SolGold Regulatory News (SOLG)

5 Jul 2007 09:09

Solomon Gold PLC05 July 2007 5 July 2007 Solomon Gold plc Exploration update Highlights •Six holes completed Sutakiki East •Best intersection in SK001 - 309 m @ 0.54 g/t gold •Strong geophysical signatures in Sutakiki West •Strong stream sediment gold signatures Sutakiki West •Holes SK007 and 008 reach 433 and 381 m depth on June 26 €3.45 g/t gold in diatreme breccias indicate strong porphyry system •Uluda Egg defines dome over intrusive porphyry - 11 holes for 6600 m planned •Third drill rig commissioned in Koloula valley, drilling Mbina gold zone. Solomon Gold has completed the first six diamond drill holes for 3,168 m on theSutakiki project, 30 km south east of the capital Honiara on Guadalcanal inSolomon Islands. Solomon Gold holds a 100% interest in the project area throughits 100% owned subsidiary, Australian Resource Management Pty Ltd. Maps outlining the drilling programme referred to in this announcement may beaccessed on Solomon gold's website www.solomongold.com Sutakiki The Sutakiki project area was highlighted by the occurrence of high order streamsediment anomalies during surveying by Newmont in 1989 and was followed up bySolomon Gold in July 2006. The discovery outcrop in the Sutakiki River, some 1.5km up the Sutakiki River from the early anomalous sample site (73 ppb gold),yielded gold mineralization of 85 metres @ 0.8 g/t gold. Subsequent mapping andsampling yielded gold results up to 1090 g/t from quartz vein systems inTaborora Creek above the discovery outcrop. Regional mapping and samplingyielded grades up to 65 g/t gold in veins in a zone up to 600 m east of thediscovery zone (Eastern Zone). Drillholes SK001 (as per the table below) toSK006 inclusive were drilled on the vein system over the Eastern Zone betweenDecember 2006 and mid May and the significant results are tabulated in Table 1.A total of 3,168m has been drilled in 6 completed holes in the Sutakiki Valleyto date by Solomon Gold. +---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|Drillhole |From (m) |To (m) |Interval (m) |Gold grade g/t |Copper grade % |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK001 |88 |93 |5 |0.44 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK001 |291 |600 |309 |0.54 |0.135 |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|including |445 |447 |2 |12.43 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK002 |147 |149 |2 |1.1 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK002 |167 |168 |1 |0.91 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK002 |198 |201 |3 |3.44 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK002 |302 |303 |1 |1.23 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK002 |389 |392 |3 |1 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK003 |23 |24 |1 |0.62 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |36 |37 |1 |0.82 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |78 |80 |2 |3.35 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |159 |160 |1 |0.71 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK004 |59 |60 |1 |2.08 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |167 |169 |2 |0.84 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |170 |172 |2 |0.53 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |175 |176 |1 |0.78 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |218 | |2 |0.52 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |225 | |1 |0.54 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |250 | |1 |0.47 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |266 | |1 |0.73 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK005 |17 |47 |30 |0.5 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+|SK006 |226 | |9 |0.6 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |308 | |4 |0.85 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |319 | |1 |1.83 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |375 | |8 |0.55 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |462 | |6 |0.58 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |483 | |1 |1.07 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+| |491 | |1 |1.29 | |+---------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ Sutakiki West In early March 2007 the company identified an extension to the mineralizedsystem up to a further 1.5 km west of the discovery outcrop. For this reason adrilling program was planned to work westwards to investigate the western halfof the Sutakiki porphyry system (Sutakiki West), to take place after theassessment of the vein system intersected in SK001. The first of the holes inthe program to test Sutakiki West, drillholes SK 007 and 008 are underway and asat June 26 were at 433 m and 381 m depth respectively. Initial inspection ofthese cores indicates that the intensity of alteration and mineralization of thehost rocks is increasing to the west. Uluda Egg The exploration activities continue to return results that indicate that WestSutakiki may represent a large mineralized porphyry system. West Sutakiki ischaracterized by a zone of high order potassium anomalies, coincident withaeromagnetic features and copper and gold anomalies in rock chip samples whichare evident over an elliptical area of 750 m long (n-s) by 500 m wide (e-w).Strong potassium anomalies, coincident with magnetic features and gold andcopper anomalism in streams and intrusive or "diatreme" breccias are featurescommonly diagnostic of the presence of mineralized intrusive porphyry systems.At Sutakiki West, these features are believed to represent the domed top of thecore of a mineralized intrusive porphyry system. This feature has been named the"Uluda Egg". The occurrence of high order bulk leach stream sediment anomaliesof 1350 ppb gold, approximately 20 times richer than the original anomalydownstream, the high potassium anomalies in the area and the coincidentdiscovery of mineralized intrusive or "diatreme" breccias assaying 3.45 g/t gold14.5 g/t silver and 0.17% copper on Vurakidi ( ph "Vuarkindi") Creek, define theUluda Egg as a high priority target area. Drill holes SK009 and SK010 aretargeted to penetrate beneath the core of the potassium anomaly, 375 metressouth east of the Vurakidi intrusive breccia outcrop. Solomon Gold geologistshave identified a series of suitable drill pad locations around the north andnorth west sides of the Uluda Egg and a further 7 drillholes SK011 to SK017 areplanned to test the northern half of that feature. Faulting and shearing on the east-west oriented Suta fault is responsible forthe emplacement of the Sutakiki Vein system in the discovery outcrop, inTaborora Creek above the discovery outcrop and in Valehailala Creek, runningnorth of the Sutakiki River from the discovery outcrop. Gold grades up to 2.5 g/t have been recovered out of banded epithermal high level veins from the top ofValehailala Creek and a drill pad has been constructed to test the vein systemin this locality. Third Rig for the Koloula Valley Solomon Gold has engaged a third drilling rig to test the gold zones on the eastside of the Mbina Porphyry system in the Koloula Valley, south of Sutakiki. Fiveholes are planned over the next five months to test a 1.5 km x 300m zone. Recentmapping and sampling outlined a 1.5 metre wide low temperature epithermal vein,assaying 9.34 g/t gold, 0.94% copper with high zinc, antimony and telluriumanomalies in the northern portion of the Mbina zone and this will be tested withthe first drillhole KL 001. Previous rock chip channel samples in the zone havereturned 125 m @ 0.5g/t gold and 0.23% copper along the Koloula River. Followingthe Mbina program the rig is scheduled to drill two holes at the Chikoraprospect at the southern end of the Koloula Valley. Previous drill testing atChikora was vertical and is thought to have not adequately tested formineralization in vertical veins, or gold or molybdenum mineralization. Recentsampling by Solomon Gold in the area immediately north east of Chikora outlinedfree molybdenite mineralization in quartz veins, thought to be related to theChikora porphyry. Contacts: Nicholas MatherChief Executive Officernmather@solomongold.comTel +61 417 880 448 (mobile)Tel +61 7 3303 0660 (office) Duncan CornishCompany Secretarydcornish@solomongold.comTel +61 407 6233 302 (mobile) About Solomon Gold plc The Solomon Gold exploration program on Guadalcanal is based in Honiara wherethe company has established an office from which to manage the field program,including government and landholder liaison, logistics, technical and datamanagement and sample preparation and despatch centre. Solomon Gold stores asplit half of the cores from the drilling program for future reference andreferee testing and use in future studies including feasibility programs.Databases are managed in-house and backed up independently and externally. Theexploration program is staffed by both local and highly experienced expatriategeologists and headed by Mr Jason Ward, Exploration Manager for Solomon Gold andthe local operating subsidiary, Australian Resource Management (A.R.M.) Pty Ltd('ARM'). Solomon Gold has, through ARM, held licenses over the most prospectiveground on Guadalcanal since 1995 and enjoys the support of the local communitieswith which the company has developed mutually cooperative and supportiverelationships over the last ten years. The program is now augmented by the services of two drilling contractorsoperating a total of three rigs for Solomon Gold, and a helicopter servicecontract. It is the current intention of Solomon Gold to define a world class porphyrycopper gold deposit with an overprinted epithermal gold deposit and ultimatelybring it to production. Solomon Gold has access to the required explorationdevelopment and financing skills to achieve this goal. The south western PacificRim of Fire is host to a number of ore bodies which have hosted in excess of 40million ounces of gold and copper as gold equivalent. These projects exemplifythe potential evident at Sutakiki. Solomon Gold has 26.5 million shares in issue having completed a capital raisingof £5 million and listing on AIM in February 2006. Qualified Person Information in this report relating to the exploration results is based on datareviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.), the Chief Executive Officerof the Company. Mr Mather is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Miningand Metallurgy who has in excess of 25 years experience in mineral explorationand is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr Mather consents to theinclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange