Granted new concessions

RNS Number : 5251F

Condor Resources PLC

14 January 2010

 



Condor Resources Plc                                                                                         7th Floor                                                                          39 St. James's Street                                                    London                                                         SW1A 1JD                                                                                         Telephone [phone]                                                                              Fax: [phone]

14th January 2009

Condor Resources Plc

(''Condor'' or ''the Company'')

Grant of two new concessions adjacent to the Cacao Resource in Nicaragua

Condor Resources Plc (AIM: CNR) is pleased to announce that the company has been granted two new concession areas adjacent and near to Condor's existing 100% owned Cacao and Santa Barbara concessions within the historic La India Gold Mining District in Central Nicaragua. The new concessions, named El Rodeo and Real de la Cruz both contain significant known gold mineralisation defined by previous explorers and evidenced by shallow artisinal workings. Neither concession area has been subject to systematic trenching and drilling, so the width and grade of gold mineralisation remains untested. In accordance with Nicaraguan law the concessions permit both exploration and mining and are valid for an initial 25 year period, renewable for a further 25 years.

The larger El Rodeo Concession is located 4 kilometres northwest of Condor's Cacao Concession and covers an area of over 60 square kilometres. Rockchip sampling by previous explorers has defined a 3.5 kilometre long gold-mineralised structure with numerous rock chip samples returning assay values of over 1g/t gold. Where exposed in outcrop the structure hosts a gold-mineralised vein varying between a brecciated chalcedonic quartz vein up to 2 metres thick, and an intercalated set of chalcedonic quartz veins and quartz stockwork between 3 and 4 metres thick. Channel sampling has already been carried out by Condor at three locations where the vein was intersected by streams such that a cross-section of the vein was exposed for sampling. The results confirmed previously reported gold mineralisation with:

• 3.6 metres at 1.93g/t gold from cutting ANCT001 in an intercalated quartz vein and stockwork zone.

• 1 metre at 2.54g/t gold from cutting ANCT002 in a quartz vein.

• 0.9 metres at 1.22g/t gold from cutting ANCT003 in a quartz vein.

Large segments of the structure have been subject to shallow artisinal mining and in these areas the vein is no longer exposed and the width and grade of gold mineralization has yet to be established. Further isolated outcrops of gold mineralised quartz vein material and rare evidence of artisinal mine workings along strike of the main defined structure suggests that gold mineralisation may extend for a strike length of at least 10 kilometres within El Rodeo Concession area. Future exploration will test this along-strike potential.

The Real de la Cruz Concession covers an area of over 7 square kilometres adjacent and to the north of Condor's Cacao and Santa Barbara concession package. Rockchip and auger sampling by previous explorers defined a 400 metre by 600 metre area of gold mineralisation on the side of Real de la Cruz hill with rockchip assay results of up to 24 grams per tonne gold reported. This area has a history of small scale artisinal mining, a practice that continues to this day. The shallow artisinal workings and rockchip sampling have defined at least three parallel east-west striking structures for a total combined strike length of over 1000 metres of gold mineralised epithermal quartz-carbonate veining. Check sampling of the previous explorer's results undertaken by Condor returned 1 metre at 8.69g/t gold from channel sampling an outcropping quartz-carbonate vein. The true thickness of the vein at this location was not established as the hanging wall is not exposed. The Real de la Cruz gold mineralised structures are parallel to the Cacao structure where it passes through Condor's Cacao and Santa Barbara Concession only 1 kilometre to the south of Real de la Cruz.

With the addition of these two new concessions Condor has established a significant concession holding within the historic La India Gold Mining District. La India Mining District already contains the historic La India Gold Mine and the Mestiza Resource, owned by B2Gold Corp, which are within 6 kilometres of the Cacao Resource. La India Mine produced approximately 576,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 13.4g/t prior to its closure in 1955. Historically reported non-JORC compliant estimates of the remaining 'inferred' resource at la India vary between 280,000 and 400,000 ounces of gold grading at over 8g/t. In addition, the Mestiza project, also held by B2Gold Corp, includes a reported Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum compliant inferred resource of 158,600 ounces of gold grading at 8.8g/t.

Condor now has 100% ownership of four concessions with over 8 kilometres of gold mineralised structures defined to date within La India Mining District. The two new concessions provide highly prospective targets to supplement the Cacao structure which has evidence of epithermal vein-type gold mineralisation extending over a distance of at least 4 kilometres through the Cacao and Santa Barbara concessions, including a 600m long segment of well-exposed outcropping gold-bearing veins where Condor has defined a JORC Code compliant inferred resource of 41,000 ounces gold grading at 1.22g/t (the Cacao Resource announced by Condor on 18th April 2008). The Cacao Resource remains open at depth and along strike in both directions.

Condor plans to undertake a programme of trench sampling, within the next 12 months, to establish the location of high grade segments within the more than 8 kilometres of gold bearing epithermal veins that have already been defined on this group of concessions. Subsequent drill testing, will depend on the trench results and available funds. It is hoped they will target the definition of new resources as well as expanding the existing Cacao Resource. With the acquisition of the Real de la Cruz and El Rodeo concessions Condor has established itself as a major stakeholder in the historic La India Mining District with walk-up trench and drill targets over a significant strike length the company considers that this project area has the potential to quickly define a multi-prospect economic resource that would be amenable to processing at a centralised mill.

Comment by Mark Child, Chairman: "The grant to Condor of two additional concessions brings the total to four concessions in the historic La India Mining District in Nicaragua and compliments Condor's 41,000 ounce inferred JORC Resource at the Cacao concession in the same district. It means Condor has a serious exploration foot print in a key mining district. It has taken 6 months to obtain the concessions and a considerable amount of work by Condor's two in country geologists. Condor has a further 5 concessions pending approval in Nicaragua and is reviewing other opportunities to increase its concessions in the country as well as the prospect of acquiring a small operating gold mine".

Qualified Person's Declaration

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by and reviewed by Dr Luc English, the Country Exploration Manager, who is a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a geologist with fourteen years of experience in the exploration and definition of precious and base metal Mineral Resources. He has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration, and to the type of activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in the June 2009 Edition of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. He consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appear and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.

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For further information please visit www.condorresourcesplc.com or contact:

Condor Resources plc	Mark Child, Chairman [phone]	Luc English, Country Manager Nicaragua & El Salvador [phone]
Ambrian Partners Limited	Richard Swindells [phone]
Farm Street Media	Simon Robinson [phone]

About Condor Resources Plc:

Condor Resources plc is an AIM listed exploration company focused on developing natural resource projects in Central America. The Company was admitted to AIM on 31st May 2006 with the stated strategy to prove up JORC Resources in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Condor has five 100% owned licenses contained within two project areas in Nicaragua. In El Salvador, Condor has 100% ownership of four licences in two project areas.

Since Admission to AIM, Condor has increased its JORC compliant inferred resources from 350,000 ounces of gold and 18 million ounces of silver to 788,000 ounces of gold and 22 million ounces of silver. The Resource calculations are compiled by independent geologists Ravensgate and Geosure. As announced on 23rd September 2009, Condor's net cash position was circa £1m at the 30th June 2009 interim period. Condor also owns approximately £1.4m worth of shares in Grafton Resources investments Limited as a result of a share exchange approved by shareholders at an AGM on 12th June 2009.  

 

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