Last checked at 30 Jan 2017 07:00
30 January 2017
Georgian Mining Corporation Announces Initial Mineral Resources for the
Kvemo Bolnisi Copper Gold Project in Georgia
Georgian Mining Corporation ('GMC') is pleased to announce initial JORC-compliant Mineral Resource estimates for both the copper-gold sulphide and gold oxide deposits at the Kvemo Bolnisi East ('KB') Project based upon initial drill results from the current drill programme. Further drill results and Mineral Resource estimate updates will be released to the market over the coming weeks.
Highlights
· Initial optimised in-pit mineable Mineral Resource estimate of 702,000 tonnes at 0.99% copper ('Cu') and 0.17g/t gold ('Au') has been estimated as part of a larger in-situ copper-gold Inferred Mineral Resource of 947,000 tonnes at 0.94% copper Cu and 0.15 g/t Au
· Initial in-situ combined gold oxide Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 204,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.83g/t Au
· Significant opportunities exist to substantially expand these initial Mineral Resources as an additional 7,500m of drilling is completed in H1 2017
· GMC intends to process both copper-gold sulphide and gold oxide types of mineralisation at facilities owned by GMC's JV Partner
o Copper-gold sulphide: JV Partner's Madneuli flotation plant, located only 7 km from KB
o Gold oxide: JV Partner's nearby heap leach plants could accept all output of gold oxide mineralisation; GMC is undertaking further work to expand the gold oxide resource
GMC Managing Director Greg Kuenzel said, "We are successfully implementing our strategy to develop mineral resources at KB suitable for processing at the neighbouring Madneuli plants to generate positive and sustainable cash flow. This cash flow will allow us to fund future exploration and development to uncover the full mineral potential of KB and our entire Bolnisi JV property while minimising shareholder dilution. We look forward to providing further updates as our exploration and resource development programme progresses over the coming months."
Background
The Company's near-term focus remains the KB Project which became GMC's priority after reviewing historic exploration data and taking into account the results from initial drill-testing which led to the recent discovery hole KED004 which returned a grade of 2.57% Cu and 0.23g/t Au over 27.0 metres.
Exploration and Development Programme
GMC intends to develop a minimum JORC-compliant mineral resource of 3-5 Mt copper-gold sulphides at KB, after generating a mineable mineral resource of 1-2Mt at 1% Cu to support the first 12 to 24 months of production. On-going drilling is expected to increase the initial KB mineral resource announced herein, with the anticipated benefit that future exploration funding can be met from cash flow once production commences.
Exploration at KB has identified and defined several new drill targets based upon a combination of historic data and the results of GMC's more recent exploration consisting of soil geochemical sampling, detailed mapping, trenching and channel sampling, IP and ground magnetic geophysical surveys and drilling. These near-surface targets are all clustered within the footprint of the KB Project and are currently considered to be part of one larger centre of copper-gold mineralisation. The exploration programme has been designed to first test and develop each target into an initial discrete shallow resource and then to test for a joining of these individual shallow resources into one significantly larger mineralised resource that can potentially be exploited in one larger open pit.
The strategic objectives of this staged exploration approach are to first develop an initial near-surface 1-2 Mt mineable resource to allow for near-term production cash flow, then expand this mineable resource to 3-5 Mt to lengthen mine life and cash flow, and then to test the full extent of this mineralised system at depth and away from its centre. The full resource potential at KB is considered to be similar to the neighbouring Madneuli mine which has produced over 80 Mt of copper-gold and polymetallic ores.
Mineral Resource Estimates
Two separate mineral resources have been generated to date; a copper-gold sulphide mineral resource and a gold oxide mineral resource; refer to Table 1 below.
An in-situ copper-gold Inferred Mineral Resource of 947,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.93% Cu and 0.15g/t Au has been estimated, which includes an optimised in-pit mineable Mineral Resource estimate of 702,000 tonnes at 0.99% Cu and 0.17g/t Au. This pit-optimised copper-gold estimate meets the guidance provided by the JV Partner and is expected to increase soon, pending the receipt of assay results from holes drilled during late December 2016 and early January 2017.
The initial gold oxide resource, comprised of in-situ combined Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of 204,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.83g/t Au is very encouraging. As additional gold oxide mineralization at KB is discovered and delineated, it is expected that an average resource grade of 1g/t Au or greater will be achieved to meet the guidance given for processing in either of the JV Partner's gold heap leach processing facilities.
The Mineral Resource estimates only use data generated from drilling completed prior to mid-December 2016. On-going results from additional diamond drill holes in the current programme will generate further Mineral Resource estimate updates as additional assay results are received from the independent laboratory.
Preliminary in-house metallurgical test work that commenced in Q4 2016 has returned encouraging results indicating that the KB copper-gold sulphide feedstock would beneficially supplement similar ore feed at the JV Partner's current operations; there is no obvious evidence of deleterious elements that could negatively impact processing costs or metal recoveries. Detailed test work is soon to be commissioned based upon drill core samples from the current KB drill programme; results of this test work will be used to optimise cash flow modelling.
The resource estimation work has been undertaken by an independent external Mineral Resource estimation specialist and the process has been overseen by a second independent geological consultant.
Further information concerning the in-situ Mineral Resource estimate and pit optimisation summary are set out in the tables below.
Indicated | Inferred | Indicated & Inferred | ||||||
Category | Cut-Off | Zone | Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t) | Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t) | Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t) | |||
Cu Zones | 0.3% Cu | Cu | 799 0.94 0.17 | 799 0.94 0.17 | ||||
Au Zones | 0.3g/t Au | SW Area Central | 23 0.14 2.16 | 152 0.08 0.46 29 0.15 1.72 | 152 0.08 0.46 29 0.15 1.72 | |||
23 0.14 2.16 | 1,128 0.80 0.23 | 1,151 0.78 0.27 | ||||||
Table 1: In-Situ Copper and Gold Tonnage and Grade Estimate
Area | Cut-Off | Zone | Mill - Inferred | Heap Leach-Inferred | Total Ore |
SW area |
0.42% Cu 0.27g/t Au |
Cu AuOx | Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t) 702 0.99 0.17
| Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t)
154 0.08 0.46 | Tonnes Cu Au (Kt) (% ) (g/t)
|
702 0.99 0.17 | 154 0.08 0.46 | 856 0.82 0.22 |
Table 2: Pit Optimisation Summary
Technical Glossary
"Au" | the chemical symbol for the element gold
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"Cu" | the chemical symbol for copper
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"g/t" | grams per tonne
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"Indicated mineral resource" | a part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed
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"Inferred mineral resource" | a part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability.
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"JORC Code" | the code for reporting of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, which is sponsored by the Australian mining industry and its professional organisations. The code is widely accepted as a standard for professional reporting purposes for reporting of mineral resources and ore reserves.
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"m" | metre, a unit of length as per the International System of Units.
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"Mineral Resource" | a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.
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"Mineralisation" | the process or processes by which a mineral is introduced into a rock, resulting in a valuable or potentially valuable deposit. It is a general term, incorporating various types; e.g., fissure filling, impregnation, and replacement.
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"Sulphide" | a compound of sulphur and some other element
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"Gold oxides" | Near surface deposit of porous gold-enriched rocks typically containing abundant quartz and Fe-limonites, commonly formed by the meteoric weathering of gold-bearing sulphide mineralisation.
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Review by Competent Persons
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Adam Wheeler, who is a fellow (FIMMM) of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a registered Chartered Engineer (C. Eng and Eur. Ing) with the Engineering Council (UK) and reviewed by Mark Owen, BSc, MSc, MCSM, Chartered Geologist, a member of the European Federation of Geologists and a Fellow of the Geological Society.
Both Mr Wheeler and Mr Owen have sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are undertaking, to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mark Owen and Adam Wheeler have reviewed this announcement and consent to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.georgianmining.com or contact:
Greg Kuenzel | Georgian Mining Corporation | Company | Tel: 020 7907 9327 |
Ewan Leggat | S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP | Nomad & Broker | Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Laura Harrison | S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP | Nomad & Broker | Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Damon Heath | Shard Capital Partners LLP | Joint Broker | Tel: 0207 186 9950 |
Elisabeth Cowell | St Brides Partners Ltd | PR | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
About Georgian Mining Corporation
Georgian Mining Corporation has 50% ownership and operational control of the Bolnisi Copper and Gold Project in Georgia, situated on the prolific Tethyan Belt, a well-known geological region and host to many high grade copper-gold deposits and producing mines. The Bolnisi licence over 860 sq km has a 30 year mining licence with two advanced exploration projects; Kvemo Bolnisi East and Tsitsel Sopeli. Georgia has an established mining code and is a jurisdiction open to direct foreign investment.