31 May 2019 07:00
31 May 2019
Trans-Siberian Gold plc
("TSG", the "Company", or the "Group")
Mineral Resource Update
Trans-Siberian Gold plc (TSG.LN), a low cost, high grade gold producer in Russia, announces an update of the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Asacha deposit in Kamchatka, Far East Russia.
The Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') for the Asacha deposit was updated by Seequent UK Ltd ("SUKL") to the end of December 2018. SUKL has updated the Asacha deposit's MRE at the end of every year from 2013. The purpose of these updates is to incorporate new data available from exploration, mining development and to account for mining depletion. A copy of SUKL's report is available on the Company's website at: www.trans-siberiangold.com
The resource at Asacha occurs in two zones: Main zone (currently being mined) and East zone (not yet mined). The Main zone hosts six defined veins, with the majority of the resource contained in two of these, QV1 and QV2. Three veins have been defined in the separate East zone. The Main zone has a strike length of approximately 1,500m, whilst the East zone is approximately 400m.
Mineral Resource Estimate
The Mineral Resource estimate for Asacha as at 31 December 2018 is shown in the following table:
Classification | Zone | '000 tonnes | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Au ('000oz) | Ag ('000oz) |
Measured | Main | 199 | 16 | 37 | 103 | 240 |
Indicated | Main | 295 | 19 | 54 | 182 | 515 |
Indicated | East | 3 | 56 | 30 | 6 | 3 |
Total M&I | 498 | 18 | 47 | 290 | 758 | |
Inferred | Main | 90 | 13 | 34 | 39 | 98 |
Inferred | East | 269 | 26 | 53 | 224 | 458 |
Total Inferred | 360 | 23 | 48 | 263 | 557 |
Notes:
1. Resources are reported above 4g/t Au cut-off grade
2. Resources are reported exclusive of mining depletion occurring after 31 December 2018.
3. Tonnage and grades have been rounded to reflect an appropriate level of precision
4. Rounding may mean that columns do not sum exactly
Asacha's Resources estimates were classified according to the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012).
Classification took account of data quality, confidence in geological interpretation and confidence in block estimations. Some of these aspects are necessarily subjective. Classifications were applied by digitisation of polygon boundaries between classes in long section view. Resources were only classified and reported within constrained vein volumes.
Year-on-Year Comparison
The total (Measured + Indicated + Inferred) declared mineral resource has decreased from 651,000 oz Au and 1,638,000 oz Ag as reported at 31st December 2017 to 553,000 oz Au and 1,314,000 oz Ag as at 31st December 2018.
Mining depletion accounts for 48,000 oz Au and 154,000 oz Ag from the mineral resource model. The remaining adjustment is due to substantial development on the 100mRL which has led to a re-interpretation of a large volume of the main veins QV1 and QV2 that was previously estimated in 2013. The addition of the new data allowed for a 3D estimate for all but small areas of QV2 which remain as a 2D estimate.
The following table illustrates the changes between the MRE as at 31 December 2017 and the updated MRE as at 31 December 2018:
Description | Au ('000oz) | Ag ('000oz) |
Resource Estimate as at 31 December 2017
| 651 | 1,638 |
Mining depletion
| -48 | -154 |
Difference due to model geometry and grade estimation changes for new channel data | -48 | -169 |
Resource Estimate as at 31 December 2018 |
553 |
1,314 |
For the previous three years the mineral resource model had been under-predicting the contained metal, however during 2018 the model over predicted by 7%. The ore dilution remains high but has decreased by 5% in 2017.
Competent Person Conclusion
The Competent Person, Ms. Carrie Nicholls, states:
"Based on the presence of the operating mine and mill, existing mine economics, the potential for incremental development access to deeper and more distal parts of the orebody, and the potential for further exploration success, SUKL opined that all of the vein resources defined at Asacha have a reasonable prospect of eventual economic extraction."
2019 Exploration
The Group will be conducting both underground and surface drilling campaigns during 2019. A total of approximately 4,700m of surface drilling will target the lateral extents of the Main zone and QV25. A further 8,500m of underground drilling will be conducted on the Main zone at depth.
ENDS
Contacts: |
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TSG Stewart Dickson | +44 (0) 7799 694195 |
Arden Partners plc Paul Shackleton (Corporate Finance)Tim Dainton / Fraser Marshall (Equity Sales) | +44 (0) 207 894 7000 |
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) Charlie Jack / Katerina Parker | +44 (0) 207 796 4133 |
About TSG
TSG is focused on low cost, high grade mining operations and stable gold production from its 100% owned Asacha Gold Mine in Far East Russia. The Group also holds the licence for the development and exploration of the Rodnikova deposit, one of the largest gold fields in South Kamchatka.
Additional information is available from the Company's website: www.trans-siberiangold.com
Qualified Person Review
The updated Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by Ms. Carrie Nicholls (Senior Evaluation Geologist, SUKL).
The information in this release that relates to the updated Mineral Resource estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information, which has been compiled by Ms. Nicholls.
Ms. Nicholls is a geologist with more than 15 years of experience in geo-statistical analysis, geological modelling and resource estimation. She has extensive experience in open pit gold mining operations in Africa and Venezuela and has undertaken geo-statistical and geological modelling work for a variety of deposits including gold, copper and niobium. She holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in geology from Bristol University, UK and a M.Sc. in Mineral Resources from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK. She is a member of the AusIMM and Geological Society of London.
Ms. Nicholls has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that is being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person, as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Ms. Nicholls is a full time employee of SUKL and has consented to the inclusion of the matters in this announcement based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
Technical Glossary
"Au" | the chemical symbol of gold |
"Ag" | the chemical symbol of silver |
"cut-off grade" | the lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit. May be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification.
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"g/t" | grams per tonne
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"Indicated mineral resource" | a part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed
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"Inferred mineral resource" | a part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability.
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"JORC Code" | the code for reporting of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, which is sponsored by the Australian mining industry and its professional organisations. The code is widely accepted as a standard for professional reporting purposes for reporting of mineral resources and ore reserves.
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"Measured mineral resource"
| A part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit.
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"Mineral Resource" | a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.
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"Mineralisation" | the process or processes by which a mineral is introduced into a rock, resulting in a valuable or potentially valuable deposit. It is a general term, incorporating various types; e.g., fissure filling, impregnation, and replacement.
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Market Abuse Regulations
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Disclaimer
This announcement contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets, fluctuations in interest and/or exchange rates and metal prices; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements.