Bluejay Mining PLC Announces Drilling results from Enonkoski JV with Rio Tinto

Bluejay Mining plc ('Bluejay' or the 'Company') Encouraging drilling results from the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co Joint Venture Project with Rio Tinto

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 27, 2023 / Bluejay Mining plc, the AIM, FSE listed and OTCQB traded exploration and resource development company with projects in Greenland and Finland, is pleased to announce the results from the first exploration programme of 2023 at the Enonkoski Nickel-Copper-Cobalt ('Ni-Cu-Co') Project ('Enonkoski' or the 'Project') in eastern Finland as part of the Joint Venture ('JV') and earn-in agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Finland Oy ('Rio Tinto') announced 10 November 2020.

Highlights

• Two drill holes for a total of 951.10 metres ('m') were drilled in January at the Laukunlampi target located 1.5 kilometres ('km') south-east of the former Laukunkangas Ni-Cu-Co mine (6.7 million tonnes ('Mt') at 0.78% Ni and 0.22% Cu were mined from Laukunkangas with the nickel grades of the off-set massive sulphide ores of over 5%, copper of up to 2% and cobalt of up to 0.3% (Geological Survey of Finland, 2020)^[1]).
• Drill hole ENON0028 intercepted a significant width of mineralised vari-textured pyroxenitic-noritic units with multiple intervals of nickel-copper sulphide (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite) droplet zones, and locally thin intervals of net-textured semi-massive sulphide mineralisation. The best mineralised interval in this hole yielded a nickel ('Ni') content of 0.41% whilst the remaining intervals within the sulphide droplet zones averaged 0.16% Ni (Table 2).
• A downhole electromagnetic survey ('DHEM') was conducted on both new drill holes during February.
• LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) scanning of drill core from ENON0028 has been completed.
• Geological and geophysical modelling is ongoing with the aim to define targets for follow-up drilling of the mineralisation that have been intercepted in several drill holes within the Laukunlampi intrusion.
• Spot measurements of the sulphide droplets in ENON0028 with a handheld pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence) show readings of up to 11% Ni demonstrating the exceptionally high Ni tenor^[2] of the sulphides in this hole.
• Recent geological and geophysical modelling within the area of the former Hälvälä Ni-Cu mine and Makkola Ni-Cu deposit have indicated that the latter mineralisation is open at a shallow level along strike in an area untested by previous drilling.

Dr. Bo Møller Stensgaard, CEO of Bluejay Mining plc, commented:

"The results from the first 2023 drilling with Rio Tinto on the Enonkoski Project are very encouraging with one of the drill holes returning significant intervals of sulphide-droplets, representing the highest sulphide content of any hole we have drilled in the Laukunlampi intrusion to date. Furthermore, individual droplets yield by far the highest Ni tenors of any sulphide so far encountered within this intrusion. This has positive implications for further exploration as we anticipate that the Ni tenor of the sulphide droplets as well as the overall sulphide content, should increase towards massive sulphide ores, providing us with a vector on which to plan our future drill holes as we continue the search for a significant mineralised body with economic grades of nickel, copper, cobalt within the Laukunlampi intrusion.

"Not only has the drilling returned mineralised intervals, it has also extended the potential search space of the Laukunlampi intrusion. In addition, our recent work at the Makkola target near the former Hälvälä Ni-Cu-Co Mine in the eastern part of the >15 km long metallogenic Enonkoski Belt indicates the potential for the presence of shallow drill targets. We look forward to updating the market in due course on the next developments for this exciting battery metals project, located in a world class mining jurisdiction."

January 2023 Results from the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co Project

The first diamond drilling programme of 2023 at the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co Project (see Bluejay's RNS dated: 16 January 2023) was completed as planned in January at the Laukunlampi target located approximately 2 km south-east of the historic Laukunkangas Ni-Cu-Co mine (Figure 1; Table 1). The drilling was followed by a DHEM survey in February. All drill core has been analysed for geochemistry at ALS laboratories in Outokumpu (Finland) and Loughrea (Ireland). Key intercepts are presented in Table 2. LIBS scanning has been completed on drill core from hole ENON0028 by LUMO Analytics providing detailed elemental mapping of the drill core.

High tenor nickel and copper sulphide droplets and disseminated sulphides have previously been intercepted in pyroxenitic and noritic units close to the southern and north-eastern contacts of the Laukunlampi mafic-ultramafic intrusion. Both drill holes drilled in January intercepted extensions of the mineralised pyroxenites observed in previous drilling.

• Drill hole ENON0028 intercepted nearly 200m of vari-textured pyroxenite and norite, including an 88m interval with multiple sub-intervals of Ni-Cu sulphides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite) as droplets and thin semi-massive sulphide mineralisation (Figure 2). The average nickel content of the mineralised intervals is approximately 0.15% and up to a maximum of 0.41% Ni. The latter is consistent with the nickel grade of the droplet sulphide ore that occurs in close association with and within a few hundred metres of the massive sulphide ores at the former Laukunkangas Ni-Cu-Co mine.
• Drill hole ENON0028 contains the highest and most significant sulphide content of all the drill holes completed to date at the Laukunlampi target. Significantly spot measurements of the sulphide droplets in ENON0028 utilising a handheld pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence) device show readings of up to 11% Ni, demonstrating the exceptionally high Ni tenor (defined as the concentration of a metal, usually Ni, contained in 100% sulphide) of the sulphides in this hole. This is approximately twice as high as those readings recorded in spot measurements of sulphide droplets taken from historic drill holes located elsewhere within the Laukunlampi mafic-ultramafic intrusion. Note that these pXRF data represent local spot measurements of individual sulphide droplets and are therefore not representative of a specific interval.
• Drill hole ENON0027 intercepted a significant width of gabbroic and noritic rocks and the results confirmed that the Laukunlampi intrusion can be extended to the north into an area of approximately 200 × 400m gap untested by previous drilling. This is regarded as a significant gap in the drilling when considering the small footprint and steeply plunging geometry of the known sulphide ore at the former mines hosted within the Enonkoski belt. Drill hole ENON0027 also intercepted a few metres of pyroxenite within the intrusion with weak to moderate sulphide mineralisation.

Table 1: Drill hole collar information for ENON0027 and ENON0028

Table 2: Selected mineralised intervals for ENON0027 and ENON0028 (see foot note)^[3]

Discussing the results of the January 2023 Enonkoski drilling, Thomas Levin, COO of Bluejay subsidiary FinnAust Mining Finland Oy ('FinnAust'), commented:

"Drill hole ENON0028 intercepted thin semi-massive sulphide intervals and a total of eight visual sulphide droplet intervals of up to 7m wide over a distance of 88m within an approximately 200m wide upper zone of compositionally and texturally variable pyroxenites before intercepting the contact of the lower zone consisting of a homogenous gabbronorite.

"Handheld pXRF spot measurements demonstrate that the nickel tenor is very high within the large sulphide droplets, indicating that our focus and exploration efforts have moved in the right direction within the intrusion. Our most significant sulphide intercepts prior to the recent drilling were from drill hole M421114R306 located more than 200m south of ENON0028, but encouragingly the nickel tenor has increased significantly towards the north in the case of ENON0028.

"The Laukunlampi intrusion is open towards the north and north-west, and our geological and geophysical models all indicate that the prospective pyroxenites continue in this direction supporting the potential of this target, especially at depth. The results from the ENON0027 drill hole have extended the intrusion towards the north. In addition, there is a large area to the north-west between our current drilling activity and the old Laukunkangas mine that is untested by drilling and is covered by a 10 to +20m thick approximately 1000 × 200m swamp that effectively masks the expected gravity anomalies in the area. When considering the small footprint (that can be only tens of metres or less) and steeply plunging character of the known economic deposits within the Enonkoski Belt, this represents a significant area of new search space for continued exploration.

"The focus of the JV has lately been on the Laukunlampi drilling, modelling and results, but I am pleased to report that the geological and geophysical modelling has also continued on the separate Hälvälä-Makkola target in the south-eastern region of the Enonkoski Belt where a ground gravity survey and extensive reference logging and measurements of historic drill core has recently been completed. The objective of the ongoing modelling is to generate new diamond drilling targets within an area hosting the former Hälvälä mine and the Makkola deposit. Recent geological modelling indicate that the Makkola Ni-Cu mineralisation is open at a shallow level along strike and is untested by drilling."

Figure 1. Enonkoski Permit areas with location of the former Laukunkangas (A) and Hälvälä (C) Ni-Cu-Co mines and the Laukunlampi Intrusion (B). The Makkola target which is also mentioned in the text is located near Hälvälä.

Geological modelling indicates that the pyroxenitic units of the Laukunlampi intrusion continue towards the north and north-west. The geological model is supported by geophysical modelling of all available magnetic, electromagnetic and gravity data. The DHEM modelling has generated some unexplained and untested off-hole conductors. However, no significant anomalies can be seen in the downhole electromagnetics or three component magnetic data in close proximity to the mineralised intervals in ENON0028. The ongoing planning for follow-up drilling is therefore focussed on the area further to the north and north-west, with the objective of demonstrating the presence of economic ore grades and tenors within these parts of the intrusion. Very limited drilling has been conducted to the north-west of the recent drilling and towards the Laukunkangas Ni-Cu-Co mine, and the Laukunlampi intrusion is open in this direction (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Example photos of high tenor nickel-copper sulphide droplets in drill hole ENON0028.

Figure 3 (previous page). Plan view (looking down) of the north-west - south-east trending elongated Laukunlampi intrusion with the location of the recently drilled ENON0028 and ENON0027 drill holes indicated. Former historical drill holes are also displayed. Colours on drill-holes represent different lithologies. The modelled pyroxenite (red solid) and the mafic-ultramafic Laukunlampi intrusive (green solid) are both open towards north and north-west towards an area with no historic drilling. The NNW-SSE trending and NNW plunging magnetic model (black solid rectangles) is coincident with a local conductor also untested by drilling. The distance between hole collars of ENON0028 and ENON0027 is 250m.

Further information on the Laukunlampi mafic-ultramafic intrusion

The Laukunlampi intrusion is located approximately 1.5km along strike to the south-east of the historic Enonkoski (Laukunkangas) nickel-copper-cobalt mine. The Laukunkangas deposit was discovered in 1969, although the high-grade ore was only discovered in 1980. The mine was operated between 1985 to 1994 by Outokumpu Oy. The Laukunkangas ore deposit occurred as many separate ore lodes hosted within the ultramafic-mafic rocks of the eastern and northern portions of the Laukunkangas intrusion. The ore types varied from massive to semi-massive sulphide ores to sulphide droplets plus strong sulphide dissemination hosted in peridotite and weak sulphide dissemination hosted in norite. Typical ore minerals were pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite. Some of the richest ore occurred as off-set ore lodes outside of the intrusion, within the mica gneiss or graphitic gneiss wall-rocks. A total of 6.7 Mt at 0.78% Ni and 0.22% Cu was mined from the Laukunkangas mine. The nickel content of the off-set massive ore was over 5%, with copper grades of up to 2% and cobalt grades of up to 0.3%, whilst the lower-grade disseminated ore contained approximately 0.3-0.4% Ni (Geological Survey of Finland, 2020)^[4].

Strong similarities between both the Laukunkangas intrusion (that hosts the former mine of the same name) and Laukunlampi intrusions have been recognised. Disseminated sulphides and pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pentlandite droplets analogous to the droplet ore at the Laukunkangas mine have been discovered at Laukunlampi at several locations within the noritic-pyroxenitic intrusion including the significant mineralised upper pyroxenite zone in drill hole ENON0028. No high-grade massive sulphides have yet been discovered within the Laukunlampi mafic-ultramafic intrusion. However, intervals with high amounts of sulphide droplets with high nickel and copper tenors based on handheld pXRF measurements have been discovered both close to the southern and northern contacts of the intrusion and by far the highest nickel tenor to date has been observed in drill hole ENON0028. In addition, significant widths of noritic rocks with disseminated sulphides have been intercepted with several drill holes.

Finland Overview

Bluejay holds, through its 100% owned Finnish subsidiary FinnAust Mining Finland Oy, three large scale project areas in East Finland - the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co project, the Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver project, and the Outokumpu copper-cobalt-zinc-nickel-gold-silver project. Bluejay subsidiary FinnAust signed a staged US$20 million JV and earn-in agreement with Rio Tinto for the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co project, announced 10 November 2020. The Company has also signed a conditional agreement for a partial divestment in a fourth Finnish project, the Kainuu Schist Belt Black Schist nickel-zinc-copper-cobalt project, for £4 million.

The Outokumpu mining district consists of an approximately 45km long belt hosting three historic polymetallic mines and multiple delineated deposits. The Outokumpu-type ore comprises of high-grade copper mineralisation, with significant associated cobalt, zinc, nickel, gold and silver. The main Outokumpu mine, the Keretti mine, was in operation from 1910 to 1989. FinnAust's 100 % owned tenements covers the majority of the Outokumpu Belt, in addition to several exploration target areas located outside of the main belt. Multiple drill ready targets have been identified by the Company within the current Exploration Permit areas.

The 15km long Enonkoski Belt hosts two historic nickel-copper-cobalt mines operated in the 1980s and 1990s. FinnAust's Exploration Permits covers the entire belt apart from the Laukunkangas Mining Lease. Most exploration efforts by the Company to date has focused on near-mine targets, but greenfield work has also been conducted at some regional targets and several drill ready targets have already been defined. Significant exploration activities have been ongoing for the past two years together with the Company's JV partner Rio Tinto.

The 100% owned Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver ('Cu-Zn-Au-Ag') project is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide ('VMS') mineralisation and contains the historic Hammaslahti mine, which was successfully operated between 1973 to 1986 by Outokumpu Oy. The mine produced approximately 7 Mt at an average grade of 1.16% Cu, 1.55% Zn, 0.59 g/t Au and 5.2 g/t Ag (Geological Survey of Finland, 2023)^[5]. The Company's exploration efforts have so far mostly focused on the near-mine area where drilling by FinnAust has confirmed that the main ore lode remains open down-plunge below the mine and has also resulted in the discovery of a new ore lode (e.g., 8.65 metres grading at 2.15% Cu, 1.97% Zn, 47.46 ppm Ag and 0.5 g/t Au in drill hole R325 (refer to FinnAust Mining RNS dated 21 July 2014)^[6] close to the underground workings at the historic mine. These drill targets, within the mine corridor, are ready for continued drill-testing. FinnAust's exploration permits, totalling 39.3 sq km, cover the majority of the Hammaslahti Belt. The belt is considered permissive for further VMS deposits as supported by the presence of high-grade mineralised outcrops and boulders within FinnAust's licence areas south of the former mine, providing further upside to the project.

Hammaslahti Tenements Update

Two Exploration Permit extension period applications within the Hammaslahti project area were successfully granted by the Finnish Mining Authority Tukes on 2^nd March 2023. The Hammaslahti C and Hammaslahti 1-2 permits covers the former Hammaslahti mine site and surrounding areas.

Assay and QAQC Procedures for the Enonkoski Drilling Programme

On receipt from the Enonkoski drill site, the diamond drill core was systematically logged for geological and geotechnical attributes, photographed and marked-up for sampling at FinnAust's operational base in the town of Outokumpu, Finland by Company personnel. A default 1m downhole sample length was used in mineralised zones, except where shortened by geological contacts. A default of 2m downhole sample length was used in intrusives that were clearly unmineralised and up to 3m downhole sample length was used in unmineralised wall rocks (e.g., gneisses). Core diametre for both holes was NQ2 (50.6 mm). All core cutting, sample preparation and geochemical analysis of the diamond drill core was undertaken by ALS Global ('ALS') at its laboratories in Outokumpu (Finland) and Loughrea (Republic of Ireland). ALS preparation and analytical labs are accredited to ISO 17025:2005 UKAS ref 4028 and have internal QA/QC programs for monitoring accuracy and precision. ALS is entirely independent of the Company.

All drill core was delivered by FinnAust personnel to ALS Outokumpu. Cores were then cut in half by ALS lengthwise along a pre-determined line offset from the orientation line with one half (same half, consistently) collected for analysis and one half (preserving the orientation line) stored as a record. All drill cores have been returned and are securely archived at FinnAust's warehouse facilities in Outokumpu for future reference. After drying the half core samples were crushed to >70% passing below 2 millimetres and split using a rotary splitter. A 1 kilogramme split was then pulverised to 85% passing below -75-microns. A 30 gramme ('g') split of the pulp was analysed for platinum, palladium, and gold content by fire assay with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry ('ICP-MS') finish (ALS method: PGM-MS23L). Major and trace elements, including rare earth elements were analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ('ICP-AES') after lithium borate fusion on a 0.20g aliquot (ALS method: ME-ICP06™). Loss on Ignition ('LoI') at 1000^oC was also analysed as part of this package. A separate pulp split was analysed for 48 elements, including base metals, by ICP-MS after four-acid digestion on a 0.25g aliquot (ALS method: ME-MS61™). Carbon and sulphur content were also analysed (ALS methods: C-IR07 and S-IR08, respectively). Any samples exceeding the over-range for nickel were re-analysed using a 4-acid digest ICP-MS ore grade method (ALS method: Ni-OG62™). Nickel was also analysed by a specialist method chosen for the selective decomposition of nickel sulphide to discriminate the nickel hosted in sulphides from that hosted within the silicates. This analysis consists of an ammonium citrate and hydrogen peroxide leach with an ICP-AES finish (ALS method: Ni-ICP05™).

Bluejay Mining and its subsidiaries operate according to its rigorous internal Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) protocols, which are consistent with industry best practices. For the Enonkoski project this includes the insertion of certified standards and blanks into the sample stream at an insertion rate of one in every 30 samples and laboratory duplicates are requested at a rate of one in every 40 samples, which is deemed appropriate for this stage of exploration. In smaller sample batches additional standards and blanks are included. The blanks are provided by ALS and standards are Certified Reference Materials (CRM's) supplied by Ore Research and Exploration, Australia. Internal QA/QC samples were also inserted by the analytical laboratories and have been reviewed by the Company prior to release. No material QA/QC issues have been identified with respect to sample collection, security, and assaying.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Joshua Hughes MESci (Hons), Vice President Exploration, and a full-time employee of Bluejay Mining plc, who is also a Member and Chartered Professional Geologist ("MAusIMM CP(Geo)") of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists ("FSEG") and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London ("FGS"). Mr. Hughes has performed data verification on all information disclosed in this news release related to sampling and analytical procedures, assay results and QA/QC. Mr. Hughes has sufficient experience, relevant to the styles of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by the AIM rules, and for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI-43-101") Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

For further information please visit http://www.bluejaymining.com or contact:

About Bluejay Mining Plc

Bluejay is listed on the London AIM market and Frankfurt Stock Exchange and its shares also trade on the OTCQB Market in the US. With multiple projects in Greenland and Finland, Bluejay has now secured four globally respected entities as partners on three of its projects, and exploration expenditure of $37 million committed on three key projects, giving the Company and its shareholders both portfolio and commodity diversification in high quality jurisdictions.

Bluejay's Dundas Ilmenite Project in Greenland, is fully permitted and undergoing further optimisation work. The Company has agreed a Master Distribution Agreement with a major Asian conglomerate for up-to 340k tonnes per annum ('tpa') of its designed 440ktpa annual output. The Company has also mandated a major European bank to head the financing syndicate for Dundas.

Bluejay, through its wholly owned subsidiary Disko Exploration Ltd., has signed a definitive Joint Venture Agreement with KoBold Metals to guide exploration for new deposits rich in the critical materials for electric vehicles (The Disko-Nuussuaq nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE Project). Disko Exploration Ltd holds two additional projects in Greenland - the 692 sq km Kangerluarsuk zinc-lead- silver project, where historical work has recovered grades of up to 45.4% zinc, 9.3% lead and 596 g/t silver^[7] and a fully funded summer drill programme is to commence on multiple large-scale drill ready targets; and the 920 sq km Thunderstone project which has the potential to host large-scale base metal and gold deposits.

In Finland, Bluejay currently holds three large scale multi-metal projects through its wholly owned subsidiary FinnAust Mining Finland Oy. The Company has a Joint Venture Agreement with Rio Tinto at its Enonkoski nickel-copper-cobalt Project in East Finland which has seen continued exploration and drilling since June 2021. Bluejay's drill ready Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver project hosts high-grade VMS mineralisation and extensions of historical ore lodes have been proven. The drill ready Outokumpu copper-nickel-cobalt-zinc-gold-silver project is located on one of the world's most prolific geological belts which hosts multiple high-grade deposits. Bluejay has also signed a conditional agreement for a partial divestment in a fourth Finnish project.

**ENDS**

^[1] Reference: Geological Survey of Finland (2020) Enonkoski deposit description [accessed: 24 March 2023]; https://tupa.gtk.fi/karttasovellus/mdae/raportti/37_Enonkoski.pdf

^[2] Definition: tenor is defined as the concentration of a metal, usually Ni, contained in 100% sulphide. Since the measurements reported in this RNS represent individual spot measurements by handheld pXRF directly on sulphide droplets they cannot be considered truly representative.

^[3] Notes: Nickel Equivalent ("NiEq") grades reported for the Enonkoski drill holes were calculated using the following formula: NiEq % = nickel (%) + (copper (%) x 0.3696) + (cobalt (%) x 1.4428). Assumptions used for the nickel equivalent calculations were the current spot metal prices (as of 17^th March 2023) of US$10.66/lb nickel, US$3.94/lb copper and US$15.38/lb Co and metallurgical recoveries were assumed to be 100%.

^[4] Reference: Geological Survey of Finland (2020) Enonkoski deposit description [accessed: 24 March 2023]; https://tupa.gtk.fi/karttasovellus/mdae/raportti/37_Enonkoski.pdf

^[5] Reference: Geological Survey of Finland (2023) Hammaslahti deposit report [accessed: 24 March 2023]; url: https://tupa.gtk.fi/karttasovellus/mdae/raportti/524_Hammaslahti.pdf

^[6] Reference: FinnAust Mining plc (2014) "New High-Grade Polymetallic lode Discovered at Hammaslahti Target, Finland [accessed: 24 March 2023]; url: https://tupa.gtk.fi/karttasovellus/mdae/references/524_Hammaslahti/524_JulyHammaslahtiDrilling21.07.14.pdf

^[7] Reference: Bluejay Mining plc (2023) Overview of the Kangerluarsuk Zn-Pb-Ag (± Cu-Ge) Project: An emerging district-scale, high-grade base metal opportunity in Central West Greenland [accessed: 24 March 2023]; url: https://bluejaymining.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Kangerluarsuk-Slides-Final-Feb-2023.pdf

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SOURCE: Bluejay Mining PLC