New Liberty Feasibility drilling completed – results continue to deliver high grades
October 3, 2011
BackOctober 03, 2011
Aureus Mining Inc.
TSX : AUE
AIM : AUE
NEWS RELEASE
New Liberty Feasibility drilling completed – results continue to deliver high grades
Aureus Mining Inc. (“Aureus” or the “Company”) announces the completion of the feasibility drilling programme at the New Liberty gold project within the Company’s 100% owned Bea Mountain Mining License in Liberia as well as the results of assays on a further 3,968m of core from this feasibility programme (the “Feasibility Drilling Programme”).
A summary of the feasibility drilling programme to date:
· 190 holes have been drilled totalling 28,397 metres. The majority has been drilled in the last four months with four diamond drill rigs. This programme is in addition to the original drilling campaign for the Preliminary Economic Assessment which completed 27,736m of drilling for the existing NI 43-101 compliant 1.5 Moz resource.
· Results from the third set of 39 holes (3,968 metres) returned multiple high grade intercepts of which the highlights include :
– 8.9 g/t over 9 metres
– 7.0 g/t over 7 metres
– 6.4 g/t over 18 metres
– 6.3 g/t over 14 metres
– 5.3 g/t over 9 metres
– 5.7 g/t over 8 metres
– 4.9 g/t over 30 metres
– 4.3 g/t over 14 metres
– 3.6 g/t over 14 metres
– 3.0 g/t over 18 metres
– 3.3 g/t over 11 metres
· The Feasibility Drilling Programme was designed to estimate the number of ounces that could potentially fall within an open pit covering a strike length of 1.75 kilometres and a depth of 200 metres. These are the approximate dimensions of the open pit design as defined within the Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), based on the previous resource estimate, and filed by the Company in December 2010. This drill programme is designed to fill in the gaps within the known mineralised ore body and outline potential strike and depth extensions to the previous resource estimate.
· Assay results have now been received from 106 holes accounting for 56% of the drilling programme. All of the outstanding results are expected, by the end of October. Wireframe modelling is currently in progress incorporating all the new results with the objective of completing a new NI 43-101 resource estimate of the New Liberty deposit by the end of Q4 2011.
Commenting on the results, David Reading, Chief Executive Officer of Aureus, said:
“The completion of the Feasibility drilling programme represents an outstanding achievement for the Company within a short time period. Feasibility work on the New Liberty deposit continues with metallurgical, mining, power and infrastructure and tailings design studies. The focus of the diamond drilling is now directed towards our advanced exploration targets within the mining and exploration licences and a further 15,000 metres is planned for the remainder of this year.”
New Liberty Project – Feasibility drilling programme is now complete.
The feasibility drilling programme was designed to estimate the quantity of gold resources within the New Liberty deposit down to a depth of 200 metres below surface and over a strike length of 1.75 kilometres. These are the approximate dimensions of the open pit design as defined within the Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), which was filed on SEDAR in December 2010 and was based on the previous filed resource estimate. New Liberty has an estimated Indicated Mineral Resource of 751,000 ounces of gold grading 4.17 g/t (contained in 5,599,000 tonnes) and an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 762,000 ounces of gold grading 3.40 g/t (contained in 7,040,000 tonnes). This NI 43-101 resource estimate was filed on SEDAR in December 2010. The Feasibility drill programme is now complete and totals 189 holes generating 28,357 metres of diamond drill core. To date the Company has received assay results for 109 holes accounting for 56% of the drilling programme. All of the remaining assay results are expected by the end of October 2011.
The 39 holes announced in this release cover 3,968 metres and were focused on the area between Larjor and Latiff, in the Latiff zone and to determine continuity in the area between Kinjor and Marvoe. The results are encouraging and confirm the existence of mineralised zones within areas previously thought to be barren as well as highlighting the high grades within Latiff, Kinjor and Marvoe. The results of the 39 holes are outlined below.
Table 1: New Liberty Diamond drill results
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The programme has been designed to fill in gaps within the present wireframe model as well as to look at possible pit extensions at depth and to the east. Grade variability with the ore body reflects the pinch and swell nature of this shear hosted mineralisation and the steeply dipping plunge of the high grade zones. In all cases the mineralised units are defined by the presence of disseminated sulphides which are hosted in altered and sheared ultramafic rocks. With the completion of the feasibility drilling the company is now focused on receiving all of the remaining and outstanding assays. After receipt of all outstanding data, a wireframe model for the ore body will be completed and all digital information will be handed over to our consultants, Australian Mining Consultants (“AMC”), to complete all work required for the filing of an upgraded NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate.
The location of the drill intercepts in plan and in a longitudinal section as well as representative sections over the 1,100 metre strike length can be viewed in figures one to eight by visiting the following links:
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide1.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide2.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide3.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide4.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide5.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide6.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide7.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Slide8.png
Contact Information
| Aureus Mining Inc.
David Reading / Jeremy Cave Tel: +44(0) 20 7257 2930 |
Buchanan
Bobby Morse / James Strong Tel: +44(0) 20 7466 5000 |
| Evolution Securities Limited
Nomad: Jeremy Ellis / Neil Elliot Joint Broker: Tim Redfern Tel: +44(0) 20 7071 4300 |
RBC Capital Markets
Martin Eales / Richard Hughes Tel: +44(0) 20 7653 4000 |
Qualified Person
The Company’s Qualified Person responsible for preparing this release is David Reading, who holds a MSc in Economic Geology from University of Waterloo, Canada and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. David Reading is the President and CEO of Aureus Mining Inc. and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.
Assay and sampling information are taken from the Company’s database as prepared on New Liberty site by the project geologists. Drill core is split on site and sent under custody to the Alex Stewart-OMAC sample preparation facility in Monrovia where pulps are prepared and dispatched to the OMAC laboratory in Ireland for analysis by fire assay with an atomic absorption finish.
Quality control and quality assurance procedures include the regular and methodical implementation of field duplicates, blank samples, standards and laboratory repeats as well as regular and specific programmes of re-assaying and umpire laboratory assaying.
About Aureus Mining
The Company’s assets include the New Liberty gold deposit in Liberia (the “New Liberty Gold Project”), which has an estimated Indicated Mineral Resource of 751,000 ounces of gold grading 4.17 g/t (contained in 5,599,000 tonnes) and an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 762,000 ounces of gold grading 3.40 g/t (contained in 7,040,000 tonnes). A preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) of the New Liberty Gold Project filed in December 2010 outlined a robust open pit gold mine with a pre-tax NPV of US$234 million based on an $1100/oz. gold price and a 10% discount rate. The PEA outlined an 8.5 year mine life with approximate production of 100,000 ounces per year in the first five years. The New Liberty Gold Project is being advanced through to a definitive feasibility study.
The New Liberty Gold Project locates within the Bea Mountain mining license which covers 457 km² and has a 25 year, renewable, mineral development agreement. The Bea Mountain mining license also hosts the proximal gold targets of Ndablama, Weaju, Silver Hills and Gondoja, which are the focus of exploration programs during 2011.
The Company also has gold assets within exploration properties in Sierra Leone and Cameroon.
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking information. All information, other than information regarding historical fact that addresses activities, events or developments that Aureus Mining believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but may not be limited to, the future plans and objectives of Aureus Mining and their anticipated future growth, mineral resource estimates and the anticipated exploration and development activities of Aureus Mining. The foregoing and any other forward-looking information contained in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions or beliefs of Aureus Mining based on information currently available to Aureus Mining. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this press release, Aureus Mining has made assumptions regarding, among other things: general business, economic and mining industry conditions; and it has also been assumed that no material adverse change in the price of precious and/or base metals occurs, no unusual geological or technical problems occur and no significant events occur outside of the normal course of Aureus Mining’s respective business.
Such forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including: risks normally incidental to exploration and development of mineral properties; uncertainties in the interpretation of results from drilling and test work; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with expectations; uncertainty of mineral resources estimates; adverse changes in precious and/or base metal prices; and future unforeseen liabilities and other factors including, but not limited to, those listed under “Risk Factors” in the Preliminary Prospectus of Aureus Mining Inc. dated April 20, 2011, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and in the Aureus Mining Admission Document, a copy of which is available at www.aureus–mining.com.
Any mineral resource figures referred to in this press release are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of minerals will be produced. Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practices. Valid estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new information becomes available. While Aureus Mining believes that the mineral resource estimates in respect of their respective properties are well established, by their nature mineral resource estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable. If such mineral resource estimates are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a material adverse impact on Aureus Mining, as applicable. Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to inferred mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration.
Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable law, Aureus Mining disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking information, either as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason.
share it
print it
