Long Lake Gold Project - Expl

RNS Number : 9862A

Sunrise Resources Plc

10 February 2011

 



10 February 2011

EXPLORATION UPDATE  

LONG LAKE GOLD PROJECT, SUDBURY, CANADA

Sunrise Resources plc ("Sunrise" or "the Company"), the AIM-quoted diversified mineral exploration and development specialist, is pleased to announce that it has now received positive results from geophysical exploration carried out late last year at the Long Lake gold mine as well as the results from two previously unreported drill holes.

Highlights:

·     Several near surface anomalies recommended for ground checking and drill testing near Long Lake Gold Mine and at E1 prospect.

·     Geophysical profiling of historic boreholes identifies anomalies in un-assayed sections of historic drill holes at E1 prospect.

·     Significance of anomalies underlined by anomalous geophysical response of known mineralisation in Hole 10LD003 in Mine area (previously reported 35m thick interval grading 2.0 g/t gold including 2.3m grading 16.1 g/t gold). 

·     3D imaging of borehole survey at E1 prospect suggests lateral continuity of mineralisation between surveyed drill holes.

·     Anomaly 23 confirmed as strong target missed by recent drill hole.

Patrick Cheetham, Chairman, commented today: "Results from the initial exploration programme have exceeded our expectations. The geophysical results released today have identified a number of additional drill targets and planning for a second phase of drilling at Long Lake is already underway."

Further information:

Sunrise Resources plc                                                     Tel:   [phone]

Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman                             Mob. [phone]

www.sunriseresourcesplc.com

Northland Capital Partners Limited                                Tel:   [phone]

Gavin Burnell / Rod Venables (Nominated Adviser)

Charles Vaughan (Broker)

Yellow Jersey PR                                                              Tel:   [phone]

Dominic Barretto

Detailed Results

The Company has now received a geophysical survey and interpretation report from its local consultant Caracle Creek International Consulting Inc. (CCIC). The geophysical survey was completed in December 2010 and comprised both surface and down-hole Induced Polarisation ("IP") EarthProbe surveys.

IP geophysical surveys measure the varying electrical "conductivity/resistivity" of the rocks and any mineralisation in the survey area. Anomalously high conductivity (i.e. low resistivity), can be indicative of high concentrations of sulphide minerals (which in the case of Long Lake can be associated with gold mineralisation). IP surveys also measure "chargeability", an electrical response which can be high when disseminated sulphide minerals (and some other minerals such as graphite or magnetite) are present.

Surface IP traverses were carried out over three areas of interest - the Long Lake gold mine (3 lines) the E1 gold prospect (2 lines) and Anomaly 23 (1 line). In addition IP profiling was carried out down three of the recently completed drill holes in the Mine area, 6 holes drilled in 1987 in the E1 area and also down drill hole 10LD006 at Anomaly 23.

Mine Area

In January 2011 the Company announced encouraging results from initial drilling at the Long Lake Mine including from hole 10LD003 where a 35m thick interval grading 2.0 g/t gold including 2.3m grading 16.1g/t gold was intersected from 27.04m down hole.

IP profiling in hole 10LD003 identified conductive and chargeable responses coincident with several of the richer gold mineralised sections highlighting the potential of the method to identify other areas of untested sulphide associated gold mineralisation. Any newly identified high conductivity and chargeability anomalies in the Mine area can therefore be considered as high priority targets.

The surface survey identified a number of such anomalies including anomaly SRES_008 which was recommended for drill testing and two anomalies (SRES_006 & SRES_007) recommended for ground checking prior to drill testing.

The geophysical responses of known mineralisation in the more weakly mineralised drill holes proved to be more variable and geophysical responses may have been interrupted by the spaces created in the old mine workings.  

Hole 10LD001 could not be surveyed due to loss of field equipment down the drill hole. A limited number of drill holes, variable IP responses, old mine workings and problems with hole 10LD001 may have limited the ability of the IP surveys to detect connectivity between drill holes and has made 3D mapping of the mineralised system using geophysics in the Mine area more difficult than originally anticipated.  

The Company will consider further down-hole IP surveys when additional holes are drilled in future.

E1 Prospect

Prior to the Company acquiring its option over the Long Lake project, historical exploration since the mine closure in 1939 concentrated on an area some 350m south of the mine. This area, named "E1" after the original 1970s discovery drill hole (which is reported to have intersected 5.7m from 138m grading 30.1 g/t gold) was drill tested again in 1982 and 1987 but, despite a number of high grade intersections being made in these later drill programmes, the directional control and continuity of mineralisation has proved difficult to establish.  In part this is due to the very limited reporting of assay results which, the Company suspects, may reflect incomplete sampling and assaying of the drill core.

Given this background, the results of geophysical surveying in the E1 prospect area are particularly encouraging. Geophysical profiling in 6 holes identified anomalous responses in all holes with good correlation of anomalies and gold mineralised zones. Anomalies were also identified down drill holes in positions where no historical assay results are available and where the corresponding drill core may not yet have been sampled.

Furthermore, good connectivity was established between the mineralised zones in the drill holes tested and 3D modelling of down-hole anomalies suggests continuity of mineralisation between holes over at least the 100m strike length in which they are located.

The surface IP survey results were also encouraging in that two near surface anomalies were recommended for drill testing (SRES_10 & 11) and three for ground checking prior to drill testing (SRES_2-4).

The Company has relocated drill core from the majority of the holes drilled in the E1 prospect area in the 1980s and the1970s. The core is in a poor state of preservation but a programme of retrieval has already been initiated and further logging and sampling of the core is planned as soon as possible and prior to further drill testing.

Anomaly 23

In the drill results released on 25 January 2011 it was stated that hole 10LD006, drilled to test geophysical anomaly A23 (originally detected in an airborne geophysical survey) did not contain sufficient sulphide mineralisation to explain the anomaly.

The results from a surface IP line and a down-hole survey carried out at the site of A23 confirmed the occurrence of a significant anomaly with high conductivity and low resistivity at approximately 100m vertical depth and below the depth tested by hole 10LD006. 

This anomaly is the strongest detected in the whole programme and suggests a significant sulphide mineral accumulation not yet tested. This target will be drill tested in the next drill programme.

Drill Holes LLSD008 & 009

Assay results have now been received for the remaining two holes drilled immediately before Christmas 2010.  Holes LLSD008 & 009 were drilled to test speculative targets some  300m and 470m south west of the E1 prospect in the E1 sedimentary package. No significant results were returned from either hole.

Follow Up Drilling

A programme of follow up drilling at Long Lake is now being planned and a further announcement will be made when drilling is due to start.

Drilling targets identified so far include the depth and along-strike extensions of mineralisation at the Mine site, the near surface geophysical anomalies described above, and Anomaly 23. Drill testing at the E1 prospect will follow a programme of re-sampling of the 1980s drill core.

Various maps and images illustrating features discussed in this release are available on the Company's website at: 

http://www.sunriseresourcesplc.com/longlake_project.html

The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009.   Mr Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.

Notes to Editors

About the Long Lake Project

The Company holds a three year option, effective 5 May 2010 to acquire the Long Lake claim group located to the south-west of Sudbury.  The claims are being explored for gold and also for nickel-copper-platinum group elements.

Since 1883 the Sudbury mining field has accounted for over 25% of the world's total nickel production and new discoveries continue to be made. It is the most productive nickel-mining field in the world with over 1.7 billion tonnes of past production, reserves and resources.  Nickel-copper-and platinum group metals ("PGM") bearing sulphide minerals occur in and around a 60 km by 27 km elliptical igneous body called the Sudbury Igneous Complex ("SIC"). 

The claims include a potential 10km extension to the producing Copper Cliff offset dyke system prospective for nickel-copper-platinum group metals, where, north of the Company's Property, the producing Copper Cliffs South mine and the Copper Cliff North mine have yielded over 200 million tonnes of ore and Vale Inco Limited's Clarabelle Mill, Copper Cliff Smelter and Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery are located in close proximity.

The Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Property by making staged payments totalling Can $575,000 over a three year period, by meeting exploration expenditures of Can $500,000 in that period and by issuing up to 5,000,000 five year share warrants exercisable at 0.675p per share. The vendor retains a 3% Net Smelter Return royalty over the property of which 2% may be purchased by the Company at any time for the sum of Can$3 million.

 

END

 

 

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