Mining Update
12 November 2003 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:9568R
Caledon Resources PLC
12 November 2003
Caledon Resources PLC ("Caledon" or the "Company")
Update on Field Work in China
* Preliminary field results from a sampling program at Gaolong reporting
extensive widths - up to 44 meters - of disseminated gold mineralisation.
* SRK Consulting: Technical Report on Caledon's Guangxi gold projects - high
level of gold potential and Caledon's China exploration team skill level cited.
On-going Field Work: Gaolong
Caledon Resources PLC is pleased to announce that it has received preliminary
gold assays from a first-pass program of reconnaissance sampling at the Gaolong
Gold Project Joint Venture. The Gaolong project and mine site areas are situated
approximately 60 kilometers north-west of the regional town of Tianlin in
northwestern Guangxi. The main target area is the Gaolong mine, an active gold
mine producing gold from a number of small open-pit operations, with gold
reserves of approximately 400,000 ozs. The mine itself is ranked in the top two
gold producers in the province and has been cited by the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) as having distinct similarities to the 15+ million
ounce Betze ore body situated in the Carlin-district of Northern Nevada, USA.
The gold mineralisation at Gaolong occupies a brecciated and silicified
structure that has a semi-continuous strike length in excess of three kilometers
along the southeast and east margin of a regional dome complex. Exploration work
and drill target preparation programs conducted by the Company have focused on
the surface extensions of known gold mineralised zones, situated adjacent to
mine workings. The first phase of the surface sampling targeted partially
exposed outcrops, hosting hydrothermally altered Permian and Triassic aged
limestones.
Preliminary results from the field sampling have returned the following values,
highlighting broad zones of disseminated gold mineralization:
Channel # Sample Run # Intercept (m) Grade g/t Au
Channel 1 515-536 44 m 2.48 g/t Au
Channel 2 594-598 10 m 3.85 g/t Au
Channel 3 745-751 14 m 2.36 g/t Au
Channel 4 873-886 28 m 2.73 g/t Au
Channel 5 900-910 22 m 2.27 g/t Au
Channel 6 911-916 12 m 3.29 g/t Au
When viewed in the context of the Carlin-district mine setting and related
grades/widths of mineralisation being mined, the company views these initial
reconnaissance sampling results as highly encouraging and further indicative of
the gold potential in the Gaolong area. Field work is on-going at Gaolong to
further determine the extent of gold mineralization on-surface, as a lead-up to
a drill program scheduled to begin within the coming months.
Quality Control: Caledon has implemented a quality control program to ensure
best practice in litho-geochemical sampling and analysis of all samples
collected in the field.
A total of 38 rock chip samples and 426 continuous channel samples were
collected at Gaolong, with an average sample weight of 7 kgs. The samples were
stored in a locked container and dispatched in specially designed locked
containers to International Plasma Labs Ltd., Kunming, for sample preparation.
The samples were dried and crushed to -10 mesh, then riffle split to obtain a
300gm sample which was air freighted to Vancouver, Canada for pulverizing to
-150 mesh and analysis. International Plasma Labs Ltd. (IPL) is an ISO 9002
certified laboratory.
Gold analysis was by Fire Assay (1 assay ton) method and reported in g/mt.
Additional 100gm splits have been received and stored at the Blackwatch
Resources China Ltd. office in Nanning. A statistical cut of these additional
splits will be cross checked by SGS Analabs, Perth, Australia.
Technical Report
SRK Engineering, one of the world's leading mining and exploration consulting
firms, was engaged by the Company to complete a Technical Report describing the
Company's various gold projects in China. Completion of the Technical Report
involved a site visit, due diligence and a thorough analysis of Caledon's
advanced gold projects situated in Guangxi Province, Southern China.
Dr. Jean-Francois Couture, Principal Geologist and author of the report, has
highlighted many attributes related to Caledon's Guangxi gold projects and field
crews involved in the exploration.
As a general comment regarding Caledon's gold projects, Dr. Couture writes:
"On each project, only limited exploration has been carried out since the
beginning of mining operations........In particular, (past) exploration work has
focused on near-surface oxide ore targets. The depth and lateral extensions of
known gold zones remain poorly tested and offer excellent potential for
additional discoveries."
Commenting on the expertise of Caledon's Guangxi-based exploration team, Dr.
Couture adds:
"..... Caledon, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Blackwatch, has assembled a
very strong exploration team in China. Exploration work in China presents
logistical, social and cultural challenges that could potentially hamper the
success of any exploration program. In the opinion of SRK, the ability to deal
with these challenges is as important as the merit of exploration projects
themselves. Blackwatch personnel have demonstrated the capacity to deal with
such issues. This undoubtedly represents a significant positive asset to
Caledon."
George Salamis, Managing Director of Caledon, comments: "We are very pleased
with these preliminary results from Gaolong, which are consistent with our view
of the project's disseminated gold potential. These preliminary results form a
solid foundation from which our exploration crews will be further advancing the
project towards drilling. In addition, drill target definition work has already
been initiated on the company's other projects, such as Longtoushan and
Hengxian, where the company also sees tremendous up-side."
On behalf of the board
Stephen R Dattels George Salamis
Executive Chairman Managing Director
For further information, please visit our website at www.caledonresources.com or
contact:
Stephen R Dattels
sdattels@caledonresources.com
George Salamis
gsalamis@caledonresources.com
Donal Douglas, Investor Relations
ddouglas@caledonresources.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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