Atalaya Mining Regulatory News (ATYM)

8 Nov 2005 07:00

Eastern Mediterranean Res. Pblc LD08 November 2005 8 November 2005 EMED ESTABLISHES GOLD EXPLORATION PORTFOLIO IN EASTERN EUROPE For maps related to this announcement, please click on the following link. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7671t_-2005-11-7.pdf Eastern Mediterranean Resources Public Limited ("EMED") announces that it isexpanding its presence in Eastern Europe where it has already started field workin Slovakia by applying the latest low-detection gold prospecting techniques toinitial target areas. Five additional licences have been applied for - two in Slovakia and three inHungary. These areas complement the two licence areas already held by theCompany in Slovakia and form a portfolio focussed on volcanic settings analogousto certain parts of the Pacific Rim, where some world-class discoveries havebeen made in the past 30 years using the techniques being applied by EMED. Themost important project within this emerging gold portfolio remains theworld-class Stiavnica-Hodrusa mineral district in Slovakia. At Stiavnica-Hodrusa, stream sediment, soil and rock chip sampling is currentlyunderway with results expected in the current quarter. The Company's focus is ontargets prospective for epithermal and porphyry-style gold mineralisation inthis major mineral district and drilling has been scheduled for the secondquarter of 2006, being after the spring thaw. At Zlatniky, stream sediment androck chip sampling is underway upstream of historical placer deposits andresults are also expected in the current quarter. Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Managing Director, commented "EMED's rapid progress inEastern Europe, especially in Slovakia, has been very pleasing. An effectivefield team has been formed locally under the supervision of EMED's CountryManager-Slovakia, Juraj Knesl, and the guidance of Project Manager, Jim Cran, anepithermal specialist who has contributed to discoveries of gold deposits in thePacific Rim and Eastern Europe". Other EMED Activities The focus of this announcement is on the establishment of a gold explorationportfolio in Eastern Europe. For good order, a brief update of EMED's otheractivities is given below. • Cyprus exploration is proceeding on budget and on schedule for EMED to conduct its first drilling campaign this quarter. Three drill holes have been completed at the Klirou prospect and drilling has just started at the North Alestos prospect. It is too early to make any meaningful comment on the results of the program, other than at Klirou the geophysics need reinterpretation before drilling is continued and at North Alestos we have observed alteration at surface in the vicinity of one of the concealed targets. • Exploration programs outside Cyprus are proceeding more rapidly than anticipated at the time of the IPO in May 2005, as evidenced in the Company's progress in Slovakia. This can largely be credited to the Company's excellent working relationships with the relevant administrations and regulators of certain countries. • Finance: The successful continuation of this pace of expansion may trigger the introduction of equity finance in the relevant EMED subsidiary in respective countries. EMED's projects are all currently structured to preserve the Company's right to redirect, curtail or withdraw spending at any stage without any material contingent liability. Stiavnica-Hodrusa Licence Area Stiavnica-Hodrusa is currently EMED's key licence area in this cluster of goldexploration assets. The Company's granted licence covers a substantial portionof this world-class mineral district in Slovakia. Underground mines in thisdistrict have historically yielded an estimated total of 2.4 million ounces ofgold, 120 million ounces of silver, 70,000 tonnes of zinc, 55,000 tonnes of leadand 8,000 tonnes of copper. This historical production has been sourced from narrow, high-grade epithermalveins. EMED will be the first company to test systematically for largebulk-mineable, near-surface disseminated styles of mineralisation in thisprolific district. EMED has recognised a variety of styles and the potential for porphyry, skarnand stockwork styles of gold mineralisation that have not been investigated byprevious explorers. In addition, EMED has recognised areas of potential forhigh-sulphidation epithermal style of gold mineralisation. This style iscommonly only weakly anomalous in gold at surface, but can host extensivehigh-grade gold deposits at depth. Of the areas prospective for porphyry style of gold mineralisation, the Zlatnoand Sementlov prospects have been investigated during the Soviet era for copperbut not gold. These two prospects both display alteration typically associatedwith deep porphyry stocks extending to the surface. At Zlatno, extensivedrilling during the Soviet era has been reported by the State Geological Surveyof Slovakia as having delineated a low-grade copper-porphyry/skarn deposit at adepth which is of no interest to EMED but does indicates the presence ofmineralisation styles targeted by EMED. No testing for gold was done during theSoviet era, other than analysis in one hole which "confirmed the presence ofgold". At the Sementlov prospect, chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor gold andmolybdenum occur as disseminations and irregular veinlets in a porphyry/skarn.Grades are highly variable. This along with the loose pattern of drilling hasprecluded any meaningful resource being determined. The few gold results,although narrow and at depth, indicate the porphyry system is gold bearing. Asoil sampling program is underway over the Sementlov prospect. Several skarn bodies occur in the northwest portion of the licence area. Theseskarns have been investigated for industrial magnetite, but have not been testedfor gold. EMED is currently sourcing the Soviet era drill core so that thesemagnetic skarns can be systematically tested for gold. In the largest of these magnetic skarns, the Klodoc prospect, a deposit ofindustrial iron was defined in the 1960's - as reported by the State GeologicalSurvey of Slovakia. In the 1990's, re-analysis of core from seven archived holesreturned ore-grade gold intersections in three of the holes. As a result of thisa further seven holes were drilled and analysed for gold. The best results fromthe re-sampling and from the follow-up drilling are tabulated below. Hole No From To Length Gold (m) (m) (m) (g/t)V143 204.0 216.0 12.0 8.2V155 198.0 200.5 2.5 52.3V169 241.0 242.0 1.0 7.7HN3 203.2 210.0 6.8 3.1HN4 238.7 239.0 0.3 4.0 Research by EMED has located an area with potential for near-surface stockworkveining in the heart of the Stiavnica-Hodrusa district. Narrow high-gradeepithermal veins have been extensively mined at depth. As these veins approachthe surface they shatter into irregular veinlets which are too small andirregular to be mined historically, but are potentially amenable to modern bulkmining and processing technologies. On the eastern side of the Stiavnica-Hodrusa licence area, a siliceousalteration cap is associated with a north-south structural trend extending for adistance of 2 km. Small, shallow historical workings occur along the trendindicating the presence of gold. The style of alteration is that of ahigh-sulphidation epithermal system which has not been tested at depth. Stream sediment, soil and rock chip sampling is currently underway in thelicence area, concentrating on the targets prospective for porphyry-style goldmineralisation. During the winter, EMED plans to source all available Soviet-eradrill core for relogging and resampling. This work, combined with furthersurface mapping and geochemical sampling in the spring 2006, is expected todelineate targets for drilling. Zlatniky Licence Area The objective of exploring the Zlatniky licence area is to discover the sourceof placer deposits which are estimated to have produced 60,000 ounces of gold inCeltic times. EMED's license area covers 44 km2 of the potential provenance area of theseplacer gold deposits. Previous exploration during the Soviet era returned highlyanomalous gold assays along ridges and vehicle tracks. However, EMEDverification sampling in this area to confirm these anomalies returned negativeresults. Stream sediment and rock chip sampling is currently underway upstream of theplacer deposits. Detva Licence Application The Detva licence application area is located about 25 km to the east of theStiavnica-Hodrusa district. The geology consists of a caldera-graben complex inthe centre of a large stratovolcano. Widespread propylitic and localisedadvanced argillic alteration in the application area indicate substantialhydrothermal activity. This setting is analogous to of the Stiavnica-Hodrusamineral field and is considered to be a classic geological setting for theformation of large porphyry and epithermal gold orebodies. Gold was not explored for in this area during the Soviet era. For instanceexploration during the 1990's discovered near-surface gold mineralisation atKlodoc-Podpolom around which EMED has recognized a broad (10 km by 3 km)alteration zone which has not been tested by previous explorers. A high-sulphidation alteration system extends over a 2 km by 2 km area in thenorthern portion of the application area. No exploration of this prospect hasbeen done except for 14 surface samples of float which returned gold grades upto 1.1 g/t gold. These results, together with the presence of kaolin atsurface, suggest the potential for a high-sulphidation epithermal system atdepth below the surface alteration. Stream sediment sampling, soil sampling and drilling of the alteration zones inthe Detva application is planned for the spring of 2006.Vysny-Medzev Licence Application The Vysny-Medzev application area is located in eastern Slovakia within theSpis-Gemer mineral district. Within this district, historical mining includesantimony, tin, wolfram, molybdenum, uranium and gold deposits. Deposit stylesare dominated by narrow epithermal veins and hydrothermal stratiform deposits.Historically gold has been sourced from alluvial deposits and narrow veins,commonly in association with the mining of antimony. Within this application area, EMED's objective is the discovery of economic,bulk tonnage, gold deposits. The most prospective area is considered to be inthe eastern part of the application area where gold occurs in a network ofquartz veinlets hosted by black shales. Licence Applications in Hungary In Hungary, EMED has applied for three licence areas in the West Matra Mountainsregion. The areas applied for lie within the same mineralised belt and have beenselected to complement the styles and prospectivity of the portfolio assembledin Slovakia. Further information on these areas will be announced following the granting oflicences. Enquiries Eastern Mediterranean Resources Nabarro Wells Parkgreen CommunicationsHarry Anagnostaras-Adams Nigel Atkinson / Justine Howarth / David Nabarro Ana Ribeiro+357 9945 7843 +44 (0) 7710 7400 +44 (0)20 7493 3713www.emed-resources.com References in this announcement to exploration results and potential have beenapproved for release by Mr Ron Cunneen, an employee of the Company, who has morethan 5 years relevant experience in the field of activity concerned and haveconsented to the inclusion of the material in the form and context in which itappears. About Eastern Mediterranean Resources Public Limited The Company listed on AIM in May 2005 following an initial public offering ofits shares. The Company is headquartered in Cyprus, demonstrating the commitmentto the region. The Group's region of interest is the Mesozoic to Tertiary age tectonic beltthat winds from Eastern Europe to Iran. This belt extends for over 3,000km. TheGroup's strategy is rapidly to evaluate exploration opportunities in severaljurisdictions throughout a quality mineral belt with a relatively high rate ofproject turnover. For further information on the Company's activities, visitwww.emed-resources.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange