Operational Update

RNS Number : 0632H

Ovoca Gold PLC

06 July 2012

 

Ovoca Gold Plc ("Ovoca Gold" or the "Company")

Operational Update

Ovoca Gold is pleased to provide an update on its 2012 field work on its Stakhanovskiy and Rassoshinskaya projects.

Highlights

Stakhanovskiy Project surface trench assay results from Berezitoviy and Burovaya ore bodies of:

·    2.5 metres at 281.40 g/t gold

·    4.0 metres at 41.28g/t gold

·    1.5 metres at 45.76 g/t gold

·    Processing of 5,000 tonnes of primary rock by gravity concentration plant from Berezitoviy and Zabolochenniy ore bodies

Rassoshinskaya Project HQ-sized core drilling at the Zet Prospect produced two significant intersections:

·    0.4 metres at 74.40 g/t gold and 342.0 g/t silver

·    2.0 metres at 4.53 g/t gold and 38.9 g/t silver

Work program activity is peaking on Ovoca Gold projects at this time of year, with the optimal time for access to the licenses being in the summertime. Work is progressing according to plan with no significant delays experienced on the Rassoshinskaya and Stakhanovskiy Projects.

A bulk sampling plant is fully operational and processing sample at the Stakhanovskiy Project from new trenches and large bulk samples that have been excavated. Diamond core drilling is planned to commence later this month. An updated resource estimate on the current JORC Inferred category resource is planned to be completed by the end of 2012 once all bulk sampling, trenching and drilling has been completed and the results have been received.

At the Rassoshinskaya Project HQ-sized diamond core drilling has been undertaken on two advanced prospects at Podgorniy and Zet to the north of the Olcha JORC Inferred resource. The first assay results at Zet demonstrate that the typical mineralisation at this prospect is composed of a small high grade gold-silver quartz-adularia vein within a broad zone of low grade but anomalous gold and silver values.

Kirill Golovanov, CEO of Ovoca Gold plc, commented: "Exploration and development programs initiated in 2012 at our gold-silver projects are a high priority for the Company. We are pleased that bulk sampling and processing of samples has commenced at the Stakhanovskiy Project. Recent assay results from trenches illustrate the nuggety high-grade nature of gold in fresh rock near surface. At Rassoshinskaya we are working in areas where we intersected significant gold and silver mineralisation in our previous drilling. Contractors are on site completing the significant levels of work planned for 2012. It is an exciting opportunity for the Company to have such large tracts of prospective ground in one of the world's greatest gold and silver provinces. We look forward to providing regular updates on our efforts."

Rassoshinskaya Project

Zet Prospect

A total of 15 diamond drill core holes for 2,229 meters were completed. Drilling was undertaken over a 2km strike length with maximum depths down to 200m vertical from surface. Gold fire assay results were received for 325 samples. A table of significant gold assay results is shown in Table 1. Alteration and mineralisation zones composed of typical banded epithermal quartz-adularia veining were found to continue at depth and along the strike length from Ovoca Gold's trenching and drilling completed in 2011.

 Table 1: Zet Prospect HQ diamond core drill intersections, Fire Assay 50g, >1g/t gold

Drill Hole Name	Down hole depth (m)	Depth from Surface (m)	Interval (m)	True thickness (m)	Gold Grade g/t	Silver Grade g/t
CZ-30	108.4	93.9	0.5	0.4	74.40	342.0
CZ-31	144.0	124.7	2.4	2.0	4.53	38.9

Podgorniy Prospect

A total of 8 diamond drill core holes for 1,580 metres were completed. Sampling is currently being undertaken. Drilling tested various depths less than 300 metres vertical from surface and locations across a 1,000 metre long by 350 metre wide mineralized zone.

Bazaar Prospect

A total of 600 linear meters of trenches were completed to identify potential targets for drilling. A 20 metre wide primary stockwork type quartz-carbonate vein system has been discovered in the trenches near two historical surface float rock chip samples that have assay values of 24g/t and 60g/t gold, centered on an east-west striking creek so is covered with alluvial rocks.

Northwest Bazaar Project

Reconnaissance geological mapping identified a new prospect with extensive epithermal quartz veins on the surface. Historical surface float rock chip assays have gold values up to 5.0g/t. A trenching program is being designed to test the area.

Stakhanovskiy Project

The hard rock gravitation bulk sampling plant was commissioned and is currently operating to capacity. The throughput has averaged 189 tonnes per 24 hour period and 5,000 tonnes of ore from the Berezitoviy and Zabolochenniy ore body has been processed to date. The gravity concentrates and samples from the mill have been collected. These samples have recently been transported to Magadan for shaking table processing, with products to be fire assayed by Alex Stewart Laboratories in Moscow.

Gold assays were received for a total of 286 samples taken from trenches completed in 2011 with an extra 5 grab samples. The average linear sample length was 1.5 metres and the total weight of all samples was 4,648 kg. The trench samples were processed on a shaking table with products assayed. The average gold grade of all samples was 2.63g/t and there are 15 significant trench intervals, >1.0g/t gold, shown in Table 2. Samples were taken from near surface semi-oxidized highly altered diorite dykes that contain extensive quartz veining.

Table 2: Stakhanovskiy Trench Sample, Fire Assay 50g, >1g/t gold

Trench Name	From (m)	To (m)	Interval (m)	Gold Grade g/t
KBR1	4.5	10.5	6.0	1.67
KBR1	13.5	15.0	1.5	1.72
KBR2	31.5	33.0	1.5	1.21
KBR4	3.0	4.5	1.5	8.06
KBR4	10.5	12.0	1.5	2.31
KBR4	18.5	22.5	4.0	3.81
KBR4	32.5	35.5	3.0	1.98
KBR5	5.5	7.0	1.5	2.02
TBR1-3	24.0	25.5	1.5	1.22
TBR1-5	26.0	27.5	1.5	1.24
TBR2-7	9.0	11.5	2.5	281.40
TBU1-2	10.5	13.5	3.0	2.79
TBU1-4	1.5	3.0	1.5	45.76
TBU1-4	7.5	8.5	1.0	1.03
TBU1-6	4.0	8.0	4.0	41.28

A total of 284 linear metres of trenches have been completed this year at Zabolocheniy and three 50 metre x 20 metre rectangular areas have been cleared and excavated on the Zabolocheniy orebody beneath shallow colluvium. These areas have been blasted to 1.5 metres depth and are being mined and stockpiled on the plant ore pad adjacent to the crusher ready for processing in the bulk sampling plant.

Contacts

Ovoca Gold Plc

Kirill Golovanov [phone]

Davy - NOMAD, ESM Adviser and Joint Broker

John Frain/Daragh O'Reilly [phone]

Fairfax I.S. PLC - Joint Broker

Ewan Leggat/Laura Littley [phone]

The above information has been compiled and verified by Mr. Darren Allingham for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in June 2009. Mr. Allingham is a member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and The Australian Institute of Geoscientists and is a JORC (2004) competent person for the type of minerals being reported on in this statement. Mr. Allingham is a Geologist with over 17 years of work experience in gold exploration, resource estimation and mining, in thirteen different countries and has Bachelors and Bachelors with honours degrees in geology from The Australian National University and The University of Queensland, Australia. Mr. Allingham consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

Notes to Editors

Ovoca Gold PLC ("Ovoca Gold" or "the Company") is a mineral exploration and mine development company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: OVG) and on the ESM market of the Irish Stock Exchange (Ticker: OVX). The Company's principal activity is gold and silver exploration in the Magadan Region of the Russian Federation. Previously Ovoca Gold acquired, developed and sold to JSC Polymetal the Goltsovoye silver project located in the Magadan Region. Currently, Ovoca Gold is aggressively exploring and developing both its 100 per cent owned Stakhanovskiy and Rassoshinskaya licenses.

The Stakhanovskiy Project is located approximately 40 kilometers north of Susuman, the second largest city in the Magadan region. It is accessible by all-weather road and there is power infrastructure on site. Stakhanovskiy's initial independently established resource was announced in an RNS on 2 February 2011 and is available on the Company's website. The Company is moving towards feasibility with the objective of putting Stakhanovskiy into production in 2013-2014.

Rassoshinskaya is in the North Eastern part of the Magadan Region about 200 kilometres from the town of Seimchan. There is no close infrastructure. Rassoshinskaya hosts an epithermal gold-silver deposit called Olcha. Olcha with proximal satellite deposits have the potential to increase the total available resource base into a high-grade multi-million ounce gold field. The initial independently established resource at Olcha was announced in an RNS on 21 June 2010 and is available on the Company's website.

 

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