Eurasia Mining PLC
17 February 2003
Eurasia Mining plc has signed an exclusive heads of agreement to jointly develop
the Ametistovoye gold deposit, located in the Russian Far East. The deposit is
estimated to contain a mining reserve of 4,410,000 tonnes at a grade of 10.5
grams/tonne, totalling approximately 1.4 million ounces of gold. Metallurgical
work indicates that at least 95% recovery can be achieved using conventional
metallurgy.
The deposit is located in the Koryak district of the Russian Far East, about 190
km north-west of the port of Korf. Eurasia will spend the next two months
completing detailed due diligence, including an assessment of the potential for
early open pit development.
The heads of agreement have been signed with Ametistovoye's owner, CJSC
Koryakgeoldobycha, a local mining company that is currently mining alluvial
platinum group metals 100 km further east.
Eurasia Managing Director Christian Schaffalitzky said: 'We are very excited by
this project because of its high grades and rapid development potential. What
really makes it attractive is having a local partner with extensive experience,
infrastructure and modern mining equipment available nearby.'
Koryakgeoldobycha has already completed a feasibility study into the development
of the Ametistovoye reserve which is based on the Russian reserve estimation
system and assumes conventional underground mining methods. As part of its due
diligence, Eurasia is reviewing this development plan with a view to the
application of semi-mechanised mining and has also commenced a review of the
potential for open pit mining to enhance overall project economics.
In a second transaction also falling under the heads of agreement,
Koryakgeoldobycha has agreed the joint exploration of a large area in Kamchatka
called Kumroch, some 650 km south-west of Ametistovoye. Details of this project
are reported in a separate release.
Mr Schaffalitzky said: 'Ametistovoye is the first step in Eurasia's new strategy
of building on its Russian experience and expanding its asset base. The company
will continue to seek to develop further opportunities over the coming months.'
The heads of agreement provide for Eurasia to lock in incremental positions for
staged cash and earn-in considerations consistent with economic returns expected
to be attractive by standards established for the sector. An initial payment of
$100,000 has been made to obtain exclusive access to the project for detailed
due diligence work and to meet the costs of establishing legal agreements which
will detail the relationship between the parties. The terms of the agreement
will be announced when they have been finalised, currently expected in April
2003.
Exploration work at Ametistovoye has included 60 kilometres of trenching,
137,000 metres of drilling and 13,255 metres of underground development. It
shows that the deposit is epithermal in origin and occurs in volcanic rocks
within an old caldera structure. Gold mineralisation occurs within semi-radial,
steeply dipping veins varying in thickness from 0.5 to 10 metres. In total, 80
veins are known of which 39 are mineralised and 17 contain economic grades. The
veins can extend over a kilometre in length but the zones of economic interest
average 300 to 400 metres. Of the total resource 70-80% of the mineralisation
occurs in 4 major vein sets. The deposit is located close to the surface and the
reserve has been calculated down to 250m. The potential for developing the
deposit further at depth remains in parts of the vein sets. Gold mineralisation
occurs within altered volcanic rocks and quartz, with low silver grades.
Koryakgeoldobycha began mining alluvial platinum in the district in 1994 and has
been producing up to 6 tonnes of platinum concentrate annually. The company
operates a modern fleet of Western equipment, and as production is in decline
the equipment is becoming available for other work. In addition, the alluvial
operation is only active in the summer months.
For further information contact:
Michael Martineau/Christian Schaffalitzky, Eurasia Mining PLC: +44 (0) 20 7976 1222
David Youngman, W H Ireland: +44 (0) 161 819 8743
Allan Piper, First City Financial Public Relations: +44 (0) 20 7436 7486
+44 (0) 7050 203 304
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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