New Liberty feasibility drilling results completed Resource update expected in Q4 2011
November 8, 2011
BackNovember 8, 2011
Aureus Mining Inc.
TSX : AUE
AIM : AUE
Aureus Mining Inc. (“Aureus” or the “Company”) announces the receipt of all drilling results for its feasibility drilling programme at the New Liberty gold project within the Company’s 100% owned Bea Mountain Mining License in Liberia.
- Assay results have now been received for the final 80 holes of the 190-hole programme totalling 28,397 metres. The majority of this drilling and assaying work has been executed in the last five months.
- Results from the fourth and final set of 80 holes (12,801 metres) returned multiple high-grade intercepts which include highlights of:
- 13.7 g/t over 5 metres
- 8.2 g/t over 14 metres
- 7.6 g/t over 8 metres
- 7.3 g/t over 9 metres
- 6.9 g/t over 10 metres
- 6.4 g/t over 8 metres
- 6.3 g/t over 10 metres
- 6.1 g/t over 10 metres
- 5.9 g/t over 8 metres
- 5.5 g/t over 36 metres
- 4.8 g/t over 19 metres
- 4.4 g/t over 16 metres
- 4.4 g/t over 21 metres
- 3.8 g/t over 17 metres
- 3.7 g/t over 22 metres
- 3.3 g/t over 29 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 1.75km 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. The principal objectives of the drill programme were to fill in the gaps within the known mineralised ore body as well as outline potential strike and depth extensions to the previous resource estimate.
- Wireframe modelling has now been completed for the ore body by the Company’s geologists and this model and relevant drill hole data is being analysed by our resource consultants, Australian Mining Consultants. A new NI 43-101 resource estimate update of the New Liberty deposit is expected in Q4 2011.
- The New Liberty deposit is still open in the east with the easternmost hole returning 14 metres grading 3.5 g/t gold. A further 15-hole (2,459m) programme of diamond drilling has recently been completed and covers a potential eastern extension of 400 metres, with results pending.
Commenting on the results, David Reading, Chief Executive Officer of Aureus, said:
“The receipt of all the assay results for the drilling programme represents another important and significant milestone in the Company’s feasibility study for New Liberty. The fast turnaround of these results has been achieved through efficient assay processing and consistent and sustained drilling throughout the rainy season in Liberia. We have now doubled the drill intercepts within the deposit and we are on track to announce a resource update. We look forward to releasing a maiden reserve and a summary of the main results of the DFS early in 2012.”
New Liberty Project – All results now returned for the feasibility drilling programme.
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 compliant resource estimate was filed on SEDAR in December 2010. The Feasibility drill programme is now complete and totals 190 holes for 28,397 metres of diamond drill core. The Company has received assay results for the total drilling campaign.
The 80 holes announced in this release cover 12,801 metres of drilling and is located within the western portion of the deposit and Latiff – Kinjor areas. The results are considered by the Company to be positive and confirm the continuity of the main zone from surface to a depth of 200 metres along the strike length of 1.75 kilometres. These results, along with those from the previous press releases of July to September, have significantly improved the wireframe model of the deposit. 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.
The results of all 80 holes are outlined below:
Table 1: New Liberty Diamond drill results
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All of the assay data, as well as other borehole and geological information, has now been incorporated into a digital database and a wireframe model has been constructed by the Company’s geological team. All of this information has now been handed over to the Company’s resource consultants, Australian Mining Consultants, for the necessary audit and verification work as well as the completion of an updated NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource estimate. The upgraded resource is expected within Q4 2011.
The location of the drill intercepts in plan and in a longitudinal section as well as representative sections over the 17,500 metre strike length can be viewed in figures one to four by visiting the following links:
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Contact Information
| Aureus Mining Inc.David Reading / Jeremy CaveTel: +44(0) 20 7257 2930 | BuchananBobby Morse / James StrongTel: +44(0) 20 7466 5000 |
| Evolution Securities LimitedNomad: Jeremy Ellis / Neil ElliotJoint Broker: Tim RedfernTel: +44(0) 20 7071 4300 | RBC Capital MarketsMartin Eales / Richard HughesTel: +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.
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