Sunridge Gold Announces New Resource Estimate for Debarwa Deposit, Asmara Project, Eritrea
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/18/11 -- Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: SGC) is pleased to announce that it has received a new independent resource estimate for the Debarwa volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit on the Company's 100% owned Asmara Project, Eritrea. This new resource was completed by AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. ('AMC') as part of the ongoing feasibility study on the Debarwa copper-gold-zinc deposit. The study is being conducted by Senet (Pty) Ltd. and AMC and is scheduled for completion before the end of the year.
The Debarwa Deposit is one of four deposits within the Asmara Project and is being studied as both a stand-alone deposit and/or as a potential feed to an operation in the northern part of the Asmara Project, which includes the large Emba Derho copper-zinc-gold deposit, the Adi Nefas zinc-gold copper deposit and Gupo gold deposit.
This new Debarwa resource estimate includes 83 additional drill holes completed since the last resource estimate in 2008. Previously the entire resource was either in the 'Indicated' or 'Inferred' categories and the main purpose of this program was to better define areas of the deposit for the feasibility study, to upgrade some of the resources previously classified as 'Indicated' to the 'Measured' category and to upgrade some of the resources previously classified as 'Inferred' to the 'Indicated' category.
The Debarwa feasibility study will only consider material in the Measured and Indicated categories and summary highlights of these categories is as follow:
-- The deposit in total is now estimated to contain 200 million pounds of
copper, 180,000 ounces of gold, 2.94 million ounces of silver and 74
million pounds of zinc(i)
-- The underlying enriched supergene zone is estimated to contain 158
million pounds of copper with an average grade of 5.15% copper(i)
-- Within the copper supergene zone there is a zone of high-grade copper
estimated to contain 41 million pounds with an average grade of 16.0%
copper(i)
-- The surface oxide gold cap (oxide and transition zones) contains 83,000
ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.38 g/t gold(i)
(i)Note: Contained metal calculations are as follows: copper and zinc:
tonnes x grade (%) x 2204.622. Gold and silver: tonnes x grade (g/t) /
31.10348. Results were rounded and no allowance was made for metal
losses in the recovery process.
Sunridge President and CEO Michael Hopley stated, 'This new resource estimate is another major milestone towards bringing the Debarwa deposit into production. Recent drilling has been successful in upgrading parts of the resource to the Measured and Indicated categories, especially the high grade copper supergene zone of which 23% is now in the Measured category. We are particularly pleased that the very high-grade portion of the supergene zone is much larger than expected at a grade of 16% copper.'
Debarwa Measured & Indicated Resources
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Material Cut-off Tonnes Copper Zinc Gold Silver
Type (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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Oxide Au 0.5g/t 371,000 0.06 0.04 1.47 6
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Transition Au 0.5g/t 720,000 0.08 0.05 2.85 27
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Supergene Cu 0.5% 1,389,000 5.15 0.07 1.40 33
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Primary (Cu) Cu 0.5% 774,000 2.34 3.92 1.30 29
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Primary (Zn) Zn 2.0% 58,000 0.36 3.05 1.24 22
(less than 0.5% Cu)
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Totals 3,312,000
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Debarwa Measured Resources
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Material Cut-off Tonnes Copper Zinc Gold Silver
Type (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oxide Au 0.5g/t 3,000 0.01 0.01 1.03 4
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Transition Au 0.5g/t 103,000 0.07 0.03 4.59 90
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Supergene Cu 0.5% 321,000 11.63 0.07 2.58 65
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Primary (Cu) Cu 0.5% 7,000 2.39 5.97 1.32 26
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Primary (Zn) Zn 2.0%
(less than 0.5% Cu)
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Totals 434,000
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Debarwa Indicated Resources
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Material Cut-off Tonnes Copper Zinc Gold Silver
Type (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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Oxide (i) Au 0.5g/t 368,000 0.06 0.05 1.47 6
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Transition Au 0.5g/t 617,000 0.08 0.06 2.55 17
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Supergene Cu 0.5% 1,068,000 3.21 0.08 1.04 23
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Primary (Cu) Cu 0.5% 767,000 2.34 3.90 1.30 29
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Primary (Zn) Zn 2.0% 58,000 0.36 3.05 1.24 22
(less than 0.5% Cu)
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Totals 2,878,000
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(i) Due to limited drill hole information in parts of the oxide gold cap
zone caused by drill rig access problems some material did not qualify as
Measured or Indicated categories. Therefore there has been a reduction in
the number of tonnes of material in the oxide gold cap, although the
average grade has increased by about 40% compared to the previous resource
estimate in 2008.
Debarwa Inferred Resources
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Material Cut-off Tonnes Copper Zinc Gold Silver
Type (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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Oxide Au 0.5g/t 239,000 0.1 0.1 1.1 5
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Transition Au 0.5g/t 138,000 0.1 0.0 1.4 22
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Supergene Cu 0.5% 144,000 2.7 0.1 0.6 31
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Primary (Cu) Cu 0.5% 154,000 1.2 3.6 2.6 41
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Primary (Zn) Zn 2.0% 6,000 0.4 3.3 1.1 21
(less than 0.5% Cu)
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Totals 681,000
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High-Grade Copper Supergene Zone
As part of the resource estimate, AMC estimated the size and grade of a coherent zone of particularly high-grade copper that occurs at about 50 metres from surface over a strike length of approximately 140 metres within the copper supergene zone. This was modeled within a grade shell of 7.5% copper and was broken down into different cut-off grades as follows:
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Cut-off Tonnes Copper Zinc Gold Silver
(%Cu) (%) (%) (%) (%)
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10 155,000 14.8 0.06 2.88 74
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11 138,500 15.3 0.05 2.91 75
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12 115,900 16.0 0.05 3.00 77
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13 95,900 16.8 0.05 2.99 80
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14 68,100 18.2 0.05 3.07 81
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The continuity and coherence of the high-grade copper zone decreases as the cut-off increases.
The current feasibility study is examining options to fast track this high-grade portion of the supergene zone to production by mining, crushing, and direct shipping directly to a smelter without the need for a concentrator.
Notes:
This new Debarwa resource estimate, completed by AMC Consultants (UK) Ltd, is as of August 11, 2011 and complies with the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as required by National Instrument 43-101. All resource modeling and grade estimation was undertaken by Chris Arnold, MAusIMM (CP Geo), AMC Principal Geologist, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, based on geological interpretations and a drill database (current as at 20 April 2011) provided by Sunridge. The database was subjected to various validation steps and the Sunridge sampling and assaying QA/QC procedures and results were reviewed. Further details of the estimation procedure will be available in the NI-43-101 report which will be posted on the Company's profile on SEDAR (http://www.sedar.com) no later than 45 days from the date of this press release.
The mineralization on which the 2011 Debarwa resource model is based extends over a strike length of 1250 metres and dips westerly at approximately 50 degrees and has been drilled to a maximum vertical depth from surface of 250 metres. The deposit has been explored using 392 exploration holes of which 314 have been used in this estimation of resources, of which 268 were diamond core and 46 reverse-circulation holes.
The geological interpretation of the Debarwa volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit has identified two upper oxide gold enriched zones (the oxide and transition zones) a copper enriched supergene zone as well as enriched stringer zones and seven relatively small subsidiary zones. The oxide, transition and copper supergene zones exhibit strong weathering-related vertical zonation of depletion and enrichment, resulting in a sequence, from top-down, of near surface gold oxide and transition zones, through a supergene copper zone and a lowermost horizon of primary zinc and copper mineralization.
The interpretations of mineralized zones were modeled using three-dimensional wireframing techniques based on a distribution of drill intersections ranging from less than 10 metre spacing on 10 metre drill section intervals through to drill densities in excess of 40 metres by 40 metres. The wireframe solids formed the basis for the construction of a block model as well as the constraining of samples for zonal analysis and grade estimation. The mineralized zones were further differentiated on the basis of weathering zone.
Grades for copper, zinc, gold and silver were estimated under zonal and weathering horizon control using Ordinary Kriging for the two main enriched zones and by Inverse Distance squared weighting for the remainder. Where necessary, a limited number of high grade caps, as determined from statistical and spatial distributions, were applied to reduce the risk of extreme grade bias during estimation. Search ellipsoid dimensions and orientations were determined on geological and geostatistical information. Where sufficient measurements existed, density values were interpolated into blocks by zone and enrichment horizon using Inverse Distance squared weighting, or elsewhere applied as calculated mean values.
The interpreted mineralized zones were categorized for resource classification as Measured, Indicated or Inferred in a series of steps. Each zone was reviewed in the context of the spatial distribution of drill intersections used to model and estimate grades for that zone, with due consideration for the known geological and geostatistical continuities and confidences in the base data and geological interpretations. On this basis the relatively densely drilled (approximately 10 metre x 10 metre) northern main zone received Measured status while, in general, areas with 20 metre x 20 metre spacing, and in some cases greater, were allocated to the Indicated category.
The preliminary classified block model was then subjected to two levels of constraint to ensure that only those portions having demonstrated potential economic viability were retained. Firstly an optimized pit shell derived using metal price parameters at a premium above long term prices (copper $3.00 per pound, gold $1,200 per ounce, zinc $1.00 per pound and silver $20.00 per ounce) was used to identify potential open pit material, after which optimized stope shapes, based on the same prices, were used to incorporate further material considered to be potentially mineable by underground methods.
Michael Hopley, President and CEO of Sunridge Gold Corp. is the Qualified Person responsible for the contents of this press release and has reviewed the information in the release and confirmed that it is consistent with that provided by the independent QP responsible for the resource estimate, Chris Arnold of AMC.
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 117 million shares outstanding and approximately $16 million in cash. Sunridge trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SGC. For additional information on the Company and its projects please view the slide show on our website at www.sunridgegold.com or call Greg Davis at the numbers listed below.
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, labor 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
www.sunridgegold.com