TIDMSOLG
RNS Number : 8476M
SolGold PLC
18 October 2016
18 October 2016
SolGold plc
("SolGold" or the "Company")
New Drilling Contracts Signed for Cascabel to Underpin
Aggressive Four Year Exploration and Appraisal Program.
Drilling Underway.
The Board of Directors of SolGold is pleased to advise that
drilling at the Cascabel project is currently underway. New
drilling contracts have been signed and completed for the Company
to underpin an aggressive exploration and appraisal program at
Cascabel.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ø New drilling contracts signed with Hubbard Drilling and Major
Drilling for Cascabel exploration appraisal and feasibility
programs over the next four years.
Ø Drilling commenced with three rigs on site and a fourth to
commence by end of February 2017. Initial holes CSD-16-018, 019 and
020, will test the deep rich portions of the Alpala Central
deposit.
Ø Major drilling track mounted rigs to focus on extension of the
Alpala deposit, and are expected to bear the brunt of deep drilling
with higher penetration rates, faster access and rig moves between
holes.
Ø Major drilling rigs expected to drill to 2,800 metres deep,
testing the Alpala deposit a further kilometre below the deepest
known mineralisation in the thickest, richest part of the
deposit.
Ø Directional drilling equipment under negotiation to effect
fewer drilling metres overall, but more drill metres within the
deposit itself.
Ø Hubbard Drilling man-portable rigs will be free to test six
other defined and priority targets at Moran, Trivinio, Aguinaga,
Tandayama - America, Alpala South East and Hematite Hill.
Ø Reduction in drilling costs from previous $670/metre to
$370/metre forecast (all-in field and fixed program costs excluding
corporate overheads).
Ø Twelve month drill program for 36,000 metres with up to six
rigs. Two year program to end October 2018 for a total of 95,000
metres with up to 10 rigs.
Drilling at Cascabel is underway at initial holes CSD-16-018,
019 and 020 to test deep, rich sections at Alpala Central.
New drilling contracts have been entered into with both Hubbard
Drilling and Major Drilling, underpinning an aggressive exploration
and appraisal program which will allow the Company to expand its
exploration depths to further test the deepest known mineralisation
within the Cascabel concession.
The man portable rigs supplied by Hubbard Drilling and Major
Drilling are earmarked to test new drill ready targets at Aguinaga,
Moran, Trivinio, Alpala South East, Hematite Hill and
Tandayama-America. The new contracts afforded by an increase in the
number of rigs and higher efficiencies delivered by improved road
access and servicing are expected to reduce overall drill costs
including all operational (but not corporate) costs from $670 to
$370/metre.
In addition, directional drilling services are currently being
negotiated and this is expected to deliver multiple daughter drill
holes from each parent hole, facilitating increased frequency of
mineralised intercepts, within the Alpala deposit.
SolGold's planned resource statement at Alpala (the most
advanced target at Cascabel) has been delayed by the discovery of
high-grade mineralisation in Holes 15R2, 16 and 17 at Alpala,
extending the immediate resource potential. The Alpala deposit is
open at depth and in the upper extensions, as well as to the north,
north-east, south-east and south-west. This will initially be
achieved from intersections targeted in holes 018, 019, 020 which
have commenced at Alpala and are targeting lower extensions of the
Alpala deposit in the bornite bearing wide centre sections.
A planned 36,000 metre program is envisaged with up to six rigs,
including four Major Drilling rigs, in the next 12 months. Three of
these will be track mounted Major-50 rigs with a drill rate of over
40m/per day and depth comparability of 2,800m. The new Santa
Cecila-Carmen Road will provide access to multi-hole pads for the
Major-50 rigs and facilitate higher tonnage supplies in, and core
out, at a faster rate. SolGold's geological and logistics team has
been boosted to facilitate the increase in drill intensity.
By end of October 2018, SolGold estimates the completion of
95,000m of drilling including testing the targets at Moran,
Aguinaga, Trivinio, Alpala South East, Tandayama-America and
Hematite Hill. Ongoing field mapping, sampling and ground magnetics
continues to mature these targets and define proposed drill
locations.
The coming two year program, with the use of directional diamond
drilling techniques, represents approximately four times the
drilling metres completed to date at the Alpala deposit drilled
over the past four years. The program will include six additional
drill-ready targets.
Commenting on the development, CEO Mr Nick Mather said:
"We are very pleased to have the combined benefits of
significant experience at Cascabel from Hubbard Drilling, and the
global back-up and capability of Major Drilling. Hubbard Drilling's
performance to date at Cascabel has been impressive, drilling holes
to a depth of approximately 2000 metres with a man portable rig.
With a new access road we are now able to get heavier supply loads
to, and more core samples out of, site quicker and more safely.
Hubbard Drilling set the depth record at Cascabel, and we hope that
Major Drilling can set the speed record. To date we've not had a
lost time injury, and we will strive to continue setting the
highest standards in safety."
FURTHER INFORMATION:
The Cascabel Project is located in Northern Ecuador, within the
northern portion of the Andean copper belt, renowned as the host of
48% of the World's copper production, and numerous Tier 1 global
resource assets.
The Directors of SolGold advise that recent geological and
geochemical field work in conjunction with updated three
dimensional MVI magnetic modelling has now defined fourteen
copper-gold porphyry targets within the Cascabel project area in
Northern Ecuador. Proximity to, and geologic similarity with, the
growing Alpala porphyry copper-gold deposit suggests that these
satellite targets within the Cascabel tenement will yield similar
deposits to Alpala Central, the only target drilled to date.
By order of the Board
Karl Schlobohm
Company Secretary
Qualified Person:
Information in this report relating to the exploration results
is based on data reviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.),
the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr Mather is a Fellow
of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in
excess of 30 years' experience in mineral exploration and is a
Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr Mather consents to the
inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it
appears.
CONTACTS
Mr Nicholas Mather Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0665
SolGold Plc (Executive Director) +61 (0) 417 880 448
nmather@solgold.com.au
Mr Karl Schlobohm Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0661
SolGold Plc (Company Secretary)
kschlobohm@solgold.com.au
Mr Ewan Leggat / Mr Richard Morrison Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470
0470
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (NOMAD and Broker)
ewan.leggat@spangel.co.uk
Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plc
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8476M_-2016-10-18.pdf
Figure 1: Location of Cascabel project in northern Ecuador.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8476M_1-2016-10-18.pdf
Figure 2: Regional Setting of the Cascabel Project, in the
northern Andean Copper Belt.
NOTES TO EDITORS
SolGold is a Brisbane, Australia based, AIM--listed (SOLG)
copper gold exploration and development company with assets in
Ecuador, the Solomon Islands and Australia. The Company's primary
objective is to discover and define world--class copper--gold
deposits. SolGold's Board and Management Team have substantial
vested interests in the success of Company, as well as strong track
records in the areas of exploration, mine development, investment,
finance and law. SolGold's experience is augmented by state of the
art geophysical and modelling techniques and the guidance of
Newmont trained porphyry expert Dr Steve Garwin.
From a corporate perspective, SolGold has recently announced
capital raisings involving Maxit Capital LP and Newcrest
International Ltd, both undertaken at substantial premiums to
previous raisings. Once completed, SolGold will have raised USD48
million in funding to continue the exploration and development of
its flagship Cascabel Project. Also as a result of these raisings,
Mr Scott Caldwell (CEO of TSX-listed Guyana Goldfields Inc) joined
the SolGold Board on 9 September 2016. Mr Caldwell is a mining
engineer with over 30 years of experience building and operating
gold and base metal mines worldwide, including USA, Canada, Russia,
Zimbabwe, Chile and Indonesia.
Cascabel, the Company's world class flagship copper--gold
porphyry project, is located in North West Ecuador on the
under--explored northern section of the richly endowed Andean
Copper Belt. SolGold owns 85% of Exploraciones Novomining S.A.
("ENSA") and approximately 11% of TSX--V--listed Cornerstone
Capital Resources, which holds the remaining 15% of ENSA, the
Ecuadorian registered company which holds 100% of the Cascabel
concession.
To date SolGold has completed geological mapping and soil
sampling over 25km(2) , along with 23km(2) of Induced Polarisation
Magnetotelluric "Orion" surveys over the Alpala cluster and
Aguinaga targets. By September 2016, the Company had also completed
approximately 23,700m of drilling and expended a total of
approximately USD35m on the program, corporate costs and
investments into Cornerstone. Intense diamond drilling is planned
for the next 12 months with multiple drill rigs.
Cascabel is characterised by fourteen (14) identified targets,
world class drilling intersections over in length, and high copper
and gold grades, as well as logistic advantages in location,
elevation, water supply, proximity to roads, port and power
services and a progressive legislative approach to resource
development in Ecuador. To date, SolGold has drill tested only one
of the 14 targets, being Alpala with 23,700m of drilling, over 18
holes, 16 of which have intersected the deposit and of these, four
have delivered world class intersections, each over 1km in
length.
SolGold's planned resource statement at Alpala (the most
advanced target at Cascabel) has been delayed by the discovery of
high-grade mineralisation in Holes 15R2, 16 and 17 at Alpala,
extending the immediate resource potential. The Alpala deposit is
open at depth and in the upper extensions, as well as to the north,
north-east, south-east and south-west. The mineralised zone at
Alpala and Moran is closely modelled by magnetic signatures and
currently encompasses over 10Bt of magnetic rock expected to be
mineralised with copper and gold.
SolGold will drill test other key targets within the Cascabel
concession at Aguinaga, Trivino, Moran, Alpala Northwest, Hematite
Hill, Alpala Southeast, Cristal, Parambas, Carmen Tandayama-America
and Chinambicito. The Company is planning further metallurgical
testing and completion of a conceptual early stage mine and plant
design and a scoping study for an economic development at Cascabel.
SolGold is investigating both high tonnage / low-medium grade open
cut and underground block caving operations, and a high grade / low
tonnage underground development.
Drill hole intercepts are calculated using a data aggregation
method, defined by copper equivalent cut-off grades and reported
with up to 10m internal dilution, excluding bridging to a single
sample. Copper equivalent grades are calculated using a gold
conversion factor of 0.89, determined using copper price of
USD2.20/pound and gold price of USD1350/ounce.
Following a comprehensive review of the geology and
prospectivity of Ecuador, SolGold and its subsidiaries have also
applied for additional exploration licences in Ecuador over a
number of additional promising porphyry copper gold targets
elsewhere in the Country.
In Queensland, Australia the Company is evaluating the future
exploration plans for the Mt Perry, Rannes and Normanby projects.
Joint venture agreements are being investigated for a joint venture
partner to commit funds and carry out exploration to earn an
interest in the tenements.
SolGold retains interests in its original theatre of operations,
the Solomon Islands in the South West Pacific, where the 100%
owned, as yet undrilled, Kuma prospect exhibits surface geological
characteristics which are traditionally indicative of a large metal
rich copper gold intrusive porphyry system. SolGold intends in the
future to apply intellectual property and experience developed in
Ecuador to target additional world class copper gold porphyries at
Kuma and other targets in Ecuador and Argentina.
SolGold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Company
listed on London's AIM Market in 2006, under the AIM code 'SOLG'
and currently has a total of 1,428,966,605 ordinary shares issued,
together with 11,975,884 options exercisable at 28p and 14,975,884
options exercisable at 14p.
CAUTIONARY NOTICE
The news release may contain certain statements and expressions
of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking
statements, and which relate, inter alia, to the Company's proposed
strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions
of the Company's directors. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors
beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you
should not rely on any forward-looking statements and save as
required by the AIM Rules for Companies or by law, the Company does
not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions
to such forward-looking statements.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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