Belo Sun Announces Inferred Resource Estimate of 356,600 Ounces Grading 2.75 g/t Gold for the South Block Target Area, Volta Grande Gold Project, Brazil
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 06/11/12 -- Belo Sun Mining Corp. (TSX: BSX) (the "Company" or "Belo Sun") announces an initial, non-independent mineral resource estimate for the newly delineated South Block deposits (named the Pequi, Grande and Itata deposits), at its 100%-owned Volta Grande gold project in Para State, Brazil.
These are initial results from an ongoing program and indicate a potentially important new resource area which adds to the previously released Volta Grande mineral resources. The Deposits remain open for further expansion and are described as follows:
-- Inferred Pit Constrained Mineral Resources of 3,650,000 tonnes at an
average grade of 2.64 g/t Au containing 309,700 Ounces of gold which are
present in three different deposits named Pequi, Grande and Itata.
(Details are presented on the table below)
-- Inferred Underground Mineral Resources of 381,000 tons at an average
grade of 3.82 g/t Au containing 46,900 Ounces of gold which are present
in three different deposits named Pequi, Grande and Itata. (Details are
presented on the table below)
-- The resource estimate was calculated by Belo Sun staff, under
supervision of Mr. Carlos Cravo. P.Geo. a qualified person as defined by
NI 43-101. The estimate complies with CIM standards as required by NI
43-101. The estimate will be independently verified and a technical
report filed on SEDAR in due course.
The mineral resource estimate incorporates results from 48 diamond drill holes completed to date at the South Block area. Since the resource cutoff date of May 1st, 2012, seven additional holes have been drilled but the assay results are not yet available. Drills testing of geophysical and geochemical targets are continuing in the South block area and the assay results will be released when they become available.
Mark Eaton, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Company, stated: "This initial mineral resource estimate from the South Block Target Area illustrates the geological potential Belo Sun enjoys on the 120 kilometre long Tres Palmeiras greenstone belt."
Helio Diniz, Vice President, Exploration of the Company, commented: "The Volta Grande Project continues to show tremendous potential for expanding the gold resource estimate. Systematic mineral resource delineation drilling for the South Block targets is being planned as the results obtained to date are very encouraging."
The mineral resources estimate for the South Block is presented below (1)(2)(3)(4)
"OPEN PIT" MINERAL RESOURCE at 0.50 g/t Au cut-off
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TARGET CLASS Volume Density Tonnage Au Au
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m3 x 1000 t/m3 t x 1000 g/t Oz
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SAPROLITE INFERRED 138.000 1.80 248.000 1.39
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Total 138.000 1.80 248.000 1.39 11,100
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ITATA INFERRED 448.000 2.76 1,237.000 2.48
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Total 448.000 2.76 1,237.000 2.48 98,700
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PEQUI INFERRED 505.000 2.76 1,394.000 1.93
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Total 505.000 2.76 1,394.000 1.93 86,300
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GRANDE INFERRED 279.000 2.76 771.000 4.58
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Total 279.000 2.76 771.000 4.58 113,600
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Total 3,650.000 2.64 309,700
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"UNDERGROUND" MINERAL RESOURCE at 2.00 g/t Au cut-off
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TARGET CLASS Volume Density Tonnage Au Au
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m3 x 1000 t/m3 t x 1000 g/t Oz
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ITATA INFERRED 69.000 2.76 189.000 3.77
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Total 69.000 2.76 189.000 3.77 23,000
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PEQUI INFERRED 48.000 2.76 134.000 3.17
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Total 48.000 2.76 134.000 3.17 13,600
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GRANDE INFERRED 21.000 2.76 58.000 5.48
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Total 21.000 2.76 58.000 5.48 10,300
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Total 381.000 3.82 46,900
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GRAND TOTAL MINERAL RESOURCES
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TARGET CLASS Volume Density Tonnage Au Au
---------------------------------------------------
m3 x 1000 t/m3 t x 1000 g/t Oz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAPROLITE INFERRED 138.000 1.80 248.000 1.39
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Total 138.000 1.80 248.000 1.39 11,100
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ITATA INFERRED 517.000 2.76 1,426.000 2.65
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Total 517.000 2.76 1,426.000 2.65 121,700
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PEQUI INFERRED 553.000 2.76 1,528.000 2.03
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Total 553.000 2.76 1,528.000 2.03 100,000
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GRANDE INFERRED 300.000 2.76 829.000 4.64
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Total 300.000 2.76 829.000 4.64 123,800
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GRAND TOTAL 4,031.000 2.75 356,600
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Notes:
(1) The 0.5 g/t gold open pit cut-off grade underlying the resource
estimates is based on a number of parameters and assumptions including
gold price of US$1,300 per troy ounce, 95% metallurgical gold recovery
for unweathered rock, 90% metallurgical gold recovery for weathered
rock, mining costs of US$1.30/tonne, process costs of US$8/ tonne,
General & Administrative costs of US$2.00/tonne and Selling costs
(refining, transport, insurance and environment) of US$17.5 per troy
ounce.
(2) The quantity and grade of the inferred mineral resources are uncertain
in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define the
Inferred mineral resources as Indicated or Measured mineral resources
and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them
to Indicated or Measured mineral resource categories.
(3) The mineral resources were estimated following the Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Standards on Mineral Resources
and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines. The effective date of this
mineral resource estimate is June 11th, 2012.
(4) Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated
economic viability.
Mineral resource estimation strategy:
(a) The mineralized envelope was modelled into wireframe solids using a
0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade in fresh and saprolite rocks.
(b) Resources were modelled in vertical and horizontal sections. 3D shells
were generated by linking the horizontal sections.
(c) A specific gravity of 2.76 for the rock density and 1.80 for the
saprolite density.
(d) Estimations are based on 1.0 metre composites using a top cut value of
15 g/t Au.
(e) The database of South Block area comprised a total of 3,370.14 m
(22DDH - VVD) of drilling obtained from previously reported drilling
and from 6,890.30 m of drilling (26 DDH - VVGD) completed and assayed
by Belo Sun since April 2010.
(f) The mineralized zones at the South Block area extend discontinuously
for about 1,900 m along strike and to a maximum depth of 260m meters
below surface, and have been outlined by 48 diamond drill holes. Three
mineralized fresh ore domains and one saprolite ore domain were
modeled. The mineralized zones range in thickness from 2 m to 16 m
assuming maximum internal dilution of approximately 3 m.
(g) For the resource areas, true widths of mineralized zones are diluted
to a minimum horizontal thickness of two meters, as noted above. This
is the minimum thickness that is considered for open pit mining
operations.
(h) The grade estimation was done using inverse square distance
interpolation. All estimations are based on a percent block model with
unitary dimension of 12.5 m E, 5 m N and 10 m elevation rotated -25
degrees clockwise.
(i) Inferred mineral resources include all mineralized blocks within in
the 3D modeling domain and estimated with minimum of 4 samples. The
quantity and grade of the inferred mineral resources are uncertain in
nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define the
Inferred mineral resources as Indicated or Measured mineral resources
and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading
them to Indicated or Measured mineral resource categories.
The mineral resource statement is reported in compliance with Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 guidelines. A Technical Report will be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR within 45 days. The mineral resource model was completed by the Belo Sun team under supervision of Carlos H. C. Costa, P.Geo, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
The Company is continuing the drilling program to further upgrade and expand mineral resources in the South Block and is planning to start systematic resource delineation drilling in the third quarter of 2012.
Drill holes intercepts at the South Block target which were used for this resource estimation are presented in the table below, and include results which had been previously released. A total of seven holes have been completed after the resource cutoff date and the assay results are still pending. Some significant intercepts at the Grande Deposit include VVGD-351 with 5.00 meters grading 14.23 g/t gold (from 40.50 meters depth) and 8.83 meters grading 16.19 g/t gold (from 181.72 meters) should be highlighted,. Results from holes VVGD-254, 261, 269, 274, 284, 295, 312, 321, 329, 337, 351 have not been previously released.
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HOLE-ID FROM TO LENGTH Au g/t
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VVD-001 49.00 51.70 2.70 3.89
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VVD-002 0.00 3.00 3.00 1.43
20.80 23.20 2.40 1.58
70.20 73.68 3.48 3.75
96.00 100.00 4.00 1.24
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VVD-003 36.00 38.00 2.00 0.56
114.70 118.70 4.00 3.18
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VVD-004 NSR
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VVD-005 NSR
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VVD-007 26.00 28.00 2.00 1.06
57.00 59.00 2.00 1.22
79.00 81.00 2.00 2.20
96.00 98.00 2.00 1.52
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VVD-153 NSR
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VVD-154 NSR
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VVD-155 33.00 42.00 9.00 1.69
92.00 99.00 7.00 1.87
115.00 120.00 5.00 0.88
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VVD-156 137.50 156.15 18.65 1.70
161.00 165.60 4.60 2.05
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VVD-157 89.00 92.50 3.50 6.90
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VVD-158 34.30 36.29 1.99 0.66
103.50 105.50 2.00 0.91
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VVD-159 NSR
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VVD-160 NSR
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VVD-161 NSR
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VVD-162 NSR
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VVD-163 NSR
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VVD-164 38.00 43.87 5.87 0.89
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VVD-165 NSR
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VVD-166 104.40 115.00 10.60 2.11
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VVD-167 112.00 114.00 2.00 1.11
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VVD-168 137.00 141.47 4.47 0.53
153.57 156.10 2.53 1.30
173.00 196.00 23.00 1.81
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HOLE-ID FROM TO LENGTH Au g/t
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VVGD-070 163.15 166.00 2.85 1.34
218.60 220.85 2.25 0.67
274.20 278.00 3.80 23.59
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VVGD-075 4.00 10.65 6.65 0.68
75.31 77.94 2.63 1.16
165.92 177.00 11.08 1.87
239.91 242.88 2.97 0.86
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VVGD-078 66.55 76.75 10.20 0.73
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VVGD-090 86.30 89.30 3.00 2.29
144.65 146.65 2.00 12.44
227.10 229.30 2.20 4.10
251.85 254.85 3.00 0.65
279.45 287.40 7.95 1.75
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VVGD-099 NSR
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VVGD-112 NSR
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VVGD-146 NSR
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VVGD-163 174.00 176.00 2.00 0.93
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VVGD-171 NSR
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VVGD-180 224.00 226.00 2.00 4.61
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VVGD-191 0.00 3.70 3.70 0.87
13.70 33.75 20.05 1.66
56.00 71.00 15.00 2.06
177.50 183.90 6.40 1.47
195.00 199.00 4.00 0.57
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VVGD-215 13.00 19.75 6.75 0.80
72.67 78.40 5.73 0.90
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VVGD-221 4.00 6.00 2.00 0.85
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VVGD-233 NSR
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VVGD-240 87.46 89.47 2.01 0.92
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VVGD-254 57.75 59.85 2.10 5.26
192.40 194.40 2.00 0.59
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VVGD-261 NSR
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VVGD-269 NSR
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VVGD-274 NSR
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VVGD-284 63.16 65.29 2.13 2.19
73.40 75.73 2.33 3.32
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VVGD-295 NSR
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VVGD-312 0.00 3.00 3.00 0.65
146.75 149.00 2.25 0.95
232.50 238.40 5.90 1.28
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VVGD-321 90.03 92.05 2.02 0.99
123.67 127.05 3.38 0.45
---------------------------------------------------------
VVGD-329 138.15 147.80 9.65 2.97
154.91 157.80 2.89 10.54
---------------------------------------------------------
VVGD-337 268.00 272.00 4.00 0.68
277.00 279.00 2.00 1.20
---------------------------------------------------------
VVGD-351 40.50 45.50 5.00 14.23
181.72 190.55 8.83 16.19
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Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Carlos H. C. Costa, P.Geo, Project Manager for Belo Sun and David Gower, P.Geo., an advisor to Belo Sun who are Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The exploration program is directly supervised by Mr. Carlos H. C. Costa. Belo Sun's procedures for handling drill core comprise initial description and logging into a Microsoft Access database.
Mineralized, suspected mineralized or not intervals in the drill holes are described in detail and marked for sampling. Core is then cut in half with the right-hand portion of the core put into plastic sample bags and sealed.
The left-hand portion is returned to the core box and is stored for future reference or study. Assay standard and "Blank" samples are inserted every 20th sample. These samples are then delivered to ACME Labs sample preparation facility at the Project site.
The assay samples are then fine-crushed to better than 80% passing 10 mesh screens, with an assay pulp split of up to 1,000 grams pulverized to better than 85% passing 200 mesh screen. Samples are assayed at ACME Labs in Santiago, Chile, using a 50 gram fire assay with AAS finish. These QA/QC procedures provide several measures of data quality and assure the Company that the assay data is representative of the original sample.
The impact of these assay results on the projected economics of the Project has not been the subject of a revised preliminary assessment or a pre-feasibility study or feasibility study.
ABOUT BELO SUN
Belo Sun Mining Corp. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with a portfolio of properties including gold in Brazil. Belo Sun's primary focus is on expanding and completing a feasibility study on its 100% owned Volta Grande Project in Para State, which hosts a 2.85 million ounce (Measured & Indicated) and 2 million ounce (Inferred) NI 43-101 compliant gold resource. Belo Sun trades on the TSX under the symbol "BSX". For more information about Belo Sun please visit www.belosun.com. (please see Press Release dated May 28th, 2012)
Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the impact of drill results and this mineral resources estimate on the Company, the projected economics of the project, and the Company's understanding of the project; statements with respect to the development potential and timetable of the project; the estimation of mineral resources; realization of mineral resource estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future exploration; costs of future activities; capital and operating expenditures; success of exploration activities; currency exchange rates; government regulation of mining operations; and environmental risks. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward- looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.belosun.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
To view "Figure 1: Projected Project Gold Mineralized zones," please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/BSX1106_figure1.pdf.
To view "Figures 2 and 3: Regional Geological Map and Synthesis," please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/BSX1106_figures2_3.pdf.
To view "Figure 4: South Block Drill Location Map," please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/BSX1106_figure4.pdf.
Contacts:
Belo Sun Mining Corp.
Mark Eaton
President and CEO
(416) 309-2137
www.belosun.com