Goldrush Acquires Four Highly Prospective Permits Adjacent to Producing Gold Mines, Deposits and New Discoveries in Burkina Faso, West Africa
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/22/11 -- Goldrush Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GOD)(PINK SHEETS: GDRRF)(OTCQX: GDRRF) ('Goldrush' or the 'Company') announces the signing of option agreements to earn 100% interests in four highly prospective exploration permits which are adjacent to producing gold mines and recently discovered deposits in Burkina Faso - a significant emerging gold producer on the African continent.
Commenting on the acquisitions, Goldrush President and CEO Len Brownlie said: 'Goldrush now controls an area of over 2,000 km2 of West African Birimian greenstone belts. The acquisition of these four new permits furthers the Company's philosophy of providing shareholders with a pipeline of gold projects, ranging from grassroots exploration to the Ronguen gold deposit. These new acquisitions are particularly significant because of their proximity to producing gold mines, advancing gold deposits and recent discoveries where the success of our industry competitors demonstrates the prospectivity of these areas.'
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General
Goldrush Surface Location Adjacent to permit(s)
Permit Area in Burkina forming project areas
Name (km2) Faso for(1): Owned by:
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Rima 250 Northwest 1. Kalsaka Gold Mine; 1. Cluff Gold PLC
2. Sega gold deposit 2. Orezone Gold
Corporation
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Pompoi 232 West 1. Yaramoko gold 1. Roxgold
discovery Inc./Riverstone
2. Mana Gold Mine Resources Inc.
2. Semafo Inc.
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Midebdo 56 South 1. Konkera gold deposit 1. Ampella Mining Ltd.
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Ouaraba 129 South 1. Donko Permit 1. Ampella Mining Ltd.
2. Gaoua copper-gold 2. Volta Resources
project Inc.
3. Wa gold project 3. Azumah Resources
Limited
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Total Area 667
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(1) Readers are cautioned that gold mineralization that occurs on other
companies' permits may not extend onto the Company's permits.
Geological significance of the permits and main exploration targets
Rima Permit
The Rima permit is located in central Burkina Faso, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of the capital city, Ouagadougou. The permit overlies a portion of the Boromo greenstone belt, is bisected by the south flowing Nakambe River, and its eastern border is approximately five kilometres from, and apparently on strike with, Cluff Mining PLC's Kalsaka open pit gold mine.
The Kalsaka mine is positioned near an inflection point where the north trending Boromo greenstone belt transitions into the northeast to east trending Central greenstone belt. Gold mineralization at Kalsaka is hosted in narrow shear zones that are orientated parallel to the regional structural grain and contain thick quartz veins with brecciated margins hosting the highest grades. The Cluff Gold website states that structural mapping has indicated that the stratigraphic succession at Kalsaka has been isoclinally folded into a syncline which plunges shallowly to the west southwest, towards the Goldrush Rima permit, with the most prominent orebodies (Kalsaka Hill and the K-Z zone) located within or associated with shear zones located near the fold axis. At December 31, 2010, the Kalsaka gold mine had an estimated 186,000 ounces of proven and probable reserves (3.4 million tonnes at 1.7 g/t Au), 216,000 ounces of measured and indicated resources (4.6 million tonnes at 1.6 g/t Au) and 157,000 ounces of inferred resources (3.3 million tones at 1.4 g/t Au).
An interpretation of the regional airborne magnetometer survey of the Rima permit and the Kalsaka Nord permit indicates that the lithologies and structure at the Kalsaka deposit appear to trend onto the southeast quadrant of the Rima permit and extend for over 7.5 kilometres. A field visit to this southeastern portion of the Rima permit has confirmed the presence of highly deformed north northeasterly oriented rocks that contain significant quartz veining that trends onto the Kalsaka Nord permit, the location of the Kalsaka mine.
In addition to the above trend, an early identified target for follow up occurs on the northern portion of the permit, where orpailleur workings are on trend with a significant orpailleur site approximately two kilometers to the north on Orezone Gold Corporation's Namasa permit. The Namasa permit is the most southerly of two permits that constitute Orezone's Sega project which is reported (Orezone website) to contain a measured and indicated resource of 450,400 ounces (8.3 million tonnes at a grade of 1.69 g/t Au) and an inferred resource of 147,300 ounces (2.9 million tonnes at a grade of 1.58 g/t Au) that is contained in five main zones within a 16 square kilometre area.
Following a review of work conducted in the 1990's by a previous permit holder, the Company intends to conduct in the near future a program of regolith mapping, outcrop mapping and sampling, and soil geochemistry to define the targets for more advanced exploration.
Pompoi Permit
The Pompoi permit is located approximately 185 kilometres west southwest of Ouagadougou and is easily accessed by national road N1 and secondary roads. The permit is bisected in an east-west direction by the Ouagadougou-Bobo-Abidjan railway, and overlies the eastern edge of the north trending Hounde (Birimian age) greenstone belt.
The permit is contiguous with the eastern border of the Yaramoko permit held by Roxgold Inc. and Riverstone Resources Inc. According to a Roxgold news release dated April 8, 2011, reverse circulation ('RC') drilling at the Bagassi Central site, approximately one kilometre from the Pompoi permit boundary, produced gold intersections of 24.62 g/t Au over 6 metres in hole YMR-10-RC-036, and 28.61 g/t Au over 20 metres and 4.88 g/t Au over 11 metres in hole YMR-11-RC-055. Roxgold is currently conducting a core drilling program to confirm and extend these significant high grade results.
A July 2010 Technical Report on the Yaramoko Permit provided on the Roxgold website, describes the mineralization on the Yaramoko permit as a series of subparallel quartz veins hosted in northwest trending shears. A granodioritic to tonalitic body has intruded the volcanic country rocks and the resulting veins and shears related to this event cut both the volcanics and the intrusive on its eastern flank. Artisanal workings generally line up along this south southeast trending shearing, with these activities being conducted at a high angle to the shear. An interpretation of this description suggests that the mineralized structures may trend easterly onto the Pompoi permit. The Company is currently completing a program of gridded soil sampling to assist in the confirmation of this interpretation.
The permit is also contiguous with the eastern and much of the southern boundary of Semafo Inc.'s Mana Est permit that is a part of Semafo's land holdings surrounding the Mana Gold Mine. The Mana Mine is approximately 30 kilometres west of the Pompoi permit. At December 31, 2010, the Mana gold mine had an estimated 2,159,700 ounces of proven and probable reserves (25.468 million tonnes at 2.64 g/t Au), 1,126,000 ounces of measured and indicated resources (23.663 million tonnes at 1.5 g/t Au) and 2,678,000 ounces of inferred resources (36.466 million tones at 2.28 g/t Au).
In addition to the extensions of the easterly trending structures noted at the Bagassi Central target on the Yaramoko permit, an interpretation of the regional airborne magnetometer survey which covers the Pompoi permit suggests the occurrence of northeast trending faults and/or shear zones and folding (in the northern parts of the permit) that are similar to that seen at the Mana Mine.
Midebdo Permit
The Midebdo permit is located 325 kilometres south southwest of Ouagadougou, with easy access by paved highways and 45 kilometres of good secondary road. The western and southern borders of the permit lie within 2.5 kilometres of the international border between Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
Significantly, the Midebdo permit is located immediately west of Ampella Mining Ltd.'s Tiopolo permit which hosts the Konkera gold deposit on the western side of the Boromo greenstone belt. The substantial Konkera deposit, which is in the prefeasibility study stage, occurs within a 4.9 kilometre length of a 110 kilometre long gold bearing shear zone located along the southwest margin of the greenstone belt. An interpretation of a regional airborne magnetometer survey suggests that this permissive gold bearing structure may transect the northeast corner of the Company's Midebdo permit.
A February 10, 2011 news release from Ampella's website, indicates that the Konkera deposit has a JORC Code (2004) compliant indicated resource of 1,182,600 ounces of gold (22.5M tonnes at a grade of 1.6 g/t Au) and an inferred resource of 1,041,500 ounces of gold (19.9M tones at a grade of 1.6 g/t Au). This resource remains open along strike and at depth, being principally contained within the top 200 metres vertical depth from surface. As noted in an August 10, 2011 news release, as part of a $30 million exploration program designed for 2011, Ampella is actively drilling, with five multipurpose RC and diamond drill rigs on site and two more to arrive by early September, 15 high priority targets on its permits of the Batie West project.
The priority exploration target on the Midebdo permit is the northeast quadrant of the permit, which is located along strike of the trend that hosts the Konkera deposit. A program of prospecting, geologic mapping and rock sampling, and soil geochemistry is planned for this area to start in Q4, 2011, following completion of the rainy season.
Ouraba Permit
The Ouaraba permit is located approximately 260 kilometres south southwest of Ouagadougou and extends immediately west of the international border between Burkina Faso and Ghana along the Mouhoun River. The Ouaraba permit is bounded by the Malba permit of Volta Resources Inc. to the west and the Donko permit of Ampella Mining Inc. to the south, and overlies a portion of the eastern side of the Boromo greenstone belt.
Information on the Ampella website indicates that geochemical lag sampling and follow-up soil geochemical surveys have identified a significant gold in soil anomaly (greater than 30 ppb gold) trending northeasterly over a four kilometer strike length at the Bator prospect, located near the southern border of the Donko permit. Within this anomaly higher grade (greater than 100 ppb) gold in soils anomalism highlights a number of northwest trends that parallel fold axes and associated quartz veins.
Immediately east of the Goldrush Ouaraba permit in Ghana, Azumah Resources Limited has reported an indicated resource of 400,000 ounce of gold (5.94M tonnes at a grade of 2.1 g/t Au) and an inferred resource of 328,000 ounces (5.53M tones at a grade of 1.84 g/t Au) at its Kunche-Bepkong gold deposit, located within the larger Wa gold project area. Recent regional exploration has identified additional targets along north trending regional structures.
The Malba permit of Volta Resources Inc. forms part of its Gaoua Project which consists of three permits that host four copper-gold prospects (Gombiora, Gongondy, Dienemera and Mt. Biri). Within the Malba and Sououera permits, there is a central north striking structural corridor that hosts the known copper-gold and gold occurrences. To date, over 23,000 metres of drilling (primarily diamond drilling) have been completed on the Gaoua Project. On the Malba permit, drilling at the Dienemera prospect has intersected copper-gold mineralization over the entire tested area, extending north-south for 900 metres and up to a maximum of 850 metres wide at its widest point, and remains open in all directions. Drilling two kilometers north at the Mt. Biri prospect intersected copper-gold mineralization in two holes drilled in previously untested areas, opening new targets for further exploration. SRK Consulting (UK) has defined a NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Resource of 82,600,000 tonnes grading 0.40% copper and 0.40 g/t gold for a total of 724,880,000 pounds of copper and 1,072,900 ounces of gold, calculated at a 0.45% copper equivalent cut-off grade at Dienemera and Gongondy.
The main targets on the Ouaraba permit are the parallel north-south regional trends that extend north from the Volta Gaoua project and Azumah Wa project areas. A program of reconnaissance soil geochemistry is planned to commence the exploration on the permit in Q4, once the rainy season has abated.
Acquisition terms
To acquire these permits, the Company will make the following payments and share issuances to two arms-length Burkina Faso permit holders, pending regulatory authority approval of the transactions:
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Residual
Net Profits
Interest
(NPI)
Equivalent Share retained
Permit Interest Cash Payment Cash Payment consider- by
Name Acquired(1) in CFA(2) in C$(3) ation Vendor(4)
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Rima 100% 20,000,000 $ 41,667 10,000 5%
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Pompoi 100% 25,000,000 $ 52,083 20,000 5%
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Midebdo 100% 30,000,000 $ 62,500 30,000 5%
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Ouaraba 100% 10,000,000 $ 20,833 10,000 5%
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Total 85,000,000 $177,083 70,000
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Note:
1. Permits may be transferred to the Company at the Company's option
at any time after the first anniversary of the Agreement. If the
permit is converted to an exploitation (mining) permit, the
Government of Burkina Faso would receive a 10% carried interest
in the permit.
2. CFA = West African Francs
3. Canadian dollar equivalent at an exchange rate of 480 CFA: 1 C$
4. Company retains right of first refusal to purchase Vendor's NPI
at a mutually negotiated price.
5. There are no finder's fees associated with these transactions.
Mr. Driffield Cameron, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Goldrush, is the Qualified Person for this press release for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information herein.
About Goldrush: Goldrush is a Canadian mineral exploration company which has successfully focused on gold exploration in West Africa, where the company has discovered, and is currently expanding and defining the 249,000 ounce (inferred resource of 5.9 million tonnes at a grade of 1.31 g/t Au) Ronguen gold deposit in Burkina Faso.
For further information on Goldrush Resources Ltd., shareholders and other interested parties are invited to visit the Company's website at www.goldrushresources.ca.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
GOLDRUSH RESOURCES LTD.
Len Brownlie - President and Chief Executive Officer
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains certain 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Except for statements of historical fact relating to the company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as 'plan', 'expect', 'project', 'intend', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimate' and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions 'may' or 'will' occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Goldrush Resources Ltd.
Don Willoughby
VP Corporate Development
604-602-9973
604-681-5910 (FAX)
info@goldrushresources.ca
www.goldrushresources.ca
The Equicom Group
Babak Pedram
(416) 815-0700 Ext. 264
bpedram@equicomgroup.com
The Equicom Group
Joe Racanelli
(416) 815-0700 Ext. 243
jracanelli@equicomgroup.com
www.equicomgroup.com