Last checked at 28 Apr 2010 07:00
28 April 2010
Solomon Gold Plc
("Solomon Gold" or the "Company")
Exploration Update
5,000m of drilling completed at the 1 million ounce target, Central Rannes Gold Project
Solomon Gold (AIM Code: SOLG), the copper and gold specialist with exploration tenements in the Solomon Islands and Australia, is pleased to announce that its 100% owned subsidiary, Central Minerals, has received further results on the Rannes Project in Central Queensland, Australia.
KEY POINTS
·; 5,000m drilling completed at Rannes Gold Project, Central Queensland;
·; Solomon Gold is targeting a gold resource in excess of 1 million ounces at Central Rannes, with extra large targets at Copper and Policeman Camp Creek;
·; Results for Crunchie holes 38 to 49 received yielding 16m at 0.66g/t Au Equ, 34m at 1.2g/t Au Equ., 24m at 1.37g/t Au Equ., 36m at 1.88g/t Au Equ. Gold equivalent as 50 / 50 gold to silver in value terms;
·; Resource calculation underway at Crunchie;
·; More extensions to Crunchie at Odyssey, Soggy and Mushy, define a possible zone of mineralisation approximately 1.5km long with mineralisation open ended;
·; Wide intervals of mineralised host rock intersected in 7 holes at Crackling Rosie, with veining similar to Cracow Mine (80,000oz/pa, 0.6Moz resource at 8.2g/t gold); and
·; Newly appointed COO, Alex Thin starts at Solomon Gold plc adding to the highly robust and experienced team.
Five prospects (Crunchie, Homestead, Kauffmans, Cracklin Rosie and Porcupine Pie) (Figure 1 in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) in the Rannes Central area have been subject to first pass drilling by Central Minerals Pty Ltd. ("Central Minerals") and previous explorers with potentially economic intersections in all five.
Commenting on the news, Nicholas Mather, Solomon Gold Chief Executive, said: "The Company is pleased to report that the current phase of drilling has been completed at both the Porcupine and Crunchie prospects, with the rig now at the Crackling Rosie Prospect. At Porcupine, the deeper gold resource indicated by previous explorers has been linked to earlier intersections nearer the surface. At the Crunchie Prospect, an open ended gold and silver resource is inferred. Initial drill logging from Crackling Rosie has intersected wide intervals of silicified breccias and Cracow style banded veining lying under these breccias. The assay results are pending.
Rannes exhibits structures and geochemistry similar to the Carlin trend in Nevada USA - amongst the most prolific gold producing belts in the world, boasting in excess of 200 million ounces of combined resources and production to date. Solomon Gold holds licence area 200km along a prospective zone in Central Queensland. There are more than 13 targets to follow-up." He added.
The Rannes Project
Solomon Gold's 100% owned subsidiary, Central Minerals, holds exploration licences covering 3,670km2 over a strike length of 200km on the eastern margin of the Permian Triassic Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, approximately 200km southwest of the Central Queensland port of Rockhampton. The project is based on the recognition by Solomon Gold geologists of long and broad zones of low temperature gold bearing fragmented and silicified rocks at the sheared base of the Bowen Basin limestone and volcanic rich sediments on its eastern margin.
Both the geochemical and structural features are similar to the Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends in Nevada, USA.
Crunchie Prospect
Drilling at the Crunchie Prospect (Figure 2 & 3 in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) has been designed to firstly define the western boundary of the gold and silver mineralisation, and then to evaluate the extensions to the north and east, where the mineralisation continues. The first fourteen vertical holes (CRU36 to CRU49) have been assayed, and the deposit has therefore been defined on its south-western side, but remains open to the northwest and the east. Table 1 (in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) show the significant results from the Crunchie Prospect, so far. Solomon Gold continues to assess fresh assay data as it is received.
To date the Crunchie Prospect appears to extend over a shallow zone of 300m x 300m with an average thickness of 30m.
Magnetic interpretation and soil sample results (Figure 4 in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) indicate numerous other targets immediately adjacent to Crunchie, at Odyssey to the west and Soggy & Mushy to the east. At all of these locations, high readings of arsenic, mercury, thallium and antimony in soil samples coincide with or may be marginally offset from areas of low magnetism, indicating the presence of host rocks which have been demagnetised by hot fluids causing alteration of the rock and deposition of gold and silver. These areas will be subject to immediate follow-up drilling as soil anomalies are defined.
Porcupine Prospect
At the Company's Porcupine Pie Prospect ("Porcupine"), the deposit has been found to be simpler and more coherent than was interpreted by previous explorers. Soil surveys and drill intersections demonstrate a relatively simple ore body some 500m long and dipping steeply northeast. The previous drilling had indicated a blind deposit with intersections greater than 100m @ 1 g/t Au at the south-eastern end. The current drilling was designed to provide information regarding this deposit where it is closer to the surface. Porcupine lies 3km to the northeast of Crunchie (Figure 1 in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com).
The drilling (Figure 5 in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) demonstrated that the deposit narrows closer to the surface. Both POR6 and POR7 stopped in mineralisation, which is expected to continue deeper. POR6 also had increasing grades at the end of the hole. This drilling has tended to support the previous resource calculations. Table 2 (in the Appendix to this announcement in the 'Latest News' section on the website, www.solomongold.com) shows the significant results from the recent Porcupine drilling along with previous intersections.
Crackling Rosie Prospect
Seven holes have been drilled at Crackling Rosie Prospect, in the current program. The geology appears to be similar to the Crunchie Prospect, 4km to the northwest. The mineral system is comprised of wide intervals of brecciated silicified limestone and tuffs (favourable host rocks) which pass downwards into open breccias in-filled by gold and silver mineralised banded veins similar to those that carry high grades at Cracow 90km to the south.
Currently there are no assay values available.
Thirteen further gold targets identified
In addition, surface soil, stream and rock sampling has identified a further thirteen gold targets, of which five (Soggy-Hogget Hill, Mt Cooper and Brother-Police Camp Creek) are considered to be high order and located close to the drilled prospects referred to above. Police Camp Creek is 4km long and defined by strong gold results in soil sampling. Mt Cooper, located in the northwest of the Rannes project, is 7km long, open ended and defined by strong silver values in soils. Mt Cooper is located in Bowen Basin sediments and is considered to represent the upper level expression of a gold mineralised system at depth.
Qualified Person
Information in this report relating to the exploration results is based on data reviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.), the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr Mather is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in excess of 25 years experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr Mather consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.
By order of the Board
Karl Schlobohm
Company Secretary
Contacts:
Mr Karl Schlobohm Tel: +61 7 3303 0660
Solomon Gold Plc (Company Secretary)
kschlobohm@solomongold.com
Mr Ewan Leggat Tel: +44 (0) 20 7598 5368
Fairfax I.S. PLC (Broker)
eleggat@fairfaxis.com
Mr Stephen Weir Tel: +61 2 9250 0048
RFC Corporate Finance (Nominated Advisor)
stephen.weir@rfc.com.au
Mr Dominic Barretto Tel: +44 (0) 20 8980 3545
Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)
dominic@yellowjerseypr.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Solomon Gold Plc's original and core gold exploration projects are located on the Solomon Islands and remain a major focus of the Company. However, the Company has extended its strategy to include becoming an integrated gold explorer, developer and miner with projects in lower risk theatres as well as the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Gold carries a diverse portfolio of higher risk high reward exploration projects in the Solomon Islands and lower risk projects which are more advanced towards resource definition in Queensland, where exploration costs are approximately one third of that in Melanesia. Solomon Gold's projects include: Guadalcanal and Fauro (Solomon Islands) and Rannes, Mt Perry and Normanby (Queensland, Australia).
Solomon Gold's Board includes accomplished professionals with strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine development, investment, finance and law. Board and Management have significantly vested interests in the Company holding approximately 19.3% of its issued share capital.
Solomon Gold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Company listed on London's Alternative Investment Market in 2006. Further details concerning the Company's key projects and personnel can be found at www.solomongold.com.