Categories: Base Metals
Topics: General Base Metals

Hannan Metals (TSX-V: HAN) CEO Michael Hudson on the Geological Data Unlocked by Seismic Survey at the Clare Basin in Ireland

Jan. 5, 2018

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is CEO and Chairman of Hannan Metals (TSX-V: HAN)(OTC: HANNF), Mr. Michael Hudson. Mike, Happy New Year, sir. How are you?

Michael Hudson: Very well. Thanks, Gerardo. Happy New Year to you, too.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, you're off to a great start in 2018. You recently completed a 41 line kilometer seismic survey at the project in Ireland. Can you provide the details? It's an important survey, and I'd like for you to explain what you did, why you did it, and the results that you got out of it.

Michael Hudson: Sure, Gerardo. It's a very different technique in the mineral business. It's really only emerged in the last two years with great force, and really only five years ago were the first surveys really put in the business. Before that, it was very much R&D, although the technique is 100 years old in the oil and gas business, and has driven exploration in that side of the business for a long time. Computing power is increased, and our ability to collect lots of detailed data that we need in the minerals business, in terms of tens of meters of scale rather than kilometers of scale for the oil and gas business, has been the change.

It's a new technique. We're one of the few companies applying it at the moment, and it's had great success in Ireland already. The largest zinc mine in Europe is called Navan, that's owned by Boliden, and they've just extended what was already a world-class asset at a 100+ million tonnes, they've added a 10 million tonnes to that 100 million tonnes over the last year, with seismics leading the way to discovery. That's been a mine that's been there for 40 years, so seismics has unlocked the potential of that deposit.

On that basis, we saw a huge opportunity. We had some seismics conducted by earlier workers on the property four or five years ago, but this was a very different scale project. This was over this whole Clare Basin, the whole 35,000 hectare area that we have, and the idea is to map the geology in 3D that we haven't had the opportunity to undertake previously. We're looking for big structures that have brought those mineralizing fluids into the rock mass, and certainly we see a lot of those now emerging. It's really peeled back the understanding of our entire project.

Gerardo Del Real: This is important for Hannan, because in 2018, although you've already established a maiden resource, I believe that happened back in July, you're looking to step out now and look for new discoveries, if I understand the strategy correctly, Mike.

Michael Hudson: Absolutely. We think we're approximately a third to half way there in terms of tonnes to something that could potentially be economic. We've got a very good start. Our focus last year was on extending that resource, and all our drill holes around the resource extended the resource. So tick for the first phase of drilling, to extend the resource. But the real change to this project will come in finding additional mineralized bodies around the current resource. That's where we've just started to focus. Drilling with two drill rigs is continuing, and this seismic program just goes to help target and prioritize those drill holes. It shouldn't be lost that this was a huge program, the seismic program. It's something that's not undertaken commonly. It was a half a million euro survey. We had 34 people at site. It looked like ET had landed in southwest Ireland there for a number of weeks, with the amount of transmitters and aerials and the like that were all over the whole countryside.

Gerardo Del Real: Now the Clare Basin, where you're exploring and where you established this resource is one of the most mineralized belts in all of Ireland. Is that correct, Mike?

Michael Hudson: Yeah. Absolutely. It's where exploration started in Ireland, in the ‘50s, where the first discoveries were made. They exist on our project. There's fewer areas in terms of near-surface historic mines through Ireland, in terms of the amount of mines near-surface. We have the most in terms of the area, I suppose, that we're searching in, compared to the rest of Ireland. But, exploration has been very close to surface, and this is where the seismics comes in, and allows us to look deeper. We've got up to 20 kilometers of strike from 200 meters down that hasn't seen any drilling whatsoever. That really doesn't exist in Ireland. From the most prospected belts near-surface to under-explored from 200 meters down, with a technique that now allows us to look deeper, is a really critical point.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. You mentioned two drill rigs. I think the release referenced that there would be two rigs restarting operations the week after the Christmas break. Has that commenced, or is it about to commence?

Michael Hudson: On Monday, we recommence drilling.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Well, I'm looking forward to visiting the project in the next month or two, Mike. Thank you in advance for the opportunity. Is there anything else you'd like to add? We have zinc at $1.54 a pound. We talked off air about the skepticism from a lot of people in the industry, and I think they've been skeptical, frankly, since $0.90, so I hope they continue to be skeptical. It's worked out thus far, obviously an exciting start to 2018. Is there anything that you'd like to add?

Michael Hudson: No. As we discussed, Gerardo, we are in a bull market for zinc, but the zinc exploration companies have really not responded yet, and there's a huge opportunity awaiting.

Gerardo Del Real: Can you remind everyone where your market cap's at today?

Michael Hudson: Around $9 million Canadian.

Gerardo Del Real: Canadian. Excellent, that's a lot of upside. I'm looking forward to it. Mike, thank you so much for your time today.

Michael Hudson: Thanks, Gerardo.