 area.

IronRidge Resources Limited ACN 127 215 132 Level 27, 111 Eagle Street post: GPO Box 5261 Brisbane QLD 4001

p +61 7 3303 0610 f +61 7 3303 0681 e [email protected] w www.ironridgeresources.com.au

Trenching results at Dorothe: 14.12g/t Au over 4m, 34.1g/t over 2m and 63.2g/t over 1m, defined gold mineralised quartz veining over a confirmed 1km strike at an average of 2m and up to 5m true width across multiple stacked vein zones up to 200m wide. New hard‐rock artisanal workings potentially extending strike to >3km.

Gold nuggets up to 1cm across, including gold in quartz vein material and disseminated gold observed in the project areas.

Historical United Nations Development Programme (“UNDP”, 1990’s) field work defined a 100‐300ppb gold in soil anomaly over a 2km strike and 100m to 200m width with best trenching results of 1.29g/t over 28m and 0.61g/t Au over 56m within the Echbara prospect.

Additional kilometre scale lithium and graphite anomalies defined within the project portfolio.

Commenting on today’s update, Vincent Mascolo, Chief Executive Officer of IronRidge, said: “The

Company is pleased to have concluded the deal ahead of schedule.

“Chad represents an underexplored yet highly prospective Country where we have first mover

advantage and access rights to an exciting pipeline of projects.

“Tekton brings with it a highly professional and experienced team with a proven track record in

target generation, project development, government relations, logistics and security with

francophone African expertise.

“We are extremely confident with the decision to invest in Chad and Tekton and believe we have

created a remarkable opportunity.

“With Tekton already in the field, we look forward to providing updates in due course.”

IronRidge announced on 12 August 2016 that it had entered into a share subscription agreement

(“Agreement”) with Tekton to enable the Company to acquire a 58% interest in Tekton in return for

the Investment of US$3.5m over an 18‐month period to advance exploration on Tekton’s Chad

projects. The Agreement was subject to a number of conditions to be satisfied by Tekton by no

later than 11 October 2016. These conditions have now been satisfied which enables the Company

to proceed with its Investment in Tekton. Nick Mather, Vincent Mascolo and Lennard Kolff Van

Oosterwijk have all been appointed to the Board of Tekton, with Nick Mather appointed as

Chairman.

IronRidge has also separately subscribed for additional shares in the Tekton representing an initial

6% interest in Tekton and which will increase the Company’s interest in Tekton to 60% upon

completion of the Investment (after allowing for its dilutionary effects on the existing capital).



The investment provides IronRidge with a significant first mover advantage within several highly

prospective existing tenements in a province‐scale, gold mineralised belts which have undergone

little or no modern‐day exploration. These have been largely untouched due to an historical focus

on oil exploration and production in Chad.

Against this backdrop, Tekton has secured exploration rights over 1,400km2 of gold mineralised,

province‐scale geological structures. Work to date has indicated the potential for several multi‐

million‐ounce gold discoveries within the Ouaddaï Province.

Tekton has extensive in‐country exploration, logistics and government relations experience. They

have committed teams in place, which have demonstrated highly skilled francophone African

expertise.

Multiple high‐priority gold targets have been defined within the Dorothe, Echbara and Am Ouchar

licences. These include one drill‐ready target defined at Dorothe and additional untested lithium,

graphite, base metal and uranium targets within the license portfolio.

Extensive active and historic artisanal gold workings have been observed over 3km2 within

weathered and fresh rock in the Dorothe target alone. Over 116 rock chip samples and 302 trench

samples have been collected at the Dorothe prospect to date. Of these, 40% of the rock chips and

28% of the trench samples have grades greater than 0.5g/t Au and up to 103g/t Au over an area

more than 3km2.

Trenching results at Dorothe, including 14.12g/t Au over 4m, 34.1g/t over 2m and 63.2g/t over 1m,

have defined significant gold mineralised quartz veining over a confirmed 1km strike. This veining

has an average width of 2m to 5m across multiple stacked vein zones up to 200m wide, with new

hard‐rock artisanal workings potentially extending the strike to more than 3km.

Gold nuggets of up to 1cm across have been identified. Gold in quartz‐vein material and

disseminated gold has been observed in the project areas.

There is significant precedent set by an historical United Nations Development Programme

(“UNDP”, 1990’s) field work. This previously defined a 100‐300ppb gold in soil anomaly over a 2km

strike and 100m to 200m width, with best trenching results of 1.29g/t over 28m and 0.61g/t Au

over 56m within the Echbara prospect, which is yet to be drill tested.

There have been additional kilometre scale lithium and graphite anomalies defined within the

project portfolio.



Commenting on today’s update, Vincent Mascolo, Chief Executive Officer of IronRidge, said: “The

Company is pleased to have concluded the deal ahead of schedule.

“Tekton brings with it a highly professional and experienced team with a proven track record in

geological target generation and development, government relations, logistics, security and has

local francophone African expertise.

“We are extremely confident with the decision to invest in Tekton and believe we have created an

amazing team. With Tekton already in the field, we look forward to providing updates in due

course.”

About the Projects Tekton has secured exclusive rights over five exploration permits covering a total of 1,000km2 in addition to 400km2 of reconnaissance licences within the Ouaddaï Province. This is an under‐explored yet highly prospective domain within the Saharan Metacraton of Central Africa. The Saharan Metacraton represents a gold‐bearing potential equivalent to the prolific Birimian Greenstone belt, known for several world‐class gold mines in Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Comprehensive exploration activities have been conducted by Tekton over the last two years. These include geological mapping and soil, rock‐chip, trenching and channel sampling. Mineralogical studies, ground magnetic and resistivity surveys, high‐resolution Digital Terrain Modelling (“DTM”) and aerial photography utilising drone technology have also been undertaken by the Tekton team. Three highly prospective gold mineralised areas and one drill‐ready/advanced exploration target have been defined over the Dorothe, Echbara and Am Ouchar licenses. These include extensive artisanal workings over areas exceeding 4km2, with the potential to host a multi‐million ounce gold deposit. Additionally, two further highly prospective reconnaissance licenses have been awarded within the same province over the Adé and Nabagay targets. Two further exploration licenses have been granted at Waya Waya in the Northern Ouaddaï region which possess outcropping and extensive graphite occurrences. Anomalous zinc and uranium mineralisation has been identified from preliminary mapping and rock chip sampling.



Figure 1 | Granted license areas (left) and regional geological setting (right, after Liegois, 2005) within Ouaddaï Region of Chad, Central Africa.



Dorothe Mapping and sampling at the Dorothe target to date has defined two distinct gold mineralising events. Firstly, an early centimetre scale, shallowly westward dipping quartz vein swarm zone over a 3x1km area. Secondly, a cross‐cutting sub‐vertical 1‐5m true thickness, north‐south striking quartz vein zone up to 200m wide and over a confirmed 1km of strike with possible extensions up to 3km of strike.

Figure 2 | Extensive artisanal workings and gold washing area over the Main Vein (above) and artisanal pitting zone over 3x1km area (below) at the Dorothe prospect. The earlier stage quartz vein swarm zone occurs over an approximate 3x1km north‐east trending zone at the apparent flexure of a major north‐west striking fault, and is clearly defined by extensive artisanal workings into weathered surface rock. The later stage cross‐cutting sub‐vertical quartz vein swarm has been clearly mapped and sampled by trenching over a 1km strike. This has the potential for further strike extensions to the north and south based on recent artisanal mining. Of the sampling completed to date, over 40% of the rock chip samples collected at the Dorothe target returned grades over 0.5g/t Au with grades up to 103 g/t, 99.6g/t, 94.5g/t and 82.2 g/t Au. Trenching and channel sampling across strike of the north‐south quartz vein system has returned multiple gold intersections over 10g/t Au along a combined 1km strike length, with better intersections of 4m at 14.2g/t, 2m at 34.1g/t, 2m at 31.1g/t and 1m at 63.2 g/t Au. The north‐south vein set is not restricted to a single quartz vein, and in places occurs as multiple splays and sub‐parallel veins over a 20m to 50m width.



Figure 3 | Extensive surface workings defining 3x1km early stage gold mineralised zone and second stage >1km strike high‐grade quartz vein zone (inset; Dorothe license setting over regional geology). Preliminary scoping laboratory column leach test‐work of 56 auger samples collected over artisanal tailings at the Dorothe prospect has confirmed an 85% gold recovery within a 10‐day period. This work was completed by Wardell Armstrong in the UK. Additional mineralogical studies indicate that gold mineralisation is non‐refractory and occurs as free gold within the oxidised, surface artisanal tailings material. It is of note that little or no saprolite, nor laterite surface weathering material, is developed over the project area. The channel sampling having been done into ‘fresh rock’ it’s gold content represents potentially the in‐situ grades.

>1kmstrikehigh‐gradequartzveins

3x1kmareaextensivehard‐rockartisanalworkings



Figure 4 | photomicrograph of gold mineralisation (left), gold mineralised rock‐chip samples and gold nuggets (right and below) from the project areas. Echbara The Echbara license covers 200km2 and is situated 25km west of the Dorothe license. Historical work completed by the UNDP during the 1990’s defined a 2km long by 150‐200m wide 100ppb soil anomaly with highs of 300ppb. Follow‐up trenching by the UNDP has returned results of 58m at 1.29g/t Au and 28m at 1.29g/t Au. Follow‐up trenching by Tekton returned results of 56m at 0.61g/t Au (including 10m at 0.9g/t Au and 20m at0.87g/t Au) and 25m at 0.8g/t Au. This target has not been drill tested. The target occurs within micaceous schists bound to the west by quartzites and east by carbonates with interpreted cross‐cutting north‐west orientated faults. A large, late granitic intrusion occurs approximately 3km to the south‐east of the known gold anomaly. The relationship between granitic intrusions and major structures are thought to be important in localising gold mineralisation. Tekton is refining this model for application across the other targets in the total project area.



Figure 5 | Echbara regional geology map with historical pitting and landscape photo inserts. Am Ouchar The Am Ouchar license covers 200km2 and is 70km south‐east of the Dorothe license. Historical work by the UNDP during the 1990’s indicated that gold mineralisation is hosted within 2‐5m thick, shallow dipping, north‐east trending quartz veins and within the adjacent hematitic schists. UNDP trenching results included spectacular intersections of 20m at 6.8g/t Au, 16m at 4.7g/t Au and 12m at 5.7g/t Au with individual 2m composite grades up to 33g/t Au. Follow‐up channel sampling by Tekton, perpendicular to quartz veins and within the adjacent host rock, returned intersections including 2m at 18.2g/t Au, 2m at 14.2g/t Au and 2.3m at 9.9g/t Au. This provides confidence in the reported grades and extension of mineralisation into the adjacent host rock.

Figure 6 | Extensive artisanal gold workings at Am Ouchar.



Other targets Recently granted licenses covering a total of 400km2 at Nabagay and Adé cover further exciting and highly prospective geological targets within the Ouaddaï South project portfolio. The Adé license, located approximately 40km east of Dorothe, occurs within an interpreted ‘pressure‐shadow’ adjacent to a large 15km diameter late granitic intrusion. Regional soil sampling by the UNDP during the 1990’s identified multiple lithium soil anomalies up to 5km in strike length in addition to multiple coincident and isolated gold in soil anomalies adjacent to the granitic intrusive contact. The Nabagay license is located approximately 25km north of Dorothe and is considered prospective for gold mineralisation in similar geological settings to the Dorothe project. The Waya Waya licenses cover 400km2 within the Ouaddaï North Region, approximately 260km north of the Dorothe project area. Historical work by the UNDP during the 1990’s and follow‐up mapping and rock‐chip sampling by Tekton has identified a 15km long and approximately 50m wide surface graphitic schist occurrence. Reconnaissance rock chip and channel sampling completed by Tekton has returned results of 11% to 12% total carbon content (Ct) with historical results by the UNDP up to 18% Ct. Multi‐element geochemical analysis has also indicated potential anomalous uranium and associated pathfinder elements typically observed in sandstone hosted uranium deposits. Furthermore, anomalous zinc and lead results associated with pegmatites have been identified. Project access Access to the project area is via a sealed and well maintained 900km bitumen toll road from the capital city N’Djamena to Abéché, followed by a 200km maintained laterite road to the project area. Travel time from N’Djamena to the project area is approximately 15 hours by road. International air carriers Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian Airline facilitate frequent travel into N’Djamena. The project area is serviced by charter flights and UN aircraft into Goz Beïda, with travel time of approximately 2 hours. About Tekton Tekton is a private Singapore registered company, which was established in 2013 and is majority

owned by its management team.

About Chad With a population of 13.6 million (World Bank, 2016), Chad covers a surface area of 1.2 million km2. It is a stable Republic with a US$2,500 GDP per capita per annum (2013 estimate), is a member of the OHADA and EITI, and has a projected economic growth of 11.2% (African Economic Outlook, 2014). Major oil companies including Total, Exxon, Chevron and Glencore have been active in Chad for several decades and the region is a major oil producer and refiner for the domestic and international markets.



Chad has an attractive Mining Code and investment framework. Mineral exploration licenses are granted for 5 years and are renewable twice for a total of 10 years. Mining licenses are granted for a 25‐year term and are renewable. The licenses offer a tax holiday period up to a maximum of 10 years and a corporate tax rate of 35% (negotiable). The State has the right for a 10% free carry and 2% royalty. The Company looks forward to keeping its shareholders updated on progress and will announce results of the field programmes as news becomes available.

Qualifying Person Statement: Information in this report relating to the exploration results is based on data reviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.), an Executive Director of the Company. Mr Mather is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in excess of 25 years’ experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr Mather consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.

For any further information please contact:

IronRidge Resources Limited

Vincent Mascolo (Chief Executive Officer) Tel: +61 7 3303 0610

Nicholas Mather (Executive Chairman) Tel: +61 7 3303 0610

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Nominated Adviser and Broker Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470

Jeff Keating Yellow Jersey PR Limited Dominic Barretto Aidan Stanley

Tel: +44 (0)7768 537 739

Notes to Editors:

IronRidge Resources is an AIM listed mineral exploration company with frontier assets in both Australia and West Africa, with two province scale projects in Gabon, and promising and advanced titanium and bauxite projects in Queensland Australia. IronRidge’s corporate strategy is to create and sustain shareholder value through the discovery of world‐class and globally demanded commodities. Australia Monogorilby is prospective for province scale titania and bauxite, with an initial maiden resource of 54.9MT of bauxite. Monogorilby located in central Queensland, within a short trucking distance of the rail system leading north to the Port of Bundaberg. It is also located within close proximity of the active Queensland Rail network heading south towards the Port of Brisbane. May Queen is located in Central Queensland, within its wholly owned Monogorilby license package and is highly prospective for gold, with drill ready targets defined. Historic drilling completed during the 1980s intersected multiple high‐grade gold intervals including 2m @ 73.4 g/t Au (including 1m at 145g/t), 4m @ 38.8g/t Au (at end of hole) and 3m @ 18.9g/t Au, over an approximate 100m strike hosting numerous parallel vein systems, open to the north‐west and south‐east.



Wholly owned Quaggy contains highly anomalous platinum, palladium, nickel, cobalt and copper exploration targets and is located in Central Queensland within a short trucking distance of the dormant rail system to the Port of Bundaberg. It is also located within close proximity of the active Queensland Rail network heading south towards the Port of Brisbane. Gabon Tchibanga is located in south‐western Gabon, in the Nyanga Province, within 10‐60km of the Atlantic coastline. This project comprises two exploration licenses, Tchibanga and Tchibanga Nord, which cover a combined area of 3,396km2 and include over 90km of prospective lithologies and the historic Mont Pele iron occurrence.

Belinga Sud is Located in the north east of Gabon in the Ogooue‐Ivindo Province, approximately 400km east of the capital city of Libreville. IRR’s licence lies between the main Belinga Iron Ore Deposit, believed to be one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of iron ore with an estimated 1bt of iron ore at a grade >60% Fe, and the route of the Trans Gabonese railway, which currently carries manganese ore and timber from Franceville to the Port of Owendo in Libreville. Chad The Company entered into a conditional agreement with Tekton Minerals Pte Ltd of Singapore concerning its portfolio covering 1,400km2 of highly prospective gold and other mineral projects in Chad, Central Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, IronRidge will acquire an initial 58% of Tekton, including its projects and team, to advance the Dorothe, Echbara and Am Ouchar licenses, which host multiple, potentially nation‐building gold projects. Initial trenching results at Dorothe, including 14.12g/t Au over 4m, 34.1g/t over 2m and 63.2g/t over 1m, have defined significant gold mineralised quartz veining over a confirmed 1km strike at an average of 2m and up to 5m true width across multiple stacked vein zones up to 200m wide with new hard‐rock artisanal workings potentially extending strike to >3km. Ghana The Company entered into a joint venture arrangement with Obotan Minerals Limited and Merlink Resources Limited of Ghana, West Africa, securing the first access rights to acquire the historical Egyasimanku Hill spodumene rich lithium resource estimate to be in the order of 1.48Mt at 1.67% Li2O. The portfolio covers some 238km2 with a further identified 10km pegmatite swarmed veins, tenure package is also highly prospective for tin, tantalum, niobium and gold which occur as accessory minerals within the pegmatites and host formations. Ivory Coast The Company entered into a joint venture arrangement with Enchi ProCI SA of the Ivory Coast, West Africa, securing the first access to highly prospective multiple untested pegmatite occurrences. The project area covers some 400km2 with further identified outcrops some 25km apart along the interpreted trend. The project well located within 75km of the capital Abidjan; excellent infrastructure, logistics and services support for potential rapid development. Corporate IronRidge made its AIM debut in February 2015, successfully securing strategic alliances with three international companies; Assore Limited of South Africa, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and DGR Global Limited of Australia. Assore is a high‐ grade iron, chrome and manganese mining specialist. Sumitomo Corporation is a global resources, mining marketing and trading conglomerate. DGR Global is a project generation and exploration specialist.



The Board of Directors is represented by mining industry professionals with a broad range of corporate, exploration, production, contracting and capital markets experience. The Company was admitted on 12 February 2015 (Ticker Code IRR) and currently has 236,612,203 shares and 14,770,000 unlisted options on issue.



Project Photos during recent site visit

Left: on the bitumen road out of N’Djamena. Right: artisanal workings within the Dorothe license.

Left: artisanal workings at the Dorothe license. Right: artisanal crushing and visual sorting of high‐grade visible gold in quartz vein material.

Left: abandoned artisanal workings at the Dorothe license. Right: large gold in quartz‐vein nugget observed during site visit.

2016.09.21 - IronRidge Goes Unconditional on Tekton Deal · “Tekton brings with it a highly...

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