Last checked at 4 Feb 2013 07:00
Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining
Stratex International Plc
('Stratex' or 'The Company')
East Africa Exploration Update -
Significant New Targets and Commencement of Drilling at Blackrock
Stratex International Plc, the AIM-quoted exploration and development company focussed on gold and base metals in Turkey, East Africa and West Africa, provides an update on its 95%-owned exploration activities in Ethiopia. The Company has now commenced drilling on priority targets at the Blackrock Project, within its Afar Epithermal Gold ("Au") Province, which now includes three newly identified veins located within the Airstrip and Calcite Zones in the northern part of the licence.
Highlights
Afar Province, Ethiopia
Blackrock Project (95%-owned)
·; Identification of three new epithermal gold veins within the Airstrip and Calcite Zones
- Abyssinia, Saba and Lalibella
·; Licence-wide, systematic channel-chip sampling programme completed over all mapped veins. Best results include:
o Magdala vein, Black Water Zone : 1.86 m @ 4.12 g/t Au, including 0.48 m @ 9.61 g/t Au
o Abyssinia vein, Airstrip Zone : 9.22 m @ 1.91 g/t Au, including 0.40 m @ 3.95 g/t Au
o Abyssinia vein, Airstrip Zone : 2.33 m @ 4.14 g/t Au, including 0.28 m @ 17.95 g/t Au
o Abyssinia vein, Airstrip Zone : 5.25 m @ 2.33 g/t Au, including 0.75 m @ 5.38 g/t Au
·; Phase-2 - 5,000 metre diamond drilling programme now underway, with an initial focus on the Airstrip and Black Water Zones
Arabian-Nubian Shield Projects, Ethiopia
·; Multiple gold-bearing quartz veins discovered in Mariam Hill area with panel sampling returning best assays of 13.5 g/t Au, 23.4 g/t Au, 41 g/t Au, and 104 g/t Au
·; Stockwork-type vein mineralisation in dioritic rocks assaying up to 7.4 g/t Au.
Dr Bob Foster, Chief Executive, said: "Drilling has now started on the Blackrock project with the initial focus on the recently discovered Abyssinia vein within the Airstrip Zone, before moving to targeting the deeper sections of the previously drilled vein systems of the Black Water Zone where we aim to identify ore shoots beneath outcropping structures. We are continuing to make new discoveries within the Blackrock licence area, reinforcing our view that this 95%-owned project has substantial upside in terms of both further discoveries and drill intersections of the bonanza grades that characterise this type of gold deposit.
"Our grassroots exploration of the older rocks of the Arabian Nubian Shield in the northern part of the country continues to focus in on specific prospects and the discovery of multiple vein occurrences with gold values up to 104 g/t in the Mariam Hill area of the Tigray licence is particularly encouraging. We look forward to updating shareholders on progress at the exciting Blackrock project as well as other exploration targets in the region."
Blackrock
Systematic channel-chip sampling has been completed across mapped veins within the Company's 95%-owned licence in the Afar region of Ethiopia. This includes three newly-discovered epithermal gold veins within the Airstrip and Calcite Zones in the northern part of the property - Abyssinia and Saba, and Lalibella, respectively. Significant gold values have been returned from all three veins but the Abyssinia vein in particular has yielded consistently high grades over its approximate 600 metre strike length. Additional veins have been identified and returned significant (>1 g/t Au) values and are the focus of on-going mapping.
Abyssinia, together with the Discovery and Black Water (Theodore, Baker, and Nesbitt) veins, will be the initial focus of the drill programme, and drilling has already commenced on the Abyssinia vein. Lalibella is located within the Airstrip Zone, close to the Discovery vein, a structure that the Company believes is most similar to its Pandora discovery in Djibouti.
Significant new gold grades have also been yielded from the Magdala vein and, to a lesser extent from the Stanley vein, both in the Black Water Zone.
Best results from the programme are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Best results from systematic channel-chip sampling at Blackrock
Channel | Zone/Vein | Interval (m)1 | Av Grade Au g/t2 |
BR-CH-138 | Black Water -Magdala | 2.88 | 1.03 |
including | 0.25 | 8.25 | |
BR-CH-142 | Black Water - Magdala | 1.86 | 4.12 |
including | 0.48 | 9.61 | |
BR-CH-261 | Calcite - newvein | 3.75 | 1.26 |
including | 0.45 | 3.51 | |
BR-CH-266 | Calcite/vein? | 1.90 | 1.06 |
including | 0.40 | 3.74 | |
BR-CH-349 | Calcite/Vein | 1.00 | 3.31 |
BR-CH-378 | Airstrip - new vein | 1.30 | 3.67 |
BR-CH-389 | Airstrip - new vein | 3.20 | 1.51 |
including | 0.50 | 4.86 | |
BR-CH-411 | Calcite - new vein | 2.14 | 2.20 |
BR-CH-424 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 1.75 | 1.35 |
BR-CH-426 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 9.22 | 1.50 |
including | 2.80 | 2.50 | |
including | 0.85 | 3.73 | |
and | 2.05 | 4.16 | |
BR-CH-427 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 2.28 | 3.11 |
including | 0.50 | 4.52 | |
BR-CH-438 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 2.80 | 3.06 |
including | 1.20 | 6.77 | |
including | 0.40 | 8.16 | |
and | 0.45 | 9.34 | |
BR-CH-439 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 3.85 | 2.40 |
including | 0.40 | 12.35 | |
BR-CH-440 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 3.82 | 2.12 |
including | 1.42 | 4.27 | |
including | 0.32 | 8.58 | |
BR-CH-441 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 1.40 | 1.55 |
including | 0.30 | 3.72 | |
BR-CH-442 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 3.00 | 1.10 |
BR-CH-443 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 5.35 | 1.53 |
including | 0.35 | 7.57 | |
BR-CH-444 | Airstrip - Abyssinia | 2.33 | 4.14 |
including | 0.63 | 11.67 | |
including | 0.28 | 17.95 | |
BR-CH-453 | Airstrip - Saba | 5.25 | 2.33 |
including | 0.75 | 5.38 | |
and | 0.80 | 3.74 | |
BR-CH-456 | Airstrip - Saba | 2.05 | 2.03 |
and | 1.20 | 2.54 | |
BR-CH-459 | Blackrock - Stanley | 1.35 | 3.49 |
including | 0.45 | 6.14 |
1 Horizontal sampling widths of near-vertical veins
2 0.2 g/t Au cut-off, minimum 1 m in width, maximum of 2 m of internal dilution.
A Phase-2 5,000 metre diamond drilling programme is now underway on the property, with initial focus on the Abyssinia and Discovery veins within the Airstrip Zone, and also on the Black Water Zone veins (Theodore, Baker, and Nesbitt), where deeper drilling aims to identify ore shoots beneath outcropping structures.
Arabian-Nubian Shield Projects
Tigray Licence Area
Discovered by the Company in 2011, the Mariam Hill prospect in the Tigray licence area comprises a large granodioritic intrusive body which is cut by a series of shallow-dipping quartz veins, typically 30-60 cm thick, some of which were being exploited by artisanal workers. Previously reported sampling included a best result of 8.65 g/t Au, 205 g/t silver ("Ag"), 0.12 % copper ("Cu") and 1.32 % lead ("Pb") from a single rock chip sample. Follow-up work has now resulted in the identification of multiple veins on and around Mariam Hill. Commonly traced for 100-300 m before being concealed beneath overburden, the veins are all shallow-dipping and 30-60 cm in thickness.
Panel-style rock-chip sampling has now yielded better grades of 13.5 g/t Au, 23.4 g/t Au, 41 g/t Au, and 104 g/t Au, as well as significant Pb and Zinc ("Zn") signatures. Soil sampling and infill stream sediment sampling has now been completed across the entire Mariam Hill target area and results are awaited.
Follow-up mapping and sampling of areas indicated by anomalous geochemical signatures in stream sediments have revealed elevated copper values (up to 4.06% Cu) in altered and sheared volcanic rocks in the May-Chingano area but no significant gold content. Further work is underway.
Berahale Licence Area
At the Company's Berahale licence, a field reconnaissance programme, including regional stream sediment sampling, has been completed over the entire licence area, which spans the edge of the Rift Valley all the way into the higher ground of the Arabian Nubian Shield. This work has included a helicopter prospecting program to assist in the access of more remote Landsat-identified alteration anomalies.
Initial field observations have identified a number of orogenic-style quartz veins up to 10 m wide and extending along strikes for some hundreds of metres. However, follow-up mapping and sampling to date has yielded gold values of mostly less than 1 g/t Au.
Anomalies identified during stream sediment sampling across the licence, supported by results from subsequent rock-chip sampling, have led to the discovery of the Simbilili prospect. Here, a series of stockwork-style centimetre-wide quartz veins hosted in diorite have returned up to 7.41 g/t Au. Wider low-grade gold-bearing quartz veins are also aligned along the contacts between diorite and very competent quartz-feldspar-biotite-porphyry dykes but only have strike extents of 100-200 m. Final results are awaited before a decision is taken on whether or not to proceed with the exploration work in what is a remote and difficult terrain in which to operate.
New targets
The Company has been invited to review a number of opportunities by third parties in Ethiopia and these are being considered with a view to using the Company's strong cash position to secure majority positions in advanced projects. The exploration team is also considering a number of new conceptual gold and base metal targets in what the Company continues to regard as exceptionally prospective geological terranes that remain grossly under-explored.
Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC
Stratex's sampling of outcropping rocks, drill core, and other geological materials conforms to industry-wide good practice, with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Gold analysis is undertaken by ALS Chemex at its laboratories in Romania and Vancouveri and the Company maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the use of certified reference materials, preparation duplicates, field duplicates, and blank samples in addition to monitoring of internal laboratory check-analyses.
Dr Bob Foster, CEO, is a Competent Person as defined by various international instruments and takes responsibility for the release of this information
* * ENDS * *
For further information please visit www.stratexinternational.com, email info@stratexplc.com, or contact:
Stratex International Plc | Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650 |
Bob Foster / Claire Bay | |
Grant Thornton Corporate Finance | Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 5100 |
Gerry Beaney / Melanie Frean / Jen Clarke | |
Northland Capital Partners Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 7796 8800 |
Gavin Burnell / Tim Metcalfe John-Henry Wicks / John Howes (Sales) | |
Newgate Threadneedle | Tel: +44 (0)20 7653 9850 |
Beth Harris /Graham Herring | |
Notes to editors:
Stratex International is an AIM-quoted exploration and development company focussed on gold and high-value base metals in Turkey, East Africa and West Africa.Since listing on AIM in 2006, Stratex has had an impressive track record of successful exploration supported by joint-venture partnerships, both with major international mining companies and local companies to maximise the potential of its discoveries. It has recently sold its 30% interest in the Öksüt gold project for cash of 20 times its original US$1 million investment and retained a royalty of 1% up to a maximum additional value of US$20 million.
It currently has a substantial portfolio of projects, with Altıntepe in Turkey scheduled for gold production in 2013. To date Stratex has discovered more than 2.2 million ounces of gold and 7.9 million ounces of silver, as well as 186,000 tonnes of copper.