European Green Metals Limited (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has been awarded a large, new, highly prospective exploration licence covering several historic mining districts in the state of Saxony, Germany. 100% of the Marienberg permit was granted to the Company covering a vast 381 sq.km area in southern Saxony and hosting several styles of mineralisation within the Marienberg-Pobershau, Annaberg-Buccholz and Seiffen mining districts. These districts were mined for silver, copper, cobalt, tin, tungsten, nickel, lead and uranium, along with barite and fluorite. The licence covers these metals (excluding baryte and uranium) in addition to REEs and lithium for which there is high potential associated with Sn-W-Li greisens while lithium in deep geothermal waters or brines would also be covered by the new exploration licence.
Overview of the Marienberg Exploration Licence:
- New Marienberg exploration licence valid for 3 years to 15 July 2026 covering area of 381.58 sq. km including the historic mining districts of Marienberg-Pobershau, Annaberg-Buccholz and Seiffen.
- The licence was issued to cover the following metals and minerals: Silver, tin, tungsten, lithium, indium, germanium, nickel, cobalt, gold, copper, lead, zinc, gallium, fluorspar, lanthanum and lanthanides (REEs), scandium and yttrium.
- The Company will complete some further low-cost exploration and testing to assess the full potential of the license and explore non-dilutive funding options, specifically the prospects to advance potential direct lithium extraction opportunities.
Figure 1 – Marienberg licence area with mineral districts
A Rich Mining Heritage:
The Marienberg region of Saxony, has a rich history as a prominent producer of Silver (‘Ag’) and tin (‘Sn’) with mining dating back to the early 1400s. Hundreds of individual veins have been worked throughout these mining districts over the centuries resulting in countless small mines, pits, adits, shafts and dumps covering large areas of the former mining districts and leading to a rich mining heritage which is still preserved and valued to this day. The region has also yielded other critical metals such as Cu, Co, Ni, In, Ga, Ge from 5-type veins and Sn, Cu and W from greisen deposits associated with highly evolved granite intrusions. These greisen-type deposits have additional potential for Li, such as that at the large Zinnwald Lithium deposit located 25km east of the Seiffen district in the east of the new licence area. Furthermore, the Niederschlag fluorite mine, the only operational mine in Saxony, is located approximately 9km southwest of the Marienberg licence boundary and the new licence also covers fluorite or fluorspar which is a recognised as a critical mineral by the EU.
Unlocking the Potential of the Marienberg Exploration Licence:
This expansive area encompasses several historic mining districts that will be the focus of exploration reviews, working outwards from known mineralisation to new potential targets. The Company’s first phase of work will be to assess these areas for constraints on exploration due to conflicting land uses. Other targets have been defined from regional stream sediment anomalies and these will require follow up work to determine if they represent viable exploration targets. For example, there are lithium stream anomalies in the Seiffen area which may be related to previously unexplored lithium greisens under cover. The Company will critically asses all target areas to ensure that exploration is focussed on sites and targets with economic significance that can be advanced without unreasonable constraints.
Targeted Mineralization:
Our primary exploration will focus on the known types of mineralization in the district:
- Greisen Systems (Sn-Cu, Li, and W). Notably, several mines in the area have only been explored up to the top of the Sn-bearing zone, presenting compelling exploration opportunities. Importantly, this region has seen limited modern exploration with little or no recent drilling post 1990. This target type offers the best potential to find significant tonnage.
- Deep-Epithermal Silver Deposits and their associated minor metals (In, Ge, Ga). While narrow in width, these veins could be high-grade facilitating underground narrow vein mining if sufficient strike length, depth and tonnage can be defined.
- 5-Type Element Veins including F and Ba deposits. These veins are common in the district but tend to be narrow and as with deep epithermal silver veins, the challenge will be to locate sufficient strike length of mineralised vein.
Potential for Lithium Enriched Waters:
The Marienberg exploration licence features lithium-enriched granites that are concealed beneath cover with regional stream sediments indicating elevated levels of Sn and Li above un-roofed plutons, although lithium is likely found at greater depths in Marienberg and exhibits lower anomalies in surface streams. The region boasts geological similarities to Cornwall; however, we believe there is likely to be more structure and faults which we attribute to the presence of the Eger Rift to the south of licence area. Several warm springs are also present in the larger Saxony-Erzebirge (Ore Mountains) area. Therefore, there may be potential for deep geothermal lithium that the Company will investigate further. There have been several advances in exploration and direct lithium extraction technology for such lithium targets and several companies in Europe are touting new extraction methods designed to yield lithium sustainably while producing low-impact, high-value products. The Company will explore non-dilutive grant funding opportunities to advance the potential for direct lithium extraction within the Marienberg license.
The Marienberg Exploration Licence‘s Next Phase:
As we embark on this exciting journey in Marienberg, we recognize the licence’s potential and its capacity for value creation. Further low-cost exploration and testing will be undertaken to assess the full potential of the opportunities within the Marienberg exploration licence area.
Our dedication to responsible exploration remains paramount, and we believe that our efforts in Marienberg align seamlessly with our mission to secure critical metals in Europe, for Europe. Aiding efforts for a greener and more sustainable future.
We look forward to updating you on our progress and milestones achieved during this exploration venture.
The European Green Metals Team
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