Last checked at 4 Jul 2008 10:15
Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining
4 July 2008
Stratex International Plc ('Stratex' or 'the Company')
Approaches 1 Million oz Total Gold Resource
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, is pleased to provide updates on the Altintepe and Inlice projects. At Altintepe the Company has completed an in-house JORC-compliant resource estimate and, at Inlice, ACA Howe International ('Howe') has completed an Independent Competent Persons Report ('CPR').
Highlights
Total resources defined to date in excess of 916,000 ounces ('oz') of gold ('Au') and 2.5 million oz of silver ('Ag')
Altintepe: total resource to date of 497,687 oz Au, including 328,495 oz oxide Au; accompanied by 2,505,500 oz Ag in oxide and sulphide material
Inlice: total resource of 262,300 oz Au, comprising 98,300 oz oxide Au resource and 164,000 oz sulphide Au resource
Total resource at Inlice reduced from previous figure of 372,971 oz but confidence in level of the current estimate is higher
63% of total gold resource in Measured and Indicated categories
Environmental Impact Study nearing completion
Discussions underway with third-party companies to jointly progress towards mining of the oxide gold resource at both projects
At Altintepe, the gold resource identified to date by Stratex's drilling is 412,122 oz Au of which the oxide resource amounts to 328,495 oz Au. In addition, a total of 2,505,500 oz Ag was estimated for both the oxide and sulphide material from the recent Stratex drilling, approximately equivalent to 50,000 oz Au at current metal prices. The resource was determined in-house by Stratex using a manual cross-sectional method and a 0.2 gram per tonne ('g/t') Au cut-off. Including the historical NI 43-101 inferred resource of 85,565 oz Au for the Extension Ridge Zone, the total gold resource at Altintepe is 497,687 oz Au.
Stratex has completed 4,200 metres of drilling on the Kayatepe, Camlik East, and Camlik Zones. Teck Cominco Arama ve Ticaret A.S. ('Teck Cominco'), a wholly owned subsidiary of Teck Cominco Limited, has advised Stratex that it will waive the additional drilling required to exercise the option and furthermore will not exercise its right to earn-back into the property and, together with a third party, will merely retain an underlying royalty.
At Inlice, following the completion of a further 4,806 metres of drilling, Howe has provided the Company with a CPR and revised resource estimate comprising a total gold resource of 262,300 oz, of which 98,300 oz Au are in oxide material. Whilst the overall resource demonstrates a decrease from the original figure of 372,971 oz, provided by Howe in May 2007, due to narrowing of the projected mineralised zone at depth, the drilling has increased the Measured and Indicated categories to 63% of total resource, thereby increasing the Board's level of confidence in the production potential of Inlice.
CEO Dr. Bob Foster said, "We are approaching 1 million oz of defined gold resources with the combined resources of Altintepe (497,687 oz), Inlice (262,300 oz), and Karaagac (156,798 oz). This will be a major milestone for us, but one that we expect to exceed given the exciting developments we recently reported from the Oksut prospect. Value has been added to Inlice by upgrading the Measured and Indicated categories of the total resource. Whilst the total resource has decreased, the results of this latest CPR have increased the Board's confidence in the new estimated level of resource.
"Exploration and drilling at Altintepe have progressed extremely well and, following discussions, Teck Cominco has agreed to waiver further drilling on the basis that the project is unlikely to realise its target resource of at least 2 million oz of gold. Given that it has waived any interest in Inlice, Teck Cominco and a third party now retain only underlying royalties on Altintepe. Consequently, we have now commenced discussions with third parties on the potential development of both projects. In support of this initiative, we also anticipate that SRK Consulting will submit its baseline environmental study shortly.
"Stratex is continuing its search for large porphyry gold-copper and high-sulphidation gold systems in the wider Konya Volcanic Belt in conjunction with our strategic partner Teck Cominco. Aggressive exploration programmes also continue on a number of similar volcanic belts elsewhere in central Turkey and have led to our recent announcement of a significant discovery in the Oksut prospect."
Resource estimates
1. Altintepe - in-house JORC-compliant
Table 1.1. Total oxide resource
| ALTINTEPE JORC-COMPLIANT OXIDE RESOURCE | |||
| Material | Cut-off (Au g/t) | Tonnes (t) | Au (oz) |
| ALL RESOURCES | 0.10 | 10,094,347 | 328,495 |
| ALL MEASURED | 0.10 | 287,332 | 16,453 |
| ALL INDICATED | 0.10 | 7,115,648 | 227,819 |
| ALL INFERRED | 0.10 | 2,691,367 | 84,223 |
Table 1.2. Kayatepe oxide resource
| KAYATEPE OXIDE | |||
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| TOTAL RESOURCE | 2,421,833 | 1.69 | 132,601 |
| MEASURED | 287,332 | 1.78 | 16,453 |
| INDICATED | 1,431,841 | 1.54 | 71,213 |
| INFERRED | 702,660 | 1.98 | 44,935 |
Table 1.3. Camlik East oxide resource
| CAMLIK EAST OXIDE | |||
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| TOTAL RESOURCE | 4,049,876 | 1.09 | 142,206 |
| INDICATED | 3,521,671 | 1.09 | 123,603 |
| INFERRED | 528,205 | 1.09 | 18,603 |
Table 1.4. Camlik oxide resource
| CAMLIK OXIDE | |||
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| TOTAL RESOURCE | 3,622,638 | 0.46 | 53,688 |
| INDICATED | 2,162,136 | 0.47 | 33,003 |
| INFERRED | 1,460,502 | 0.44 | 20,685 |
Table 1.5. Kayatepe sulphide resource
| KAYATEPE SULPHIDE | |||
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| TOTAL RESOURCE | 3,820,664 | 0.68 | 83,624 |
| INDICATED | 2,320,897 | 0.60 | 44,587 |
| INFERRED | 1,499,767 | 0.81 | 39,037 |
2. Inlice - Howe JORC-compliant
Table 2.1. Inlice Total Gold Resource
| INLICE SILICA ZONE JORC-COMPLIANT RESOURCE | |||
| Material | Cut-off (Au g/t) | Tonnes (t) | Au (oz) |
| ALL RESOURCES | 0.10 | 5,157,361 | 262,300 |
| ALL MEASURED | 0.10 | 327,036 | 30,500 |
| ALL INDICATED | 0.10 | 1,709,197 | 134,000 |
| ALL INFERRED | 0.10 | 3,121,128 | 97,800 |
Table 2.2. Inlice resource estimate for Ana Zone
prepared by Howe, April 2008
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| ALL RESOURCES | 3,810,387 | 1.91 | 234,000 |
| ALL MEASURED | 327,036 | 2.90 | 30,500 |
| ALL INDICATED | 1,503,524 | 2.62 | 127,000 |
| ALL INFERRED | 1,979,827 | 1.20 | 76,500 |
| ALL OXIDE | 944,495 | 2.29 | 70,000 |
| OXIDE MEASURED | 327,036 | 2.90 | 31,000 |
| OXIDE INDICATED | 307,331 | 2.06 | 20,000 |
| OXIDE INFERRED | 310,128 | 1.89 | 19,000 |
| ALL PRIMARY (SULPHIDE) | 2,865,892 | 1.78 | 164000 |
| PRIMARY INDICATED | 1,196,193 | 2.77 | 107,000 |
| PRIMARY INFERRED | 1,669,699 | 1.07 | 57,000 |
Table 2.3. Inlice resource estimate for talus material
prepared by Howe, April 2007
| Material | Tonnes (t) | Grade Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
| ALL RESOURCES | 1,346,974 | 0.65 | 28,300 |
| ALL INDICATED | 205,673 | 1.06 | 7,000 |
| ALL INFERRED | 1,141,301 | 0.58 | 21,300 |
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. This is confirmed by ACA Howe.
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 Altintepe resource estimate has been reviewed and approved by David Hall, MSc, Euro.Geol. in his capacity as Competent Person for the resource evaluation
* * 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
Claire Palmer Stratex - Investor Relations 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 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'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 Altintepe multi-occurrence prospect comprising a number of discrete gold-bearing zones, Doganbey - a new porphyry gold-molybdenum target within the Konya Volcanic Belt, Muratdere - a porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum occurrence, and Karaagaç - 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 916,000 oz of gold and 2.5 million oz of silver. 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.