Angkor Gold Provides Progress Update on Its 2013 Exploration Program and Mesco Gold's Work at Phum Syarung
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Angkor Gold Corp. (TSX-V:ANK) ("ANGKOR") is pleased to provide an update on the 2013 exploration program on its 1102 km2 land package located in northeast Cambodia. As a project generator seeking to build a royalty portfolio, Angkor's approach to exploration is pragmatic, aggressive and grassroots with the aims of facilitating deal-making while seeking a significant resource. Angkor has announced two strategic transactions in 2013.
Led by Dr. Adrian Mann, our Zimbabwe-born VP of Exploration, the international team initiated 2013 exploration in February having spent the previous 4-6 weeks completing transfer of information and control of the Phum Syarung prospect to Mesco Gold Ltd ("Mesco Gold"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesco Steel Ltd. In 2012, Angkor's drill results from Phum Syarung included 16.67g/t over 4.05m on the #13 vein, which has at least one parallel, the #8 vein. After mobilising on 1 March 2013, Mesco Gold completed 4 drill holes to depths ranging from 80m to 200m to test #13 vein laterally and at depth. The core has been logged and sent for assay and metallurgical test work.
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Mesco Gold excavated to bedrock where they expect to position the first of three declined on-vein winzes and will begin an Environmental Impact Assessment in April 2013. Angkor expects Mesco Gold to present its mining plan within the next two weeks.
Angkor's exploration focus for 2013 is to continue aggressively to increase understanding of its geology of Angkor's large land package which includes numerous known prospects. Knowledge gained in previous years has expedited progress on current prospects. As a growing hybrid project/royalty generator company, Angkor's aims include developing and maintaining a pipeline of prospects to vend to 3rd parties.
Dr. Mann commented: "After 4 years of aggressive exploration in Cambodia, and with a freshly replenished war-chest, Angkor is very well placed to continue operations. We have developed a good working mix of modern technology and proven, old-fashioned, detailed methodical field geological mapping and prospecting, including examining every report of artisanal workings, current or historic; stream sediment geochemistry; simple ground geophysics; rock chip, soil and biogeochemical sampling. I am justifiably proud of our technical team, whose geologists have a great depth of international training and experience, and who temper enthusiasm and technical competence with pragmatism and cost effectiveness. Through them, Angkor has been able to trim huge areas of non-prospective ground from our land holdings and to define and advance 4 prospects to a sufficient level to invite their purchase by 2 third parties. This approach and strategy has proved itself, and we will continue to use these strengths to define and enhance further prospects to become saleable."
Along with conventional fire assay, ICP-MS and AA analyses, Angkor Gold makes strong tactical use of modern reflectance spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence field analytical methods, coupled with more traditional ground electromagnetic, magnetic and gamma ray tools; all of which are successfully operated by trained Khmer technicians and geologists. In addition, the team has developed a biogeochemical sampling program to replace traditional, time-consuming approaches.
Kurtis Dunstone, Angkor's Exploration Manager, who hails from Western Australia, commented, "The biogeochemical approach has been used in Africa, Australia, India and South America but not successfully in Southeast Asia. The principle is simple, allowing effective sampling down to the water table; and after extensive testing, we have developed a sampling methodology that is rapid, robust, quality controlled and quality assured, which has now successfully replaced 'C'-zone soil sampling. By organising our teams to take full advantage of these techniques we are able, at a fraction of previous costs, to complete follow-up exploration of targets in a fifth of the time."
2013 Exploration Program Overview
Angkor's 2013 exploration program includes several key projects:
1. O Trey Corridor Project – Dokyong prospect is connected to Mesco's Phum Syarung prospect by a 10km long shear-bounded zone, first identified in stream sediment geochemistry, confirmed by satellite imagery and aeromagnetics, which may host multiple related prospects. In 2012, 'C' zone soil geochemistry identified 5 prospects in the Dokyong area, confirmed by our biogeochemical pilot testwork, scout diamond drilling and detailed geological mapping. Further detailed follow-up work is underway along the corridor, including geomorphology, lithology, structural measurements, rock chip sampling, biogeochemical sampling and other mobile investigations. The field team is led by Ukrainian-trained Sok Vun, a senior Khmer geologist with the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mining and Energy, on secondment to Angkor, aided in the mapping program by Mehdy Al Zoubaidy, a Swiss geologist, and 3 other Khmer geologists, who are all working to define drill targets for later in the season.
2. Okalla Project - over 5400m of diamond drilling already completed at Okalla shows it is a Cu-Au-Mo porphyry system within which are higher grade gold-bearing and copper-bearing (chalcopyrite and bornite) breccias. Angkor has engaged a porphyry expert, Eugenio Cayo, experienced with porphyry systems and epithermal events such as at Yanococha, Peru to review the existing drill core and other samples from Okalla and surrounding prospects such as Katieng. He aims to develop an understanding of the geological events that shaped the structures at Okalla and to identify higher grade drill targets for 2013.
3. China Wall (CW) Project – Strongly anomalous molybdenum (values of 0.16%, 0.18% 0.24% Mo) and tungsten with some copper and gold associated with a granite-diorite interface occur in 3 diamond drill holes completed last season. Detailed mapping work is underway by Gemselle Nagrama, an experienced Filipina geologist. The Mo-W anomaly was discovered serendipitously in our preliminary exploration for gold, but grades are sufficient to invite considerable further work. The aim for 2013 is to identify drill targets.
4. Phum Puik and Kanong - detailed mapping and biogeochemical sampling at Phum Puik showed a 400m long gold anomaly of >50 ppb in a background of <25 ppb, coupled with an arsenic and lead high, which seems related to narrow quartz veining, located close to the contact between volcaniclastics in the north and a granite to the south and with a northeast striking fault.
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It is apparent that this is part of a larger metallogenic event, and our token Canadian geologist, Craig Richardson, is heading the team investigating numerous artisanal workings in the northern part of the Andong Meas and Oyadao tenements. Several contiguous catchments showed good gold and associated element anomalies in the stream sediment geochemical survey, and this is now being mapped and a biogeochemical survey will commence shortly.
5. Phum Lomh – preliminary reconnaissance mapping shows an eastern adamellite/quartz monzonite with a hornblende granite core, and faulted in the west against pyroclastics, locally showing traces of sulphide, and bleached white felsites with scattered limonite after sulphide, with which a fragment of classic vein stockwork was noted. These are very prospective signs and follow-up detailed mapping and a biogeochemical survey are planned.
In addition to these activities, Angkor provides paid-for support to Mesco Gold at Phum Syarung in order to help progress the project into production, which they aim to begin by mid/late 2014.
The exploration field season in Cambodia usually typically runs from October–July. During the wet season, August-September, Angkor scales back its field team and processes the data and information collected. Angkor will report progress on its exploration activities in due course.
Scott Donahue, Angkor's COO, stated, "Our 2013 exploration program will focus on key projects while concurrently maintaining a systematic approach on our other prospects. The geological team we have assembled has international experience and they all share a passion for the kind of grassroots, methodical exploration necessary to maintain our deal pipeline and seek our first 1M+ oz deposit, which we're confident we'll discover. Our ACTION-based strategy means exactly that: getting the fieldwork done. Mobilising a team of 50 people to focus on a 2-week project 'blitz' covering the same area that would previously have taken 3 months; all undertaking different geological activities but all with a common purpose that has become the hallmark of Angkor's ability to operate efficiently and effectively."
Angkor Gold Corp. is a public company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange. It is Cambodia's premier gold explorer with a significantly large land package and a first-mover advantage.
Angkor has 5 exploration licences in the Kingdom of Cambodia now covering a total of 1102 km2, plus 3 pending licence applications. The company has been actively exploring these concessions over the past 3 years, and has now covered all tenements with stream sediment geochemical sampling, has flown low level aeromagnetic surveys over much of the ground, drilled 17,556 metres of NQ core in 143 holes, of which 8,815m in 66 holes were drilled in the 2012 season; and has collected in excess of 20,000 'C' zone soil samples in 8 centres of interest, over a combined area of 20km2, in addition to numerous trenches and detailed geological field mapping. Exploration on all tenements is ongoing.
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Contact
Angkor Gold Corp.
Mike Weeks, President
Telephone: (780) 568-3801
Email: mw@angkorgold.ca