Environmental Licence Received for Cascabel

RNS Number : 4609M

SolGold PLC

27 August 2013

 



27 August 2013

SolGold Plc

("SolGold" or the "Company")

Environmental Licence Received from Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment

Drilling Expected at Cascabel in Early September

Highlights:

Ø Environmental Licence received from Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment.

Ø Environmental Licence enables commencement of drilling at Cascabel Project.

Ø Construction of Drill Pad 1 and mobilisation of drill rig commenced on 24 August.

Ø Commencement of drilling expected in early September.

The Board of SolGold is pleased to report on progress at its Cascabel Project, the Company's copper gold project in northern Ecuador.  

References to Figures refer to maps and photos visible on the PDF version of this announcement available on the Company's website (www.solgold.com.au).

SolGold currently holds a 30% interest, and can earn up to 85% interest, in Exploraciones Novomining S.A. ("ENSA"), an Ecuadorean registered company, which holds 100% of the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador.  Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. ("Cornerstone") currently holds the other 70% of ENSA.  Cornerstone has been in Ecuador for 6 years and employs Ecuadorian geologists to carry out exploration and related administrative functions for the Cascabel project.

Commenting on today's announcement, CEO Alan Martin stated: "This is truly an exciting time for SolGold and its shareholders.  The signing of the Environmental Licence by the Minister of Environment on 23 August means that all of the regulatory conditions have now been satisfied. SolGold and its partner Cornerstone can now commence the First Phase Drilling Program at Cascabel.  With the potential at the Alpala Prospect to deliver a world-class copper-gold porphyry deposit, it is an exciting time for SolGold shareholders.  The Board of SolGold looks forward to providing further news once drilling commences."

Environmental Licence Approved

The Company has been advised by Cornerstone that the Environmental Licence was signed by the Minister of Environment on 23 August in Ecuador's capital, Quito.  SolGold reported on 22 August the formal approval for the Estudio de Impacto Ambiental (EIA) report.  The Environmental Licence was a key requirement to transition the Cascabel tenement from "Early Stage" exploration to "Advanced Stage" exploration, with the Cascabel tenement now having been renewed for a term of 4 years.  The signing of the Environmental Licence now enables the commencement of drilling on the Cascabel concession.  Importantly, the Environmental Licence allows for up to 100 drill holes to be completed within the area outlined in the EIA Report.

Construction of Drill Pads and Mobilisation of Drill Rig

With the drill rig and associated equipment at the Alpala field camp, it is estimated that construction of Drill Pad 1 and mobilisation of the drill rig will take approximately 7 to 10 days.  The Company was advised by its partner Cornerstone that this process commenced on 24 August.  If there are no weather delays, it is anticipated that drilling should commence in early September.

Location of Drill Holes 1 and 2

Figure 1 shows the location of planned drill holes CSD-13-001, CSD-13-002 and CSD-13-003 at Alpala.  The first hole will drill under Trench TR46, which encountered 45.64m @ 0.59% copper and 0.81 g/t gold at surface (Figure 1).  The second hole will drill under Trench TR56, which encountered 56.93m @ 0.34% copper and 1.16 g/t gold at surface (Figure 1).  The holes are currently planned to drill to 300m and 250m depth respectively.  Hole 3 will target copper gold mineralisation at depth below Hole 1.

By order of the Board

Karl Schlobohm

Company Secretary

Qualified Persons

Information in this report relating to the exploration results isbased on data reviewed by Mr Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hon), the Executive Director of the Company.  Mr Mather is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in excess of 25 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 Alan Martin

Solgold Plc (Chief Executive Officer)                                                            Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

Mr Nicholas Mather                                                                                       Tel: [phone]

SolGold plc (Executive Director)

[e-mail] 

Mr Karl Schlobohm                                                                                        Tel: [phone]

SolGold plc (Company Secretary)

[e-mail]  

Mr Ewan Leggat / Katy Birkin                                                                      Tel: [phone]

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Broker)

[e-mail]  

Mr Stephen Weir                                                                                            Tel: [phone]

RFC Ambrian Limited (Nominated Advisor)

[e-mail] 

Mr Dominic Barretto / Anna Legge                                                           Tel: [phone]

Yellow Jersey PR Limited (Financial PR)

[e-mail]  

NOTES TO EDITORS

SolGold's exploration projects are located in northern Ecuador, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. In Ecuador, they consist of a JV with Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. on the Cascabel copper-gold project.  In Australia, SolGold holds 100% of the Rannes, Mt Perry, Cracow West and Normanby Projects, all in southeast Queensland and in the Solomon Islands they comprise the Fauro Project (located on Fauro Island), and the Lower Koloula and Kuma licenses, both of which are located on Guadalcanal.  The Florida prospecting licence was permitted to expire as part of SolGold's strategy to become increasingly focussed on the preceding tenements in the Solomon Islands, Queensland and Ecuador.

In July 2012, SolGold and Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. announced that they had signed a definitive option agreement whereby SolGold may acquire up to 85% of Cornerstone's 100% owned 5,000 hectare Cascabel gold-copper-silver property in northern Ecuador.

The Cascabel project is located approximately 120 km north of Ecuador's capital, Quito, 20 km south of the Colombian border, and 75 km inland from the coastal city of San Lorenzo.  The copper-gold porphyry project is located within the Andean western cordillera, host to numerous tier 1 world class copper-gold deposits through Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

At the Rannes project SolGold has announced indicated and inferred resources of 18.7 million tonnes at 0.9 g/t gold equivalent (gold + silver) for 550,146 ounces of gold equivalent (296,657 ounces of gold and 10,137,736 ounces of silver; see announcement dated 23 May 2012 for details of the resource statement and gold equivalent ratios).  The Rannes project is currently under review.

In the Solomon Islands, a JV partner is being sought for the Fauro project to pursue drilling of gold-copper targets defined in the 2011 exploration program.  The Florida prospecting licence was permitted to expire as part of SolGold's strategy to become increasingly focussed on the preceding tenements in the Solomon Islands, Queensland and Ecuador.

SolGold's strategy is to be an integrated gold and copper discoverer, developer and miner.

SolGold's Board includes accomplished professionals with strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine development, investment, finance and law.  Board and Management have significantly vested interests in the Company, holding approximately 15.1% of its issued share capital.

SolGold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.  The Company listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2006, under the AIM code 'SOLG' and currently has a total of 553,354,342 fully-paid ordinary shares, 1,500 Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares, 10,788,000 options exercisable at 50p, 2,750,000 options exercisable at 28p and 1,750,000 options exercisable at 14p on issue.  Further details concerning the Company's key projects and personnel can be found at: www.solgold.com.au

 

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