Georgian Mining Corporation (LON:GEO) has today announced an initial Mineral Resource estimate (in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012)) for the gold oxide deposit at Gold Zone 2 in the Kvemo Bolnisi East (‘KB’) Project with combined Indicated and Inferred categories of 2.29Mt @ 0.85g/t Au, containing an optimised In-Pit Mineral Resource of 1.14Mt @ 1.10g/t Au. The KB project is located in an established copper-gold region in Georgia along the highly prospective Tethyan Belt and Gold Zone 2 is one of three zones currently being developed at KB which may form one large epithermal copper-gold system. The initial Gold Zone 2 Resource exceeds the interim target and increases confidence in GEO’s three phase strategy to develop a total resource in excess of 50Mt that exploration activities are now targeting at KB.
Highlights:
· The Optimised In-Pit Resource of 1.14Mt @ 1.10g/t Au at Gold Zone 2, is based on the initial 64-hole drill programme (announced on 6 June 2017) within a global Inferred and Indicated Resource of 2.29Mt @ 0.85g/t Au (Indicated category of 296kt @ 1.31g/t Au and Inferred category of 1.99Mt @0.78g/t Au)
· Infill and step-out drilling are underway to increase the grade and upgrade the resource categories which will be included in a future mine plan
· GEO is on course to deliver the Phase 2 target of 3 – 5Mt of combined copper-gold sulphide and gold oxide mineralisation across all three zones at KB
· The scoping study with supporting metallurgical test results will be presented to our JV partner shortly as the basis for detailed negotiations over the terms and timetable for mining and processing of the gold oxide ore
GEO Managing Director Greg Kuenzel said, “Our maiden gold resource at Gold Zone 2 exceeds our initial target of 750kt to 1Mt at 1 g/t Au and importantly meets our criteria for processing the ore by low cost heap leaching. We are now completing the metallurgical test work needed to finalise the Scoping Study, which will form the basis for negotiating the production and processing agreement with our JV partner.”
Further information
The initial Gold Zone 2 resource covers an area extending from surface to the base of the oxides at approximately 40 metres depth with a footprint of 150 x 150 metres and, as the Resource occurs from surface, no significant stripping will be required on commencing production. The KB target total footprint has now been expanded to 1km by 1.3km, significantly increasing the potential to further develop and upgrade the initial resource. Our present programme focuses on step out drilling around the gold oxide ore block to increase the dimensions of the gold oxide resource. Work is also underway to upgrade the existing copper JORC resource, where recent drilling intersected high grade chalcocite and copper sulphides below the base of the gold oxide at Gold Zone 2. We expect to announce additional resource upgrades over the coming months to confirm that GEO is on track to achieve a Phase 2 Mineral Resource target of 3-5 Mt.
GEO’s excavation, detailed geological mapping and channel sampling cover an extensive area to the north and northeast of the Gold Zone 2 ore block. Drilling of newly generated targets should add to the Mineral Resource, as we build towards our 50Mt copper and gold exploration target, which the Directors expect will enable KB to become a highly profitable copper-gold mine operation in the Tethyan Belt.
Mineral Resource Estimate
Mineral Resource
Recent diamond drilling has delineated a constrained In-Pit optimised JORC Mineral Resource estimate of 1.14 million tonnes @ 1.10g/t Au within a global Inferred and Indicated Resource of 2.29Mt @ 0.85g/t Au. GEO will now expand the programme beyond the initial target tonnage to demonstrate that scope exists for a much larger bulk tonnage resource.
Table 1: Kvemo Bolnisi Gold Zone 2 Mineral Resource
Unconstrained Mineral Indicated & Inferred JORC (2012) Resource – Gold Zone 2 (“GZ2”) Gold Oxide
|
Resource Type |
Tonnes (t) |
Grade (g/t Au) |
Grade* (% Cu) |
|
Gold Oxide |
2,290,000 |
0.85 |
0.07 |
Pit Optimised Mineral Indicated & Inferred JORC (2012) Mineral Resource – Gold Zone 2 (“GZ2”) Gold Oxide
|
Resource Type |
Tonnes (t) |
Grade (g/t Au) |
Grade* (% Cu) |
|
Gold Oxide |
1,782,000 |
0.97 |
0.07 |
|
Inc. |
1,140,000 |
1.10 |
0.07 |
* Note: To be efficient, the heap leach processing of gold oxide requires low levels of other metals to be present in ore. The copper oxide level in the KB gold oxide Mineral Resource at an average grade of 0.07% Cu is very low which will have a positive effect on reagent consumption
