High Grade Drill Intercepts at Julie and Josephine North, Wa Gold Project
- RC/diamond drilling at Julie East expected to increase Mineral Reserves when Feasibility Study update completed later in 2013. Intercepts include:
- 3m @ 15.59 g/t Au from 73m (JURC761)
- 2m @ 4.37 g/t Au from 84m (JURC762)
- 5m @ 12.69 g/t Au from 68m (JURC763)
2m @ 6.01 g/t Au from 94m - 8m @ 2.08 g/t Au from 94m (JURC764)
- 4m @ 3.43 g/t Au from 79m (JURC765)
- RC drilling at the Josephine North prospect defines mineralisation beneath artisanal workings. Intercepts include:
- 14m @ 2.18 g/t Au from 28m (JORC042)
- 5m @ 1.87 g/t Au from 56m (JORC046)
- 6m @ 4.79 g/t Au from 41m (JORC047) and
5m @ 2.03 g/t Au from 65m and
4m @ 1.90 g/t Au from 74m
"The combination of the impact of this recent infill drilling at Julie and especially the larger optimised Julie pits emanating from a considerably expanded and higher grade Julie Mineral Resource, is expected to result in a material increase in Mineral Reserves from the Wa East area when Azumah delivers its Feasibility Study update later in the year" Azumah Managing Director, Stephen Stone said.
"The Josephine North results highlight the opportunity to define additional mineralisation in the Wa East region and to lift Mineral Resources that already comprise more than 50% of the Wa Gold Project inventory".
TORONTO, June 13, 2013 - Azumah Resources Limited (ASX: AZM) (TSX:AZR) ("Azumah" or "the Company") is pleased to report the completion of drilling at its Julie deposit which was aimed at facilitating the conversion to Mineral Reserves of a proportion of Inferred mineralisation likely to be captured in enlarged optimised pits following a recent 84% expansion of Mineral Resources and 30% uplift in overall grade.
Azumah is also reporting the results of drilling at the Josephine North prospect which has successfully tested for mineralisation below a 400m long zone of artisanal workings.
The Julie deposit and Josephine prospect lie within the Wa East region of Azumah's Wa Gold Project in northwest Ghana (the "Project") where the Company has recently increased independently estimated and JORC & NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources to 1.36Moz Au and Inferred Mineral Resources to 0.85Moz Au (refer ASX/TSX release dated 15th January 2013).
The Company is in the process of updating its Project Feasibility Study and Mineral Reserves and aims to deliver a development-ready gold project later in 2013 (Figures 1, 2 and 3. Tables 1 and 2. Appendices 1, 2 and 3).
Julie
Julie comprises a series of proposed open pits over an east-west strike of 4km. A 'Stage One' Mineral Reserve of 74,000oz @ 2.4g/t Au was reported in August 2012 prior to the expansion of Mineral Resources and uplift in overall grade.
The original designed Julie pits were small and shallow due to the then paucity of drilling data and the impact on optimisations of relatively high mining costs due to contractor quotes reflecting the small-scale and short life earthmoving contract.
The Julie Mineral Resource is now larger than the combined Kunche and Bepkong Mineral Resource and at 30% higher grade.
Preliminary optimisations on the expanded Julie Mineral Resources indicate that redesigned pits are likely to be much larger and extend well below previous designed pits into areas of mineralisation that have not yet been drilled in sufficient density to enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves.
An initial infill drilling programme of five RC holes with diamond core tails for a total of 650m was recently completed at one of the two largest planned pits in Julie East to address this. The programme has successfully confirmed grade continuity in most of the interpreted lodes intersected, with grades comparable to those in the present Mineral Resource block model. Intercepts included:
- 3m@15.59 g/t Au from 73m (JURC761)
- 2m@4.37 g/t Au from 84m (JURC762)
- 5m@12.69 g/t Au from 68m (JURC763) and
- 2m@6.01 g/t Au from 94m
- 8m@2.08 g/t Au from 94m (JURC764)
- 4m@3.43 g/t Au from 79m (JURC765)
The classification of some lodes is expected to improve to Indicated Mineral Resource status which will allow them to be incorporated into the Mineral Reserve update.
Overall, Azumah is anticipating a material increase in Julie Mineral Reserves arising from the combination of an expanded Mineral Resource, the conversion of some Inferred mineralisation to an Indicated classification from this latest drilling, larger optimised and final designed pits plus the compounding benefit of lower unit mining costs and other economies of scale arising from a larger earthmoving and haulage contract.
Josephine North
The Josephine North prospect contains a series of artisanal ('galamsey') workings extending for approximately 400m and to a depth of approximately 5m. Mapping, trenching and drilling has shown that the galamsey are following a series of narrow, steeply dipping, sub-parallel quartz lodes that either pinch and swell or merge into thicker zones of mineralisation, both along strike and down-dip within what is interpreted as a broader shear zone. The surface trace of the mineralised zone is depicted in Figure 3.
Historical drilling along the mineralised zone has returned several high-grade intercepts including 8m @ 3.45g/t Au from 33m (JOR0003), 37m @ 3.11g/t Au from 4m (JOR0009) and 14m @ 2.97g/t Au from surface (JOR0008).
Eleven RC holes were drilled to test for mineralisation beneath the central galamsey workings. Intercepts included:
- 14m@2.18 g/t Au from 28m (JORC042)
- 5m@1.87 g/t Au from 56m (JORC046)
- 6m@4.79 g/t Au from 41m (JORC047) and
5m@2.03 g/t Au from 65m and - 4m@1.90 g/t Au from 74m
Josephine North is interpreted as a possible dilational relay structure, similar to that which hosts the Kunche and Bepkong deposits in the Wa-Lawra greenstone belt to the west. It lies on the prominent northwest-trending 'Josephine Fault' which is a splay off from the regional scale Jang Fault to the north. Northeast-trending structures, that are clearly manifest in aeromagnetic imagery, may be important in localising mineralisation. More work is required to determine if other areas along the Josephine Fault zone are also mineralised.
Azumah's continuing success at Julie and Josephine emphasises the prospectivity of its Project tenure and the opportunity to discover and delineate additional mineralisation to extend Project life.
About Azumah Resources Limited
Azumah is an Australian-based company focused on the exploration and development of the 100% owned, 3,100km2 Wa Gold Project, which presently contains a JORC & NI 43-101 calculated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource totalling 1.36Moz Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource totalling 0.85Moz Au (refer ASX/TSX release dated 15th January 2013).
A Feasibility Study and 'Stage One' Mineral Reserve was completed in August 2012 (refer to ASX/TSX release dated 27th August 2012) (Appendix 3) primarily to benchmark the Project and so that applications for Mining Leases could be submitted and the process of obtaining other key operating permits commenced with the Ghana Government. The Study was based on a conventional 1.0Mtpa gravity/CIL gold plant to be located adjacent to the flagship Kunche deposit. It confirmed that the Project is economically viable, has no technical or infrastructure related impediments and could be expected to generate a free cash flow of ~$40M per year after tax and royalties.
An update to the Feasibility Study and Mineral Reserve is underway and will reflect the increased Mineral Resource announced in January 2013 and especially the 84% growth in Mineral Resources at the Julie deposit.
For further information on the Company and its Wa Gold Project please refer to the Company's website at www.azumahresources.com.au and www.sedar.com
Cautionary Statement
The Company has not made a production decision and its strategic plan to develop a gold mining operation is subject to the results of an update to the 'Stage One' Feasibility Study (refer ASX release dated 28th August 2012) and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control. The Mineral Resources disclosed herein are preliminary in nature and include Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them to be categorised as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the Mineral Resources disclosed herein will be realised or converted to Mineral Reserves. Inferred Mineral Resources captured in optimised pits may not all be converted to Measured and Indicated Resources. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Target, expected and anticipated numbers contained herein are not confirmed, are not JORC or NI 43:101 compliant and are indicative only. Target Mineral Reserves implied herein are based on preliminary Whittle optimisations using adjusted Feasibility Study assumptions.
Competent Persons' Statement
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to the in-situ Mineral Resource estimates for the Kunche, Aduane and Julie deposits is based on information compiled by Mr Dmitry Pertel, who a full-time employee (Manager - Resources) of CSA Global Pty Ltd. Mr Pertel is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and to qualify as a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43 -101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr Pertel has reviewed and approved the disclosure of the relevant scientific or technical information contained in this announcement that relates to the Kunche, Aduane and Julie Mineral Resource estimates.
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to the in-situ Mineral Resource estimates for the Bepkong deposit is based on information compiled by Mr David Williams, who is a geological consultant employed by CSA Global Pty Ltd. Mr Williams is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and to qualify as a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43 -101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr Williams has reviewed and approved the disclosure of all scientific or technical information contained in this announcement that relates to the Bepkong Mineral Resource estimate.
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to the geology of the deposits and exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Nick Franey, who a full-time employee (General Manager Geology) of Azumah Resources Ltd. Mr Franey is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and to qualify as a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43 -101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr Franey is the Qualified Person overseeing Azumah's exploration projects and has reviewed and approved the disclosure of all scientific or technical information contained in this announcement.
For further information, including a description of Azumah's standard data verification processes, quality assurance and quality control measures, and details of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves set out in this report and the extent to which the estimate of previously declared Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves set out herein may be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or relevant issues, readers are directed to the technical report titled "Wa Gold Project, Ghana 43-101 Technical Report", effective as of 27 August, 2012, available on www.sedar.com.
The reported Mineral Reserves have been compiled by Mr Harry Warries. Mr Warries is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and an employee of Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. He has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking, to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards of November 2010, as well as a Competent Person as defined in the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' of December 2004 ("JORC Code") as prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Minerals Council of Australia. Mr Warries gives Azumah Resources Limited consent to use this reserve estimate in reports.
Forward-Looking Statement
This release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend", and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved, and other similar expressions. In providing the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions regarding: (i) the accuracy of exploration results received to date; (ii) anticipated costs and expenses; (iii) that the results of the feasibility study continue to be positive; and (iv) that future exploration results are as anticipated.
Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Some of these risks, uncertainties and other factors are described under the heading "Risks Factors" in the Company's annual information form available on www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Azumah does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information even if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. Readers should not place reliance on forward-looking information and readers are advised to consider such forward-looking statements in light of the risks set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings as found at the (Canadian) SEDAR website.
PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2013/06/13/20130613_C8105_DOC_EN_28031.pdf
SOURCE Azumah Resources Inc
Stephen Stone, Managing Director
Tel: +61 (0)418 804 564
stone@azumahresources.com.au
Robert Gundelach - Australia
NWR Communications
+61 (0)451 896 420
robert@nwrcommunications.com.au
Joanna Longo - North America
Terre Partners
+1 416 238 1414
Jlongo@terrepartners.com