| Wed 13 May 2009, 8:00 | | AEA - African Eagle Resources Plc - In-House Modelling Of African Eagle`s |
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AEA
AEA
AEA - African Eagle Resources Plc - In-House Modelling Of African Eagle`s
Igurubi Project In Tanzania Outlines A 700,000oz Gold Deposit
African Eagle Resources plc
(Incorporated in England and Wales, registered number 3912362)
AIM share code: AFE & AIM ISIN: GB0003394813
JSE share code: AEA & JSE ISIN: GB0003394813
IN-HOUSE MODELLING OF AFRICAN EAGLE`S
IGURUBI PROJECT IN TANZANIA OUTLINES A 700,000OZ GOLD DEPOSIT
- Modelling outlines a 700,000 ounce gold deposit
- Considerable upside potential, including four prime drill ready targets
- Partner sought to advance exploration
African Eagle Resources today announces it has calculated an "in-house"
figure of 700,000 ounces of gold at its Igurubi project in Tanzania, based
on polygonal deposit modelling using drill data from 2005 to 2008.
African Eagle`s Managing Director Mark Parker, comments "Our geologists`
detailed evaluation of the exploration data from Igurubi has paid dividends,
showing that the project hosts a significant gold deposit. Although the
drill data are not detailed enough to support a formal resource estimate,
the modelling gives strong indications of the potential for least 700,000
gold ounces. It also shows us exactly where confirmation drilling is
required.
"African Eagle`s priority for 2009 remains our major nickel discovery at
Dutwa, so we shall be looking for a partner to join us in the development of
Igurubi. The new evaluation nonetheless contributes significantly to our
growing asset base in Tanzania."
The Igurubi project area hosts a suite of north-west trending quartz veins
over a strike length of at least 6km. African Eagle investigated several of
these veins between 2005 and 2008, drilling 166 air core and 76 reverse
circulation drill holes for a total of 15,574m. See below for an outline of
the project and our web site for more detail and maps.
(www.africaneagle.co.uk/african-eagle-projects-igurubi.html)
To make an "in-house" estimate of the potential size of the deposit, African
Eagle`s geologists conducted polygonal deposit modelling using Micromine
software, constructing 54 sections along the principal mineralised vein set.
They then interpolated the outlines of the "ore shells" along strike between
the sections and extrapolated them down dip to 100 -150m depth. The table
below gives the results obtained using a 1g/t gold lower cut-off and a 15g/t
"top cut" of high grade intercepts. The estimate proved generally robust
when tested using alternative cut-off and top-cut values.
Volume SG Tonnage Grade g/t Ounces
2,933,242 2.7 7,919,754 2.76 701,575
These results do not constitute a resource conforming to the JORC or SAMREC
Codes because the drilling is relatively widely spaced and continuity of the
mineralisation could not be established with full confidence on some
sections. Nonetheless, the result indicates that the area has a significant
gold endowment and would be very likely to reward further exploration.
A number of parallel reefs and structures remain to be fully investigated,
notably a probable extension of the main mineralised zone southward beneath
Quaternary lake sediments. Three other prime drill ready targets are: a 5km
zone along the granite greenstone contact to the north-east of the known
mineralisation, which may host "blind" gold zones; the northwest extension
to the main reef zone, where reconnaissance RC drilling returned
intersections of 7.33g/t over 6m and 4.85g/t over 3m; and a soil geochemical
target 1 km west of the main reefs, where rock chip sampling by African
Eagle returned values up to 27.33 g/t gold and artisanal workers have
previously mined gold.
The Company is actively seeking a partner to advance the project while it
focuses on its Dutwa Nickel laterite project in line with its 2009 strategy.
Qualified Person
Information in this report relating to exploration results is based on data
reviewed by Mr Christopher Davies BSc, MSc, DIC, FSEG, FAusIMM, Operations
Director for African Eagle, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, has more than 28 years relevant experience in mineral
exploration and is a Qualified Person under AIM rules. Mr Davies consents to
the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it
appears.
Technical terms
A glossary of technical terms used by African Eagle in this announcement and
other published material may be found at www.africaneagle.co.uk/african-
eagle-projects-glossary.html
For further information:
Mark Parker
Managing Director
African Eagle
+44 20 7248 6059
+44 77 5640 6899
Nicola Marrin
Seymour Pierce Limited, London
Nominated Adviser
+ 44 20 7107 8000
Charmane Russell
Russell & Associates, Johannesburg
+ 27 11 8803924
+27 82 8928052
Ed Portman / Leesa Peters
Conduit PR, London
+44 20 7429 6607
+44 77 3336 3501
About African Eagle
African Eagle is a diversified mineral exploration and development company
operating in eastern and central Africa. The Company`s principal advanced
projects are the Mkushi Copper Mines project in Zambia, for which a draft
Feasibility Study was completed in Q4 2008, and the Dutwa nickel laterite
discovery in Tanzania, where the Company announced a significant resource at
the end of 2008.
African Eagle has also defined a gold resource estimated at half a million
ounces at the Miyabi gold project in Tanzania, and is evaluating a second
promising nickel laterite deposit which it recently discovered in Tanzania.
The Company holds a well-balanced portfolio of promising earlier stage gold
and base metal projects, including the Ndola and Mokambo projects in the
Zambian Copperbelt.
Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the sites of African Eagle`s projects, are
all countries which have highly prospective geology, relatively low above-
ground risks and track records of successful major investments in the metals
and minerals industries.
African Eagle specialises in project generation and exploration. To take its
discoveries into production, it seeks to sign up industry partners with
records of successful mine development. These joint ventures and, in time,
the revenue from advanced projects, will finance future exploration and new
discoveries.
About Igurubi
The Igurubi project is located in the eastern part of the Nzega Greenstone
Belt of the Lake Victoria Goldfields, about 60km east of the Golden Pride
Mine. The southern part of the area hosts a number of richly mineralised
quartz reefs, extending over at least 6km strike length within sheared and
altered porphyritic granite near a contact with greenstones.
The project comprises three prospecting licences totalling 111km?, in which
African Eagle has a current 75% interest. Several Primary Mining Licences
exist within the area, and the Company has exploration agreements covering
the majority of these.
Most of the licence areas are covered by lake-bed sediments deposited during
wetter climatic periods during the ice ages, but granite and greenstone
rocks outcrop in much of the southern part of the project area. The contact
between these lithologies is sheared and the granite, which is strongly
altered, contains a suite of northwest trending gold-bearing quartz veins.
The main gold zone contains at least three mineralised structures, extending
over a strike length of at least 5.5km and open at both ends. African Eagle
has investigated these structures by drilling and parts of them support
artisanal gold workings.
The northern part of the area, though largely concealed by lake sediments,
is believed to be largely underlain by greenstones: inliers of Banded Iron
Formation crop out through the sediments.
The area attracted African Eagle`s attention because of its artisan mines
and because the gold shows an association with copper, like that seen at
Barrick Gold`s Bulyanhulu and Buswagi mines in Tanzania. The presence of
gold veins in altered porphyritic granite also has echoes of Buswagi.
African Eagle has compiled and synthesised a good deal of survey data from
previous explorers and completed extensive follow up geophysical,
geochemical and geological mapping of its own. The Company has also drilled
76 reverse circulation (RC) and 166 air core (AC) holes for a total of
15,574m, targeting the known gold reefs. Of these, 43 RC holes and 33 AC
holes intersected gold mineralisation of 0.5 g/t or greater over 3m or more.
Intersections include:
Hole ID From (m) Section (m) Grade (g/t)
IGRC-05 60 3 6.8
IGRC-12 69 4 14.2
including 2 24.8
IGRC-20 109 6 7.3
IGRC-26 31 6 7.0
IGRC-36 82 3 6.3
African Eagle`s drilling has shown that the gold mineralisation extends
beneath the lake sediments south from the known structures.
In early 2009, African Eagle`s geologists made an "in-house" estimate of the
potential size of the deposit, by polygonal deposit modelling using
Micromine software. They constructed 54 sections along the principal
mineralised vein set and then interpolated the outlines of the "ore shells"
along strike between the sections and extrapolated them down dip to 100 -
150m depth. The table below gives the results obtained using a 1g/t gold
lower cut-off and a 15g/t "top cut" of high grade intercepts. The estimate
proved generally robust when tested using alternative cut-off and top-cut
values.
Volume SG Tonnage Grade g/t Ounces
2,933,242 2.7 7,919,754 2.76 701,575
These results do not constitute a resource conforming to the JORC code for
reporting of mineral resources and reserves, because the drilling is
relatively widely spaced and continuity of the mineralisation could not be
established with full confidence on some sections. Nonetheless, the result
indicates that the area has a significant gold endowment and would be very
likely to reward further exploration.
A number of reefs and structures remain to be fully investigated, including:
- A 5km zone along the interpreted sheared granite greenstone
contact parallel and to the north-east of the known
mineralisation, which may host "blind" gold zones masked by
silcrete.
- The southeast extension of the main mineralised zone beneath
Quaternary lake sediments.
- The northwest extension of the main reef zone, where
reconnaissance RC drilling returned intersections of 7.33g/t over
6m and 4.85g/t over 3m.
- A soil geochemical target 1 km west of the main reefs, where rock
chip sampling by African Eagle returned values up to 27.33 g/t
gold and artisanal workers have previously mined gold.
The Company is actively seeking a partner to advance the project while it
focuses on its Dutwa Nickel laterite project in line with its 2009 strategy.
13 May 2009
Sponsor
Nedbank Capital
Date: 13/05/2009 08:00:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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