Last checked at 10 Sep 2008 10:09
Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining
10th September 2008
Stratex International Plc ('Stratex' or 'the Company')
Defines 120,905 oz of New Oxide Gold Resource for Extension Ridge Zone and
Increases Oxide Resource by 43%
Highlights
56m channel sample grading 5.54 g/t Au;
94m channel sampling grading 1.56 g/t Au;
Inferred Oxide resource for Extension Ridge of 120,905 oz Au;
Total in-house Altintepe oxide resource increased by 43.8% to 472,318 oz Au;
High priority on putting the Altıntepe project into production.
The Company undertook channel sampling over the 900m length of the Extension Ridge Zone and incorporated the results with previous drilling and re-logging of old holes to define the depth of oxidation. All samples were collected as continuous chip samples and the weighted average grades of the channels were:
66m grading 1.73 g/t Au
28m grading 1.57g/t Au
94m grading 1.56 g/t Au
108m grading 1.00 g/t Au
34m grading 2.07 g/t Au
56m grading 5.54 g/t Au
8m grading 1.53 g/t Au and
26m grading 0.67 g/t Au.
These results were incorporated with 13 diamond drill holes drilled by previous operators to prepare an in-house cross-sectional resource calculation to JORC standards. The resource calculation focused on oxide mineralisation and depths of oxidation were defined by logging of the drill holes. The resulting oxide inferred resource estimate for Extension Ridge is 1,728,893 tonnes grading 2.17 g/t Au for 120,905 contained ounces of gold using a 0.2 g/t Au cut-off.
Incorporating previously released resource estimates, the total oxide resource for Altintepe at a cut-off grade of 0.2 g/t Au now stands at:
| Category | Tonnes1 | Grade | Gold |
|
|
| (g/t Au | (oz) |
| Measured | 287,333 | 1.78 | 16,453 |
| Indicated | 9,287,370 | 0.87 | 259,661 |
| Inferred | 3,523,434 | 1.73 | 196,204 |
| Total | 13,098,137 | 1.12 | 472,318 |
1 Using SG of 2.14 t/m3
The oxide resource also includes 2,371,689 oz silver, equivalent to approximately 21,300 oz gold at spot prices of $800 for gold and $12 for silver and a silver recovery of 60 %, giving a total of approximately 493,600 oz of oxide Au + Au(eq).
A further 101,695 oz Au and 7,300 oz Au(eq) have been identified in the unoxidized sulphide material, giving a total Altıntepe oxide plus sulphide resource of approximately 602,500 oz Au + Au(eq).
The Company's total in-house resource now exceeds of 1 million oz of gold (993,000 oz of gold and 28,600 oz gold equivalent) in Turkey.
Preliminary cyanide-leach test work has been completed by Wardell Armstrong International Ltd on oxide samples from all five main zones. Carbon-in-leach (CIL) tests on material ground to less than 75 micron and bottle roll tests on material crushed to less than 12 mm indicate the potential for high gold recoveries from all material, although a lower recovery (68.5 %) was recorded for the leach tests on coarse material from Extension Ridge:
| Zone | CIL ( | Bottle roll (12 mm) |
| Camlık | 96.40% | 95.00% |
| Camlık East | 94.10% | 96.50% |
| Karakısla | 92.80% | 96.60% |
| Kayatepe | 91.80% | 86.70% |
| Extension Ridge | 87.50% | 68.50% |
Leaching rates were high and both cyanide and lime consumptions were low to moderate. The testwork thus demonstrates that the oxide material from Altıntepe is amenable to processing by low-cost heap leaching methods, a key factor that considerably enhances the potential economic viability of the project.
Following relinquishment of all interest in the project by Teck Cominco Limited, other than an underlying royalty, the project is now 100% owned by Stratex. The Company is now considering further scoping studies, whilst seeking a suitable partner to take the project to feasibility and into production as rapidly as possible.
Executive Chairman David Hall commented, "We are now placing a high priority on putting the Altıntepe and Inlice projects into production, whilst continuing to evaluate and explore our excellent pipeline of new gold projects. We have developed the Altıntepe project in a short time and have defined a potentially excellent economic resource. The action of our strategic partner Teck Cominco shows their alignment with our strategy to advance projects for option or sale if they don't meet Teck Cominco's corporate criteria and thus allow Stratex to focus on the search for new gold targets with the ultimate aim of defining a major 2 million ounce discovery. Drilling is underway on our porphyry prospects in the Konya Belt, funded by Teck Cominco, and we have recently commenced drilling the Öksüt prospect. With slightly more than £4 million in hand we are well-placed to deliver these objectives"
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.
CEO Dr. Bob Foster, FIMM, CEng, is a Competent Person as defined by various international instruments and takes responsibility for the release of this information. The Altıntepe resource estimate has been approved by David Hall, MSc, Euro.Geol.
* * ENDS * *
For further information visit www.stratexinternational.com or contact:
David Hall Stratex International Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650
Bob Foster Stratex International Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650
Anita Ghanekar Hanson Westhouse Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 6100
Victoria Thomas St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Notes to editors:
Stratex 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's portfolio covers 11 licence blocks in central and western Turkey totalling approximately 1,630 sq km. These include the Inlice high-sulphidation gold deposit in the Konya Volcanic Belt, the Altıntepe multi-occurrence prospect comprising a number of discrete gold-bearing zones, Doğanbey - a new porphyry gold-molybdenum target within the Konya Volcanic Belt, Muratdere - a porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum occurrence and Karaağaç - a partially exposed, gently dipping gold-bearing zone. Ongoing resource drilling and exploration programmes are underway on a number of these licences, focused on increasing Stratex's total resources, currently standing at slightly more than 993,000 oz of gold and 3.2 million oz of silver (28,600 oz gold equivalent). Furthermore, 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 has an 8.8% stake in the Company, enabling the two parties to pool expertise, skills and databases to identify potential projects.