Drilling Report

RNS Number : 4197Q

Aurum Mining PLC

19 October 2011

 



19 October 2011

AURUM MINING PLC

("Aurum" or "the Company")

Drilling success for Aurum's Spanish gold joint venture

Aurum Mining plc (AIM: AUR) is pleased to announce some excellent assay results from the first two holes drilled on the ''El Facho'' structure of its Zamora gold project through its Spanish joint venture with Ormonde Mining plc ("Ormonde") (AIM: ORM).

Highlights

- High grade intersection of 12 metres grading 3.4 grammes per tonne ("g/t") gold within an overall interval of 30 metres grading 1.6g/t gold from first hole (ORMP 10).

 - 10 metre intersection grading 2.1g/t gold and a 5 metre intersection grading 1.9 g/t gold from second hole (ORMP 11).

 - These assay results provide further strong evidence of a significant gold structure at the El Facho prospect.

 - Of the nine holes drilled by Ormonde at El Facho to date, including ORMP 10 and ORMP 11, eight have encountered gold mineralisation grading in excess of 1 g/t across multiple intersections.  Prior to the recent drilling programme, historic drilling by Ormonde included an interval of 23 metres grading 1.1g/t gold (including a high-grade interval of one metre grading 16.6g/t gold), though recent results are clearly the best to date.

 - Further work will now be carried out at El Facho, and a short-hole drilling programme will also shortly commence at the highly prospective Peralonso permit area in Salamanca Province where previous trenching returned some interesting results including an interval of 5 metres grading 5.4g/t gold.

 - Aurum has fulfilled the terms of its initial commitments under the joint venture agreement and will now be progressing towards spending a minimum of €500,000 over the initial eighteen months of the joint venture to earn its majority interest in the permits that are the subject of the agreement with Ormonde.

Sean Finlay, Aurum's Chairman, said:

"These are excellent drilling results from the initial two holes drilled by the Joint Venture and represent the best mineralised intervals to date on the El Facho structure.  The Joint Venture is now planning a more expansive work programme at El Facho and I look forward to reporting on progress from this programme, and the initial work on the highly prospective Peralonso permit area, in due course".

Background

On 11 March 2011, Aurum entered into a joint venture with Ormonde whereby Aurum can earn a 60% interest in two permits in the Zamora Province and a 54% interest in a further two permits in the Salamanca Province (one of which is still under application), by spending €500,000 on exploration activities over an 18 month period.

Initial work of the joint venture has focused on following up on previous drilling carried out by Ormonde at El Facho.

Known gold mineralisation at El Facho is hosted in multiple steeply dipping structures characterised by quartz veining, silicification and alteration within granites.  The joint‑venture drilling programme was designed to test for extensions to the known mineralisation and in particular to ascertain whether broader mineralised intervals could be discovered. 

The joint-venture's first two holes, ORMP 10 and ORMP 11, were drilled on two sections to test the down-dip extension of previously discovered mineralisation.  Both of these holes have intersected significant gold mineralisation in veined and altered granites.  The interval in ORMP 10, in particular, is wider than in previous intersections identified at El Facho, and this is a very positive development.  The joint venture is now planning to build on this success with a more extensive drilling campaign aimed at identifying the extent of the thicker gold mineralisation seen in these two recent holes.

Including the two recent holes (ORMP 10 and ORMP 11), a total of nine holes have now been drilled by Ormonde at El Facho and eight have intersected gold mineralisation grading in excess of 1 g/t and several of these holes have shown more than one intersection in excess of 1 g/t.

The key intersections from the holes drilled by Ormonde at El Facho are highlighted in the table below.

El Facho Drilling Results
Hole Reference	From (m)	Thickness (m)	Gold (g/t)
ORMP 1	51	23	1.1
ORMP 3	131	3	3.6
ORMP 4	40	6	3.7
ORMP 5	56	9	1.5
ORMP 6	104	7	1.1
ORMP 7	38	7	1.2
ORMP 10	89	12	3.4
ORMP 11	102	10	2.1
ORMP 11	275	5	1.9

The initial joint venture drilling programme has been focused on the two permits in Zamora Province and comprised a three-hole programme totalling 672m with two holes drilled on the El Facho structure and a further hole on the "LLago" structure.  Results from the hole on the Llago structure are awaited.

As well as undertaking further work at El Facho, a short-hole drilling programme will also now commence on the Peralonso permit in Salamanca to test the shallow depth extent of gold mineralisation located in previous trenching.  Gold mineralisation is hosted within Fe-oxide-bearing breccias within altered granites, with previous trenching of an extensive soil geochemical anomaly (400 x 400m) returning a best interval of 5 metres grading 5.4g/t gold.

The Company will keep the market updated on the progress of the exploration programme.

Notes:

Sampling, Assaying and Quality Control Measures

All drill core has been routinely logged by an experienced geologist.  Relevant core intervals were split in half by diamond saw, with half being sent for assay and the other half being retained in the core boxes for reference.  Sampling is mainly carried out over one metre intervals.

Sample preparation and analyses were performed at ALS Chemex (Spain).  Assays are reported using the fire assay (FA) method with an atomic absorption (AA) finish.  Reference samples (blanks, duplicates and certified standards) are routinely included in each sample batch as quality control measures.

Kerr Anderson PhD EurGeolPGeo, Managing Director of Ormonde Mining plc, and a qualified person as defined in the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies, June 2009, of the London Stock Exchange, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

For further information:

Aurum Mining plc	Tel: [phone]
Chris Eadie, Chief Executive Officer
Fairfax I.S. plc	Tel: [phone]
Ewan Leggat / Laura Littley

 

END

 

 

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