Drilling Extends Tulkubash Mineralisation

RNS Number : 0803U

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd

10 July 2018

 

Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited

("Chaarat" or the "Company")

Chaarat Exploration Drilling Continues to Extend Tulkubash Mineralisation

Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands (10 July 2018)

Chaarat (AIM: CGH), the AIM quoted exploration and development company developing the Chaarat Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic, is pleased to provide an update on its 2018 exploration drilling programme at its Tulkubash oxide gold project.  This Press Release presents results obtained since the Company's last exploration update on 22 June 2018.

Highlights

·    Approximately 6,000 metres have been drilled to date of the planned 30,000 metre 2018 drilling programme.  Eight drill rigs are currently in operation on site.

·    Gold mineralisation is confirmed to continue further along strike northeast of the existing one million ounce resource.

·    Current drilling has demonstrated that grades appear to increase along strike to the northeast of the current resource.

·    New shallow, low strip ratio mineralisation has been identified within the current pit design.

·    Significant intercepts include:

o  Section 560, Hole DH18T381: True width of 15.0 metres at 1.32 grammes per tonne ("g/t")  gold ("Au") from a depth of 6.0 metres.

o  Section 2920, Hole DH18T380: True width of 5.6 metres at 1.06 g/t Au from a depth of 109.5 metres.

o  Section 3000, Hole DH18T378: True width of 5.6 metres at 1.01 g/t Au from a depth of 62.0 metres.

o  Section 3160, Hole DH18T373: True width of 5.4 metres at 1.03 g/t Au from a depth of 165.0 metres.

·    Road cuts have exposed new, sub-outcropping ore-grade mineralisation in Segment V: 20.0 metres at 1.1 g/t Au, 12.0 metres at 0.87 g/t Au, and 8.0 metres at 0.88 g/t Au.  These are wdiths as channel sampled along the road cut at surface and do not necessarily represent true widths.

Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, Chair of the Company's Technical Committee, commented:

"We continue to receive very encouraging results from our ongoing exploration programme at Tulkubash.  Since our last exploration update, we have demonstrated further along-strike extension of oxide gold mineralisation to the northeast of the currently defined resource, have demonstrated that the gold grade appears to be increasing in this direction, and have also identified new, shallow mineralisation within the current pit outline. 

"Our team continues to identify new, sub-outcropping ore-grade mineralisation along drill roads, demonstrating once again the high prospectivity of our project for the discovery of additional resources and indeed entire new deposits.  Progress of drill road construction is allowing the drill rigs now to advance into Segment V, which we consider our highest priority target area with the greatest likelihood of quickly demonstrating significant tonnages of new oxide gold mineralisation.

"I continue to expect that this year's exploration programme will be eminently successful, leading to a significant increase in the tonnage of the oxide gold resource as well as, concurrently, an increase in the overall grade of the deposit.  All of our drilling is designed to target new resources with a high likelihood of conversion to reserves.  We will continue to provide periodic updates of results from this year's drilling and exploration programme. 

"With progress to date, we still have explored a small percentage of a 24-kilometre mineralised trend comprising favourable geology as well as extensive, and, in some cases, ore-grade, rock and soil geochemical anomalies.  Our belief that Tulkubash represents merely part of an emerging gold district continues to be validated by ongoing exploration results."

Drilling Update

In planning the 2018 drill programme, the Company has defined five along strike segments within the current Tulkubash trend.  The existing one million ounce Tulkubash resource is located in segments I to III.  Segment IV represents the immediate along strike extension of the current resource.  Segment V represents the area with the strongest along strike gold in soil geochemical anomalies and represents Chaarat's highest priority drill targets.

Drilling to date has focused on testing drill targets in Segment IV, immediately along-strike to the north-east of the current one million ounce Tulkubash resource, and has demonstrated that mineralisation extends at least 800 metres along strike from the current resource boundary.  Mineralised intersects in Segment IV are comparable in width to those in Segments II and III (particularly Segment III) of the currently defined Tulkubash orebody, although thinner than those within Segment I.  The results are highly encouraging and confirm that mineralisation extends to the northeast of the current resource. 

Drilling in Segment IV has intersected multiple zones of gold mineralisation in every drill hole, with mineralisation of generally higher grade than in the currently defined resource. Some newly identified lodes are beginning to show continuity along strike (e.g., Sections 3000 and 3160, demonstrating continuity of mineralisation identified in Section 3080 that was reported in the Company's 22 June 2018 update). Mineralisation appears to be getting stronger to the northeast, where drill targets are being developed in Segment V.

Drilling in Segment I is adding low strip ratio mineralisation and will also provide valuable information for possible remodeling of sulphide-oxide distribution.  This will be examined during the next resource re-estimate.

Sampling of new road cuts has identified new, sub-outcropping mineralisation: 20.0 metres at 1.1 g/t Au, 12.0 metres at 0.87 g/t Au, and 8.0 metres at 0.88 g/t Au in Segment V.   These are wdiths as channel sampled along the road cut at surface and do not necessarily represent true widths.  A priority of drilling in Segment V will be to test this surface mineralisation for vertical extent.

The following link provides a plan and cross-sections showing the locations of the drill holes as well as tabulations of the drill assay data:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0803U_1-2018-7-9.pdf

The gold mineralisation in this Segment IV is strongly oxidised.  This can be gauged by the percentage of contained gold determined to be easily recovered by cyanide solution (cyanide soluble assay).  In this batch of samples, 341 of 406 cyanide soluble assays received to date are greater than 80 per cent of contained gold with only 27 samples less than 60 per cent.  This suggests that this mineralisation would give good recovery by heap leach.  Mineralisation appears to be increasing in both grade and intensity to the northeast (Segment V) and drill rigs are being moved in this direction as drill road construction permits.  Construction of drill roads continues to expose new alteration and mineralisation along strike from the current resource in both Segments IV and V.  As this newly recognised mineralisation is mapped and sampled, it continues to lead to additional drill targets.  Meanwhile, surface geological mapping and geochemical sampling continues in advance of drill road construction, particularly in Segment VI.  This work also continues to disclose new zones of mineralisation and is generating additional drill targets.

Additional drilling, to date, this year continues to focus on drilling untested footwall targets in Segments I and II that would delineate additional low strip ratio mineralisation within the estimated resource footprint.  Results from this portion of the drilling programme are highly encouraging so far.  Drilling in these segments will also provide valuable information on the relative distribution of oxide and sulphide mineralisation, which is expected to have a positive impact on the resource.

Significant intercepts from seven drill holes on six sections are summarised in the table below.  The sections are in general 80 metres apart.  Significant intercepts are defined as intercepts greater than 10 metres in width above a 0.25 g/t Au cut off or greater than 3.0 metres in width at a 0.25 g/t Au cut off assaying greater than 1.0 g/t Au or a minimum equivalent grade x thickness. 

		Drilling			Approx
Drill		Interval		Width	true width	Au
Hole	Cross Section	From	To	(m)	(m)	g/t
DH18T381	560	6.00	21.00	15.00	15.00	1.32
DH18T375	2680	25.50	28.50	3.00	2.70	1.39
DH18T380	2920	109.50	115.50	6.00	5.60	1.06
incl	2920	112.50	115.50	3.00	2.80	1.46
DH18T378	3000	62.00	68.00	6.00	5.60	1.01
incl	3000	62.00	63.50	1.50	1.40	2.03
DH18T378	3000	77.00	92.00	15.00	14.00	0.56
incl	3000	77.00	78.50	1.50	1.40	1.11
incl	3000	90.50	92.00	1.50	1.40	1.97
DH18T373	3160	165.00	190.50	25.50	22.75	0.67
incl	3160	165.00	171.00	6.00	5.40	1.03
incl	3160	169.50	171.00	1.50	1.35	2.23
incl	3160	187.50	190.50	3.00	2.70	1.10
incl	3160	207.00	210.00	3.00	2.70	1.35
DH18T373	3160	219.00	234.00	15.00	13.50	0.54
incl	3160	220.50	222.00	1.50	1.35	1.40
DH18T379	3160	178.00	188.50	10.50	10.50	0.70
incl	3160	178.00	181.00	3.00	3.00	1.22
DH18T371	3480	60.00	70.50	10.50	9.80	0.28
DC18T018	3680	84.00	104.00	20.00	12.00	1.10
DC18T020	3880	74.00	86.00	12.00	10.50	0.87

All results are from diamond core holes.  The sample intervals are constrained by geology and range from a minimum of 0.4 metres to a maximum of 1.5 metres, generally averaging near 1.5 metres in length.  Mean grades are calculated at the stated cut-off with no upper cap applied.  The maximum length of internal waste in any interval is 3.0 metres.  Approximate true width is estimated from cross sectional interpretations.

Five additional holes in Segment IV (DH18T364 on Section 2600, DH18T387 on Section 2760, DH18T366 on Section 2840, DH18T377 on Section 2840, and DH18T383 on Section 3000) and three holes in Segment-I (DH18T376 on Section 760, DH18T357 on Section 1120 and DH18T370 on Section 1200) intersected gold mineralisation, but below the threshold to be considered significant.  Nonetheless, they indicate extension of the gold-bearing system, which like all such gold mineralised systems tends to pinch and swell along the controlling structure(s).

An updated Resource Estimate will be prepared after completion of this year's planned drilling programme; this updated estimated is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2019.  If results warrant, an interim Resource Estimate may be prepared early in Q4 of 2018.

QA/QC Procedures: Sampling Methodology and Quality Control

Samples are shipped to the ALS Global Laboratory in Kara-Balta, Kyrgyz Republic for sample preparation and assay.  Commercial standards and blanks are submitted routinely with each batch of samples.  Gold is analysed using a 30-gramme fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish.  A quality control/quality assurance protocol is employed in the programme which includes standards and blanks in every batch of assays. Check assays are conducted on every 20^th sample by a second independent laboratory. 

Competent Person

The Competent Person with overall responsibility for this press release, and who has reviewed the information contained herein, is Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol (FAussIMM), who is Non-Executive Director of Chaarat and Chair of the Company's Technical Committee.  He is a geologist with more than 40 years of experience in the resource industry who has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'.  He has supervised the work which is the subject of this release.  Mr. Nicol consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

Enquiries

Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited                                                                 [phone]

Martin Andersson - Chairman                                                                    [e-mail]

Linda Naylor - Company Secretary

Numis Securities Limited                                                                           [phone]

John Prior, Paul Gillam (NOMAD)

James Black (Corporate Broking)

BMO Capital Markets Limited                                                                  [phone]

Jeffrey Couch, Neil Haycock,
Thomas Rider (Joint Broker)

Blytheweigh (Financial PR)                                                                       [phone]

Tim Blythe

Megan Ray

About Chaarat Gold

Chaarat Gold is an exploration and development company operating in the Kyrgyz Republic with a large, high grade resource - the Chaarat Gold Project. The Company's key objective is to become a low-cost gold producer generating significant production from the development of the Chaarat Gold Project. Chaarat is engaged in an active community engagement programme to optimise the value of the Chaarat investment proposition.

Chaarat aims to create value for its shareholders, employees and communities from its high-quality gold and mineral deposits in the Kyrgyz Republic by building relationships based on trust and operating to the best environmental, social and employment standards.

Further information is available at www.chaarat.com 

Glossary of Technical Terms

"Au"	chemical symbol for gold
"cut off"	the lowest grade value that is included in a resource statement.  It must comply with JORC requirement 19: "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" the lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit.  It may be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification
"g/t"	grammes per tonne, equivalent to parts per million
"Inferred Resource"	that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence.  It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity.  It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability
"Indicated Resource"	that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence.  It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed
"JORC"	The Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 2012 (the "JORC Code" or "the Code").  The Code sets out minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for Public Reporting in Australasia of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
"koz"	thousand troy ounces of gold
"Measured Resource"	that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence.  It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and grade continuity
"Mineral Resource"	a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.  The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories when reporting under JORC
"Mt"	million tonnes
"oz"	troy ounce (= 31.103477 grammes)
"Reserve"	the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource
"t"	tonne (= 1 million grammes)

 

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