Rescheduled Heliborne Geophysical Survey

Rescheduling provides additional time to align the survey with the needs of stakeholders and optimise its coverage area to reflect recent exploration success.

Planned for May/June 2022, Aberdeen Minerals Limited (“AML”) has rescheduled its heliborne geophysical survey in North East Scotland.

Following a public awareness campaign in May AML has, together with its technical, environmental and ecological consultants, considered relevant feedback to the geophysical planning and the survey is planned to be undertaken in early-September.

Specific survey dates and detailed flight plans will be published via AML’s web-site with appropriate notice and regular updates from late-summer.  
The survey will cover the areas as highlighted on Figure 1. These areas comprise under-explored geology which has a demonstrated potential to host nickel, copper, cobalt and PGE (platinum group elements) mineralization.  

SkyTEM
Headquartered in Denmark, AML’s selected specialist contractor SkyTEM has undertaken numerous surveys of the type globally flying over one million kilometres of survey, including large areas in Denmark and Sweden.  This non-invasive exploration technique employs a small helicopter fitted with specialised monitoring equipment to survey variations in the Earth’s electromagnetic field within the area of interest.

The helicopter will not be flying directly over urban dwellings, farm buildings and areas of development and SkyTEM survey flight paths will navigate around pylons, wind turbines and communications infrastructure.

Survey Attributes
The helicopter being used for the AML survey is a piloted, single engine aircraft, travelling at approximately 120 kilometres per hour or 70 miles per hour, at around 100 m or 300 feet, (see Figure 2), which directly overhead has a sound output of approximately 87 dB. For comparison, a Boeing 737 aircraft at one nautical mile or 1.8 km before landing is 97 dB; a power mower or motorcycle passing at 25 feet or 8 m by is 96 dB.

Stakeholder Consultation
AML take its Health, Safety & Environment obligations very seriously. Our Board, technical management team and contractors have more than thirty (30) years of experience of working safely and responsibly on exploration project surveys globally with particular experience in continental Europe, Scotland, the wider UK, and the African continent. We are working closely with the helicopter contractor and SkyTEM to ensure that best practice is adhered to.

AML and its contractors will hold all required permissions to conduct this specialist low-level survey, as issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.  In order to secure the necessary flight authorisations from the CAA our contractor is mandated to follow all the requirements laid out in the UK aviation laws and regulations and, as with any commercial aircraft operator in the UK, the contractor holds comprehensive insurances.

A public awareness and community engagement campaign is being carried out to inform all landowners on the timing of the survey in their areas and advise landowners of when the helicopter will be overflying their property to minimise disturbance to livestock or to other businesses. As the flight schedule is finalised the flight schedules and details will be published on AML’s web-site, enabling all landowners, animal owners and the general public to see when and where SkyTEM will be flying.

In addition to consulting AML’s web-site, landowners and animal owners can register directly with us via email to receive direct notification of when any flights will be scheduled in their area.  Livestock owners with specific concerns are encouraged to contact our team at AML. 

Aberdeen Minerals Corporate Mission
North East Scotland is a prospective magmatic intrusive geological setting with identified nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization with potential to host economic deposits of these metals which are deemed critical for electrifying the economy of the future.

AML is focussed on using cutting-edge exploration technologies to discover and define economic orebodies. This is all geared towards helping Scotland, the UK and the EU locally source clean, zero carbon supplies of the battery raw materials necessary to achieve its green industrial goals to deliver a zero-emissions transportation sector by 2035.

Contact Details
Please contact our General Manager Drew Craig directly if you would like any further information - email moc.slarenimneedreba@cd.