How to change format to APFS on a Samsung SSD 970 EVO (Mojave)

Reformat the 970 first.

see > Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

CCC may or may not be able to create a bootable clone.

see > https://bombich.com/en/kb/ccc/6/cloning-macos-system-volumes-apple-software-restore

Best bet, is to Install macOS on the 970 and then Migrate from the 860 during the initial setup.

see > How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

and > Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

macOS Sierra is the first to know ANYTHING about APFS format, and High Sierra is the first to use APFS on the boot drive when doing an upgrade or new Install.

you need to be sure the version of Recovery you use knows about APFS. For example, the 10.11 El Capitan installer or recovery has never heard of APFS.

if the using High Sierra or later, be certain to use the tiny View menu and select "show all devices", then select the DEVICE, by its immutable manufacturer-given device-name to be erased. (Don't just select the Macintosh HD Volume.)

Theoretically you can boot from the installer (USB or Recovery Mode) and use Disk Utility to convert the drive from HFS+ (aka MacOS Extended) to APFS.

It should convert the file system without affecting any data, but you should always make sure to have a good backup before doing any major change like this.