Atalaya Mining Regulatory News (ATYM)

21 Nov 2006 07:01

EMED Mining Public Limited21 November 2006 AIM: EMED 21 November 2006 EXPLORATION EXPANDED IN SLOVAKIA AND CYPRUS EMED Mining Public Limited ("EMED Mining" or "the Company") announces theexpansion of its exploration programmes in Slovakia and Cyprus following itsrecent over-subscribed placing of Ordinary Shares. Slovakia • Follow-up drilling has commenced on the gold discovery at Biely Vrchprospect. Assaying of the drill-core (see attached diagrams) shows consistentgrade distribution throughout the entire drill hole (108 metres from surfaceaveraging 1.3g/t gold) with the gold grade strengthening at depth with the last22 metres averaging 1.9g/t gold). The current drilling program is planned totest the mineralised zone along strike and at depth. • Gold is hosted in quartz-pyrite stockwork in andesitic rocks andmagnetite veining was encountered at depth in the first phase of drilling, whichsuggests a potassic alteration style associated with porphyry copper-goldmineralisation at depth. A geophysical (induced polarisation) survey is underwayat Biely Vrch to target chargeabilty anomalies at depth which also indicate suchlarge porphyry orebodies. • Assay results are expected from drilling at the Banska Bela and VyhneKlokoc gold prospects within 14 days. Cyprus • The Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Kilrou Copper-Zinc Projectcontinues on schedule, which is evaluating the development of Mineral Resourcescontaining 5.6 million tonnes at 0.8% copper equivalent (4.4 million tonnes at0.5% copper and 0.7% zinc plus 1.2 million tonnes at 0.9% zinc - furtherinformation on these Mineral Resources estimates are in the EMED Mining releasedated 19 October 2006). • Past drilling results have been analysed and give preliminaryindication of average gold and silver grades at Klirou of 0.4g/t and 4g/t,respectively. • Validation drilling has commenced and is intended to refine these andother grades as part of a Bankable Feasibility Study in due course. • Resource-extension drilling has now commenced in the two areas inwhich resources have been reported. • Exploration drilling has also commenced in these two areas and fiveadditional target areas. In particular, the Company is testing the potential fora large +10 million tonne deposits. Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Managing Director of EMED Mining, commented: "TheCompany is delighted to have progressed so far since its admission to AIM in May2005. We expect the assay results in Slovakia to validate our explorationmethodology and the Kilrou Copper-Zinc Project's preliminary feasibility studyis on schedule. We look forward to informing shareholders of further progress." -Ends- Enquiries EMED Mining Nabarro Wells Parkgreen CommunicationsHarry Anagnostaras-Adams Richard Swindells Justine Howarth / Ana Ribeiro+357 9945 7843 +44 20 7710 7400 +44 20 7493 3713 www.emed-mining.comwww.emed.tv References in this announcement to exploration results and potential have beenapproved for release by Mr Ron Cunneen, B.Sc. (Honours). Mr Cunneen is Head ofExploration for EMED Mining and has more than 20 years relevant experience inthe field of activity concerned. He is a member of The Australian Institute ofGeoscientists ("AIG") and has consented to the inclusion of the material in theform and context in which it appears. Notes to Editors About EMED Mining Public Limited EMED listed on AIM in May 2005 following an initial public offering of itsshares. The company is headquartered in Cyprus and has a strong commitment tothe region. The Group's region of interest is the Mesozoic to Tertiary age tectonic beltthat winds over 3,000km from Eastern Europe to Iran. The strategy is to rapidlyevaluate exploration opportunities in several jurisdictions throughout thisquality mineral belt with a high rate of project turnover. EMED has now established a strong position in the following zones within itsarea of interest: • Cyprus/Middle East exploration is centred on the Troodos ophiolitecomplex. The targeted mineralisation style is volcanic-hosted massive sulphidecopper deposits under shallow cover, similar to the larger Cyprus copper mines -three of which exceeded 10 million tonnes of ore, at grades between 1% and 4.5%.EMED is undertaking a preliminary feasibility study on mining copper-zincresources in the Klirou District and 7 target areas are being explored foradditional mineable deposits. • Eastern Europe exploration areas are centred on a cluster of volcaniccentres in Slovakia and Romania. Low-detection geochemical methods are beingapplied to these areas for the first time together with open pit bulk miningconcepts. The targeted mineralisation styles are high-grade epithermal gold, orbulk-mineable epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold. The company announced on23 October 2006 a gold discovery in Slovakia. • Caucasus exploration areas form a cluster of gold prospects centredin Georgia. EMED Mining's main prospects are within the Upper Racha Licence withreserves and resources (Russian classification) of 2.4 million ounces of gold.Assays are pending on approximately 900 samples from the Company's first fieldprogram and a progress report will issue as results are assembled andinterpreted. • Turkey/Bulgaria exploration areas being transferred into 71% ownedKEFI Minerals Plc which is to be listed within 12 months. KEFI holds, via itsTurkish and Bulgarian subsidiaries, two clusters of tenements in Turkey and theLehovo tenement in Bulgaria, along with an extensive proprietary database. TheAdmission of KEFI is planned for December 2006. For further information on the Company's activities, visit www.emed-mining.comor www.emed.tv About KEFI Minerals Plc • KEFI resulted from the work conducted over the past two years byEMED's project-generative teams in and around Turkey and Bulgaria. Its formationas a stand-alone entity was triggered when sufficient critical mass had beenestablished in assets and opportunities. The Admission of KEFI is planned forDecember 2006. • KEFI will focus primarily on Turkey which has emerged as a mineralsindustry location of intensified activity. Siginficant discoveries have beenmade and many mining and exploration companies are now investing in Turkey. • To become a leading discoverer of mineral deposits in Turkey andBulgaria, KEFI has been designed with certain competitive advantages: o It will have a well-qualified and incentivised team with a record ofdiscovery. o The team is led by a Managing Director with a record of discovery, whomoved from a major mining house to Eastern Europe seven years ago because herecognized the potential to create shareholder wealth in its minerals industry.Jeffrey Rayner led the exploration team that brought Gold Mines of Sardinia intoproduction and has, more recently, made an immediate contribution to EMED wherehe led the team that made a gold discovery in Slovakia in EMED's first drillingseason in that country. o KEFI will have the support of EMED's systems and teams as appropriate.This is expected to bring to KEFI advantages in both efficiency and cost. It isnotable that EMED has the largest exploration team in Georgia and that teamidentified North East Turkey's Artvin District for KEFI's tenement acquisitions. o KEFI will have a proprietary database which summarises the field workin over 100 Turkish locations conducted over some years by a highly experiencedexploration team including KEFI Deputy Chairman Professor Ian Plimer, Mr GavinThomas (now Managing Director of Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd) and Mr John Nethery(now Managing Director of Nedex Pty Ltd). All are exploration geologists ofinternational repute with a track-record between them of internationaldiscovery, notably at the world class +20 million ounce Lihir Gold Mine now inoperation in Papua New Guinea. The mineralised belts of Turkey have analogieswith those of the Pacific Rim. This team also includes Professor Omer Akinci whohas also consulted for international mining companies in Turkey. KEFI has been "in the making" for some time. Its focus, its cost-effectivestructure and its relationship with EMED will give it quantifiable strengths.The formal agreements setting out the relationships between KEFI and EMEDinclude non-compete provisions. To view Biely Vrch Exploration Diagrams please click on the following link todownload the full PDF document related to this announcement: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3930m_-2006-11-20.pdf This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange