Sunridge Gold Selects Snowden and GBM to Conduct Prefeasibility Study on the Asmara North Deposits, Eritrea
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/07/11 -- Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: SGC) is pleased to announce that it has engaged Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Inc.('Snowden') and GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Ltd. ('GBM') to conduct a prefeasibility study on its combined Emba Derho, Adi Nefas and Gupo copper-zinc-gold deposits, now called the Asmara North deposits in Eritrea. Snowden, based in Vancouver, Canada is an internationally respected leader in resource estimation and mine design. Snowden will manage the study assisted by GBM with their engineering design expertise in process plant and infrastructure of mining projects. Their experience will be complemented by Knight Piesold Ltd. ('KP') for tailings facility design and waste management.
The prefeasibility study will consider a centralized process plant using flotation for the recovery of the base metals and will study various mining options over a forecast life of mine of between 10 and 14 years. The study will further investigate process options for the development of a gold recovery plant to process gold mineralized material from the 'gold cap' at the Emba Derho deposit, the nearby Gupo gold deposit and other possible nearby surface zones of gold mineralization to enhance economics of the deposits. The completion of this report is expected in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Scott Ansell, VP Projects for Sunridge, stated that, 'The Snowden-GBM-Knight Piesold team bring strong mine and process design experience for completion of a successful prefeasibility study. This prefeasibility study will provide the direction of development of the Asmara North deposits to production.'
The Asmara North Deposits
The Asmara North deposits are made up of three distinct deposits (full resource tables below):
-- Emba Derho VMS deposit is a large surface minable 62 million tonne
copper-zinc-gold volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit that was
the subject of a positive scoping study by Wardrop Engineering (UK) in
2009.
-- The Adi Nefas deposit located approximately 6 kilometers away from Emba
Derho is a much smaller but higher grade zinc-gold-copper VMS deposit.
-- The Gupo gold deposit is approximately 8 kilometers from Emba Derho and
is a near-surface structurally controlled gold deposit that was mined
during the Italian colonial period.
The Debarwa Deposit Option
The Debarwa deposit is located close to paved road access just 45 minutes drive from the Asmara North deposits. This high-grade copper-gold-zinc VMS deposit is currently in feasibility study. The prefeasibility study to be conducted by Snowden and GBM will examine options to transport ore from Debarwa to a central process plant facility located at the Asmara North project.
Resource Tables
Emba Derho: The September 10, 2008 Wardrop Engineering Inc. Indicated
resource estimates for Emba Derho are summarized as follows:
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Cut-off Million Gold Silver
Zone grade Tonnes Copper % Zinc % g/t g/t
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Gold Oxide 0.2 g/t Au 3.51 0.06 0.04 0.84 5.14
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Copper-rich 0.5% Cu 38.425 1.02 0.99 0.18 9.31
Primary
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Zinc-rich 1.0% Zn 20.545 0.28 2.35 0.39 12.13
Primary
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Adi Nefas: The January 21, 2008 MSA Geoservices (Pty) Ltd. resource
estimates for Adi Nefas are summarized as follows:
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Adi Nefas - Indicated Resources
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Zone Cut Off K-tonnes Au g/t Ag g/t Cu% Zn%
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Primary 2% Zn 2,727 2.85 99.30 1.39 8.38
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Gupo Gold: April 27, 2004, Blackburn and Chisholm
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Gupo Gold - Inferred Resources
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Tonnes Average Gold Grade g/t Ounces of Gold
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1,965,000 2.99 189,000
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Debarwa: The January 21, 2008 MSA Geoservices (Pty) Ltd. Indicated resource
estimates for Debarwa are summarized as follows:
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Debarwa - Indicated Resources
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Zone Cut Off K-tonnes Au g/t Ag g/t Cu% Zn%
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Oxide Transition 0.5 g/t Au 2,442 1.71 13.79 0.12 0.09
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Supergene 1% Cu 1,336 1.54 33.87 5.36 0.08
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Primary 1% Cu 699 0.87 22.31 2.53 3.23
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Totals 4,478
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Total Contained Metals: The total contained metal in NI43-101 'Indicated'
category is as follows.
Asmara Project -- Total Contained Metal in Indicated Resources
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Deposit M lbs Cu M lbs Zn K oz Au M oz Ag
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Emba Derho 993 1902 580 20.1
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Debarwa 203.6 57.0 219.8 3.0
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Adi Nefas 83.7 503.6 250.0 8.7
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Totals 1,280.3 2,462.6 1,049.8 31.8
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Note: Contained metal estimates are rounded and remain subject to factors
such as mining dilution and process recovery losses.
Qualified Person
Michael J. Hopley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunridge is the Qualified Person for Sunridge and the person responsible for preparation of the technical information contained in this news release.
ABOUT SUNRIDGE:
Sunridge is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of base and precious metal projects on the Asmara Project in Eritrea and exploration properties in Madagascar. Sunridge currently has approximately 116 million shares outstanding and approximately $25 million in cash. Sunridge trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SGC. For additional information on the Company and its projects please visit our website at www.sunridgegold.com or call Greg Davis at the numbers listed below. All of the above mentioned technical reports are filed on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.
SUNRIDGE GOLD CORP.
Michael Hopley, President and Chief Executive Officer
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as 'plan', 'expect', 'project', 'intend', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'suggest', 'indicate' and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions 'may' or 'will' occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Sunridge Gold Corp.
Greg Davis
VP Business Development
604-688-1263 (direct)
greg@sunridgegold.com
Sunridge Gold Corp.
Don Halliday
604-899-1505 (direct)
donh@sunridgegold.com
www.sunridgegold.com