Oriole Resources Regulatory News (ORR)

30 Mar 2009 07:00



Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining

30 March 2009

Stratex International Plc ('Stratex' or 'the Company') 

Konya Update

Stratex International Plc, the AIM-quoted exploration and development company currently developing gold resources and exploring for world-class gold and base metal deposits in Turkey, announces results from a reverse circulation ('RC') drilling programme targeting new porphyry systems at its 100 %-owned Doğanbey, Gölcük and Karacaören prospects in the Konya Volcanic Belt. 

Highlights

RC drilling confirms all three systems at Doğanbey, Karacaören, and Gölcük are gold-bearing porphyries

Best intersections of 155 m grading 0.17 g/t gold ('Au') in Doğanbey South and 170 m grading 0.17 g/t Au  and 70 m grading 0.27 g/t Au in Karacaören 

Further potential porphyry system identified at Oğlakçı prospect in southern part of Konya Volcanic Belt on basis of soil geochemistry, alteration, and magnetic signature

Stratex planning further exploration programmes as Teck Cominco Limited's Turkish subsidiary ('TCAM') relinquishes its option

Healthy cash position of £3 million at end of February 2009

Stratex retains 100 % interest in Konya and is seeking new partners to continue exploration of this emerging porphyry-gold district

The RC results confirm that multiple gold-bearing porphyry systems are present in the northern part of the Konya Belt and acts as further encouragement for the prospectivity of the region. The Company believes that these results continue to indicate that the district has the potential to host an economic porphyry gold deposit.

At the Doğanbey prospect, hole (DORC-02) and hole (DOSRC-01), the latter drilled on a recently identified southern extension, returned consistent values exceeding 0.1 g/t Au with DOSRC-01 terminating whilst still in the gold-enriched zone. 

Table 1: Results from RC drilling programme

The true widths of the intersected mineralisation are not known. However, given the generally homogeneous nature of porphyry bodies, the quoted values are likely to be indicative of a substantial mass of mineralised rock.

Drilling at the Gölcük prospect also confirmed significant gold anomalies with values mostly exceeding 0.01 g/t Au from 212 m to the end of drill hole GOLRC-01 (40 m) and from 26 m down to 98 m in drill hole GOLRC-02.  Additionally, three of the four holes drilled into the Karacaören system returned long intersections with values exceeding 0.1 g/t Au.

A fourth porphyry system has been inferred at the Kozlu prospect, 3 km south-east of Karacaören, following the discovery of an intrusive breccia carrying porphyry fragments cut by porphyry-type veinlets and anomalous in gold - up to 39 ppb Au, with 129 ppb Au recorded in the altered wallrocks.

Stratex is now reviewing all data with a view to further drilling at Konya. Ongoing evaluation of field data by Stratex geologists has also highlighted a new zone, Oğlakçı, in the south-central part of the Konya Volcanic Belt that is characterized by anomalous gold values (to 45 ppb Au) and associated elements in soils within a substantial zone of intense hydrothermal alteration ('lithocap').  This target zone is also underlain by a prominent magnetic-high elliptical anomaly extending 1.5 km east-west that may well relate to a near-surface porphyry system. 

TCAM, which has spent circa $1.6 million funding exploration in the Konya area to date, has decided to relinquish its option on the property and not proceed with the additional $1.4 million funding required to earn in to 51% of the property.  Stratex therefore holds a 100% interest in the Konya Project.  The Company is in discussions with a number of parties that have expressed interest in Stratex's exploration portfolio targeting Miocene volcanic belts, specifically including the Konya Belt, and Stratex looks forward to updating the market with any developments. 

Stratex's CEO Bob Foster said, "We have advanced this regional play considerably in terms of geological controls and vectors for further mineralisation. The identification of four porphyry bodies, all containing anomalous values of gold, in the northern part of the Konya Belt is a particularly exciting development.  The recently identified porphyry potential further south in the Oğlakçi area reinforces the potential for the discovery of a significant porphyry gold system in what is an extensive volcanic belt that, in our opinion, remains substantially under-explored. 

"With this in mind, we are reviewing all data and new joint venture options with regards to defining further porphyry and epithermal targets, continuing our exploration programme, and determining the full economic potential of the Konya Belt. We have valued Teck's important and professional input to the Konya exploration programme over the past 1.5 years and we appreciate that they now wish to re-focus their interests elsewhere.  With £3 million pounds in hand, we are well placed to progress all our priority exploration programmes during 2009."

Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC

Stratex's sampling of drill core and outcropping rocks conforms to industry-wide good practice, with drill core being split using a diamond saw, and with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Analysis is undertaken by ALS Chemex at its laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, and Romania, and the Company maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the use of certified reference materials, field duplicates, and blank samples in addition to monitoring of internal laboratory check-analyses. 

Stratex CEO Dr. Bob Foster, FIMMM, CEng, is a Competent Person as defined by various international instruments and takes responsibility for the release of this information. 

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For further information visit www.stratexinternational.com or contact:

Notes to editors:

Stratex International Plc is an AIM-quoted exploration and development company currently focusing on gold and base metal opportunities in Turkey. Its proven strategy is to discover and develop new projects by focused low-cost exploration, thus adding maximum value prior to optioning/joint venturing or selling on to a dedicated mining company. 

Stratex is actively seeking a technically capable and well-financed partner with the view to rapidly developing the 542,318 oz oxide resources present at the Altıntepe and Inlice projects.

Stratex's portfolio covers 11 licence blocks in central and western Turkey totalling approximately 1,724 sq km. The Company's latest discovery is the Öksüt high-sulphidation gold deposit with early drilling reporting best intersections of 270.2 m from surface averaging 1.22 g/t Au and 62.45 m grading 2.16 g/t Au from 14.75 m down hole. Additional key projects include Doğanbey - one of four porphyry gold targets within the Konya Volcanic Belt, Muratdere - a porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum occurrence, and Karaağaç - a partially exposed, gently dipping gold-bearing zone. Ongoing drilling and exploration programmes are underway or anticipated on a number of these licences, focused on increasing Stratex's total resources, currently standing at circa 1 million oz of gold and approximately 3.2 million oz of silver. Additionally the Company has a healthy project pipeline portfolio, which it continues to strengthen through the acquisition of additional licences. 

Stratex has a strategic partnership with Canadian major mining company, Teck Cominco Limited, which holds an 8.8% stake in the Company, enabling the two parties to pool expertise, skills and databases to identify potential projects.