25 Jun 2008 07:00
Cluff Gold plc
("Cluff" or the "Company")
Resource Update
CLUFF GOLD INCREASES MEASURED/INDICATED MINERAL RESOURCES AT BAOMAHUN SEVEN FOLD TO 867,000 OUNCES OF GOLD; TOTAL MINERAL RESOURCES INCLUDING INFERRED INCREASE TO 1,353,000 OUNCES OF GOLD
Cluff Gold (AIM - "CLF") is pleased to announce the following updated JORC complaint Mineral Resource estimates at its Baomahun gold project in Sierra Leone:
Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources have increased seven fold to 867,000 ounces of gold (8,933,000 tonnes grading 2.9 g/t Au)
Inferred Mineral Resource is now 486,000 ounces of gold (5,083,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au)
Total Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources have increased to 1,353,000 ounces of gold (14,016,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au)
Table 1 below summarises the current Mineral Resource estimates at Baomahun:
Baomahun Gold Project JORC Resource, June 2008
|
|
| TONNES | AU (g/t) | AU (Oz) |
| Measured | East | 1,657,000 | 3.2 | 170,000 |
|
| Fold | - | - | - |
|
| Central | 812,000 | 3.1 | 80,000 |
|
| West 1 | 144,000 | 1.8 | 8,000 |
|
| West2 | 753,000 | 2.3 | 56,000 |
|
| Total | 3,366,000 | 2.9 | 314,000 |
|
|
| TONNES | AU (g/t) | AU (Oz) |
| Indicated | East | 2,000,000 | 3.9 | 252,000 |
|
| Fold | 440,000 | 3.2 | 45,000 |
|
| Central | 1,080,000 | 3.4 | 117,000 |
|
| West 1 | 477,000 | 2.2 | 33,000 |
|
| West2 | 1,570,000 | 2.1 | 106,000 |
|
| Total | 5,567,000 | 3.1 | 553,000 |
|
|
| TONNES | AU (g/t) | AU (Oz) |
| Inferred | East | 2,232,000 | 3.8 | 274,000 |
|
| Fold | 429,000 | 3.1 | 43,000 |
|
| Central | 785,000 | 2.6 | 67,000 |
|
| West 1 | 793,000 | 2.1 | 52,000 |
|
| West2 | 844,000 | 1.8 | 50,000 |
|
| Total | 5,083,000 | 3.0 | 486,000 |
| All categories | All areas | 14,016,000 | 3.00 | 1,353,000 |
Resources quoted at a 1g/t Au block cut off.
Tonnes and Ounces rounded to the nearest '000
Commenting on these results at Baomahun, Mr. Douglas Chikohora, Technical Director of Cluff Gold plc said, "We are very pleased with these latest mineral resource estimates for Baomahun. Not only has much of our previous Inferred Resources been upgraded to the higher confidence Measured and Indicated Resource categories but our overall resources have also increased. Measured and Indicated resources now account for over 60% of the total resources. It is also important to note that this resource estimate is based on drilling undertaken over a strike length of less than 30% of the prospective trend of 12 kilometres on the Kangari Hills. Therefore, there is considerable upside along strike and down dip of the current resource area to further increase the resources. Drilling is continuing at Baomahun with 3 core rigs and will undertake an updated mineral resource estimate later in the year once we have completed this drilling campaign which is part of the ongoing pre-feasibility study which is planned for completion by the end of this year"
The Baomahun Gold Project covers an area of about 137 km2 and is located 180 kilometres east of Freetown, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The Baomahun licence area covers more than 12 kilometres of prospective strike along the Kangari Hills which is composed of Archaean greenstone belt terrain consisting of banded iron formation (BIF) Gold mineralisation in the drilled areas is intimately associated with the BIF and other lithologies in close proximity to the BIF. Accordingly, future exploration and drilling will continue to use the BIF as a marker horizon for auriferous zones along the belt.
Gold grades were determined using ordinary kriging. The mineralisation models were constrained within the wireframe with primary block dimensions of 10 metres along the strike and cross structure directions, and 10 metres in the vertical direction. Higher-grade values have been statistically capped to between 20 g/t Au and 30 g/t Au based on the mineralized domain. The improved geological knowledge, coupled with the increased data density, the continuity of the mineralisation and the increased reliability of the database, have allowed resources to be classified with higher confidence. Tonnages and grades are reported using a 1.0 g/t Au cut-off.
Drill cores for assaying were taken at a maximum of one metre intervals and were cut with a diamond saw with one-half of the core placed in sealed bags and sent to Alex Stuart preparation facility in Baomahun, Sierra Leone. The core samples were then crushed with half the sample then being pulverised down to minus 75 microns. A portion of the pulverised sample was then shipped to the SGS Laboratory (which is independent of the Company) in Guenea where the samples were analysed for gold by fire assay using a 50 g sample. As part of the Company's QA/QC procedures, internationally recognized standards, duplicates and blanks were inserted into the sample batches.
The Mineral Resource estimates disclosed in this announcement have been prepared in accordance with the 2004 edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code)" and have been carried out on behalf of the Company by Dr. Simon Ingram who is a Member of Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (MIMMM). Dr Ingram has reviewed and approved the contents of this announcement.
Douglas D Chikohora has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Douglas D Chikohora, Msc, (MIMMM, CEng) is Technical Director of the Company.
For further information, please contact:
Cluff Gold plc
J.G. Cluff
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7340 9790
W H Ireland
David Youngman/Katy Mitchell
Tel: +44 (0) 161 832 2174
Farm Street Communications
Simon Robinson
Tel: +44 (0) 7887985671
Notes to Editors:
About Cluff Gold plc
Cluff Gold plc is focused on the identification, acquisition and development of gold deposits in West Africa that are amenable to open-pit mining and low cost production techniques.
The Company has made significant progress since its admission to AIM in December 2004, increasing gold resources across its projects, expanding the project portfolio and broadening the investor base to an increasingly international audience.
Mt. Yaoure, Cote d'Ivoire
The Mt. Yaoure permit is located 40km northwest of Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Cote d'Ivoire, and covers a surface area of 417km(2) including a 50 km2 mining permit. The licence area includes the Angovia gold mine which operated between 1998 and 2003. The mine reportedly produced over 180,000 ounces of gold during this period by heap leaching some 2 million tonnes of oxide material. The infrastructure in the area is good and includes a hydroelectric dam six kilometres from the Angovia mine site. A measured and indicated JORC compliant resource of 451 000 ounces and an inferred JORC compliant resource of 44 000 ounces has so far been delineated.
Recently, the company announced the commencement of gold production at Angovia at an annualized rate of 40 000 ounces of gold by the end of this year.
Kalsaka, Burkina Faso
Kalsaka is located approximately 150km north west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. A measured and indicated JORC compliant resource of 634 000 ounces and inferred JORC compliant resource of 157 000 ounces has been delineated so far. The resource has been demonstrated, by a feasibility study, to be technically amenable to open-pit mining and processing via heap leaching. Water, environmental and mining permits for the project have been granted. The mining permit is valid for twenty years.
Construction has commenced at Kalsaka and commissioning is expected to commence in Q3, 2008 with production estimated to reach 60 000 ounces on an annualized rate by the end of this year.
Baomahun, Sierra Leone.
The Baomahun Gold Project covers an area of about 137 km2 and is located about 180 kilometres east of Freetown, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The geological setting is similar to the Lake Victoria goldfields in Tanzania.
The Baomahun licence area covers more than 12 kilometres of prospective strike along the Kangari Hills which is composed of Archaean greenstone belt terrain consisting of banded iron formation (BIF) Gold mineralisation in the drilled areas is intimately associated with the BIF and other lithologies in close proximity to the BIF. Accordingly, future exploration and drilling will continue to use the BIF as a marker horizon for auriferous zones along the belt.
A measured and indicated JORC compliant resource of 867,000 ounces of gold (8,933,000 tonnes grading 2.9 g/t Au) and inferred JORC compliant mineral resource of 486,000 ounces of gold (5,083,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au); with total measured, indicated and inferred JORC compliant resource mineral resources of 1,353,000 ounces of gold (14,016,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au) has so far been delineated.
Cluff Gold has recently entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the 40 per cent interest in the project which it does not own. The consideration for the acquisition will be US$21.8 million which will be satisfied by the issue of approximately 12.4 million shares in the Company. The acquisition is conditional, inter alia, on the approval of the recent application for a Mining Lease at Baomahun.
A Full Technical Glossary can be found on the company website at:
http://www.cluffgold.com/pages/projects_glossary.asp