Last checked at 25 Jan 2011 07:00
25 January 2011
ENCOURAGING DRILL RESULTS
LONG LAKE GOLD PROJECT, SUDBURY, CANADA
Sunrise Resources plc ("Sunrise" or "the Company"), the AIM-quoted diversified mineral exploration and development specialist, is pleased to announce that it has now received assay results from the majority of samples submitted for analysis from the first phase of drilling at its Long Lake Gold Project near Sudbury in Ontario, Canada. Results demonstrate that gold mineralisation extends near surface beyond the pit limits and confirms that mineralisation continues at depth below the mine workings, as predicted.
Highlights:
·; Mineralisation intersected at shallow depth outside of existing pit limits.
·; Best result of 17.0m grading 2.9g/t gold including 2.3m grading 16.1 g/t gold within a 35m thick interval grading 2.0 g/t gold.
·; Grades to 55 g/t gold (1.8 ounces gold per tonne) over narrow intervals.
·; Deepest hole intersects mineralised mine sequence in predicted position below the mine workings confirming continuation of the mineralisation at depth.
Details of the drilling programme were set out in news releases dated 11 November 2010 and 22 December 2010. The Company is awaiting the results of surface and down-hole geophysical surveys, also detailed in the previous news releases, which are expected to help the interpretation of the new drill results. The Board expects the geophysical results to be available in early February and has started planning for a second phase of drilling at Long Lake.
Overview of Drill Results
The Long Lake Gold Mine historically produced 57,000 ounces of gold from over 200,000 tonnes of ore mined from a 60m diameter open glory-hole. This open pit was developed on a plunging pipe-like zone of disseminated gold and strongly sulphide mineralised quartzite (metamorphosed sandstone) down to a depth of just 55m from surface.
The mine series quartzite is bounded on three sides by intrusive gabbro and open to the south-east along the strike direction of the sequence. The pipe sits to the south of, and in the hanging wall of, the north-east striking Wallingford fault.
Four drill holes, 10LD001 to 10LD004, were completed to test for extensions to mineralisation in the immediate environs of the open mine workings.
The best result was obtained from Hole 3, a vertical hole drilled some 15m to the south-west of the boundary of the open pit. This returned a drill intersection of 35.4m grading 2.0 grammes/tonne (g/t) gold, including 17.0m grading 2.9g/t gold and 2.3m grading 16.1g/t gold, all from 27.04m down hole. Samples in this hole assayed up to 55g/t (1.8 ounces per tonne) over 0.33m.
Hole 10LD001 was located approximately 8m from the north-east boundary of the open pit (on the opposite side of the pit from hole 10LD003) and was drilled at an angle of 45 degrees towards the north-west. This hole intersected 4.6m grading 2.0g/t from 7.9m down hole at which point the hole hit barren gabbro which is probably intrusive into the mine sequence. Holes10LD003 and 001LD004 demonstrate that mineralisation extends well beyond the pit boundaries near surface.
Hole 10LD002 was drilled perpendicular to Hole 10LD001 and parallel to the north-west side of the pit to test the possibility that gold might also be associated with structures that cross cut the stratigraphy and also the Wallingford fault. This hole intersected a weakly gold-anomalous sequence of gabbro and quartzite and may have been drilled largely in the footwall of the fault.
A prime drill target for the recently completed programme was to test for the continuation of gold mineralisation below the deepest exploratory mine workings (the 4th level at 100m vertical depth from surface) where the Company's 3D modelling of historical mine workings and old drill data suggested that mineralisation continued at depth in a number of 1930s drill holes.
The Company is therefore very pleased to report that its drill hole 10LD004 (inclined 80 degrees towards the north-west) intersected mineralised mine series quartzite at a down-hole depth of 121.9m. This compares remarkably well with the expected target depth of 120m vertical depth reported in the Company's news release dated 11 November 2010. The grade of mineralisation in Hole10LD004 (1.4m grading 1.9g/t gold from 121.9m down hole) is considered less significant in this first stage of drilling than the actual relocation of the mineralised zone which was identified only after extensive historical research and painstaking 3D reconstruction of archive data and 1930s news releases. Plotting of the new hole 10LD004 on the 3D model suggests that it passed through a part of this mineralised zone where a 1930s drill hole found similar grades and thicknesses of mineralisation (4.2m grading 1.1 g/t gold) but where adjacent and nearby 1930s holes reported much higher grades (e.g. reported intersections of 6m grading 13.8g/t gold and 1.5m grading 30.2g/t gold). Follow up drilling in this area is now a high priority.
Drill Holes 10LD005 and 10LD006 were designed to test geophysical anomalies A22 and A23 respectively which are located 500m and 900m north-east of the mine. Both holes intersected minor pyrite and chalcopyrite (iron and copper-sulphide) in a mafic rock sequence, but found no significant gold mineralisation. The concentration of sulphide mineralisation in hole 10LD006 was judged insufficient to explain the magnitude of the geophysical anomaly and it is considered that the hole may have missed the target zone. A decision was therefore taken to carry out a down-hole and surface IP survey over Anomaly 23 to see if additional testing is warranted. Results from this geophysical survey are awaited.
Drill Holes 10LD07-09 were drilled to test prospecting targets identified during the summer and were located at wide spacing over a 900m section of a second quartzite sequence that runs parallel to the mine sequence some 350m to the south. This second quartzite sedimentary sequence hosts the E1 gold prospect where drilling in the 1970s and 1980s intersected high-grade gold mineralisation (e.g. 5.7m grading 30g/t gold in 1973 with follow up results of 4.1m grading 12g/t gold in 1987) but where the controls on gold mineralisation remain poorly understood.
The E1 zone was not drilled in the current programme but it was included in the recently completed surface and down-hole geophysical surveys.
Hole 10LD007, a particularly speculative drill hole, intersected gabbro and granite with no significant gold results. Assay results are still awaited for holes 10LD008 and hole 100LD009.
Table of Significant Drilling Results:
Hole Number | Start Depth Down Hole (m) | Drill Intersection (m) | Gold Grade g/t |
10LD001 | 7.94m | 4.65m | 2.0 g/t |
10LD003 | 27.04m | 35.43m | 2.0 g/t |
inc. | 27.04m | 17.05m | 2.9 g/t |
inc. | 27.04m | 2.27m | 16.1 g/t |
10LD004 | 121.88m | 1.40m | 1.9 g/t |
Sampling Quality Analysis and Quality Control
The drill programme, including logging, drill core sampling and QA/QC is being supervised by Elisabeth Ronacher of Caracle Creek International Consulting (CCIC).
Diamond drill core was first split in half using a diamond core saw and then logged, and photographed prior to sampling. Half-core samples were bagged, sealed and transported to AGAT Laboratories in Sudbury for analysis. The QA/QC procedures that were followed include adding blind standard samples and duplicate quarter core samples to the sample sequence prior to submission to AGAT Laboratories' Mining Division.
Gold was assayed by fire assay with an ICP finish with samples assaying over 10g/t automatically re-submitted for check analysis by a fire assay method using a gravimetric finish. AGAT Laboratories' Mining Division is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and CAN-P-1579 by the Standard's Council of Canada (SCC). AGAT'S internal quality control procedures include the regular analysis of replicate samples, reference materials and reference blanks.
The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.
Further information:
Sunrise Resources plc Tel: +44 (0)1625 505947
Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman Mob. +44 (0)7767 458751
www.sunriseresourcesplc.com
Northland Capital Partners Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7492 4750
Gavin Burnell / Rod Venables
Charles Vaughan (Broking)
Yellow Jersey PR Tel: +44 (0)20 8980 3545
Dominic Barretto
Notes to Editors
About the Long Lake Project
The Company holds a three year option, effective 5 May 2010 to acquire the Long Lake claim group located to the south-west of Sudbury. The claims are being explored for gold and also for nickel-copper-platinum group elements.
Since 1883 the Sudbury mining field has accounted for over 25% of the world's total nickel production and new discoveries continue to be made. It is the most productive nickel-mining field in the world with over 1.7 billion tonnes of past production, reserves and resources. Nickel-copper-and platinum group metals ("PGM") bearing sulphide minerals occur in and around a 60 km by 27 km elliptical igneous body called the Sudbury Igneous Complex ("SIC").
The claims include a potential 10km extension to the producing Copper Cliff offset dyke system prospective for nickel-copper-platinum group metals, where, north of the Company's Property, the producing Copper Cliffs South mine and the Copper Cliff North mine have yielded over 200 million tonnes of ore and Vale Inco Limited's Clarabelle Mill, Copper Cliff Smelter and Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery are located in close proximity.
The Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Property by making staged payments totalling Can $575,000 over a three year period, by meeting exploration expenditures of Can $500,000 in that period and by issuing up to 5,000,000 five year share warrants exercisable at 0.675p per share. The vendor retains a 3% NSR on the property of which 2% may be purchased by the Company at any time for the sum of Can$3 million.
Various maps and images illustrating some of the features discussed in this release are available on the Company's website at:
http://www.sunriseresourcesplc.com/longlake_project.html