20th Jul 2009 07:00
Norseman Gold plc / Epic: NGL / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration
NORSEMAN GOLD PLC
('Norseman Gold' or the 'Company')
Resource Drilling and Third Mine Update - July 2009
Norseman Gold, the AIM-listed and ASX-listed Australian gold production company, is pleased to provide an update on resource drilling at its two operating mines, Bullen and Harlequin. The Company also provides an update on its progress in identifying opportunities for a third mine, which it intends to develop, in order to bring its currently operating treatment plant towards its capacity.
Highlights
Significant drill intercepts from a potential new reef at Harlequin called Perch Reef including 2.3m @ 350.7 g/t gold (uncut, 178.6 g/t cut) from 56.2m including 0.3m @ 1,146.6 g/t gold (uncut) and 1.2m @ 7.6 g/t gold from 162.0m in drill-hole HD1763 Drilling at prospects in the vicinity of the OK Decline, including OK West, Golden Goose and Royal Coachman all intersect Norseman style reef. The drilling at Golden Goose has identified an extensive new structureApproval for the extension of the dewatering licence to commence the dewatering at North Royal is imminent
Mine Exploration
A number of results from the Harlequin underground diamond drilling conducted to test the Redfin Reef have been received. This drilling has discovered the existence of a potential new reef called the Perch Reef. The Perch Reef has developed in the footwall of Redfin and appears to strike alongside the plunge of the Redfin Reef. The development on the Redfin -280W Level has subsequently been extended to drive along the Perch Reef with a resultant payable zone in development of 30 metres of strike at an average reef width of 0.8m at an average grade of 145.8 g/t gold. At the end of June the development was suspended to allow the development of a hanging wall diamond drill cuddy. Once this is completed a programme of drilling will be conducted to further test the extent of both the Perch and the Redfin Reef. Significant results into the Perch and Redfin Reef from these holes include:
2.3m @ 350.7 g/t gold (uncut, 178.6 g/t cut) from 56.2m includes
0.3m @ 1,146.6 g/t gold (uncut) and1.2m @ 7.6 g/t gold from 162.0m in drill-hole HD1763
1.3m @ 284.8 g/t gold (uncut, 208.4 g/t cut) from 50.9m and
3.5m @ 1.9 g/t gold from 101.0m and
2.2m @ 25.2 g/t gold from 108.6m in drill-hole HD1766
1.4m @ 72.8 g/t gold from 74.1m includes
0.5m @ 222.0 g/t gold in drill-hole HD1770
0.3m @ 17.3 g/t gold from 110.6m in drill hole HD1797
Note: Cut grades are applied using the Redfin Reef statistics where grades above 300 g/t gold are cut to 300 g/t gold.
The area of the Perch and Redfin Reef under discussion had also been intersected in holes previously released in the Company's quarterly reports, as listed below;
0.8m @ 19.0 g/t gold from 177.3m in drill-hole HD1699
0.3m @ 19.2 g/t from 237.9m in drill-hole HD1704
The Company expects that drilling in the diamond drill cuddy will commence in the September quarter and results of this drilling will be analysed as it is received. The Perch Reef can potentially give the Harlequin Decline a complementary production source to the Redfin Reef which will allow the production from this mine to be further stabilised at present levels into the future.
Readers are advised to go to www.norsemangoldplc.com to view diagrams of the Perch and Redfin Reef including the location of intercepts.
At Bullen diamond drilling was undertaken on the Norseman Reef and on large remnant pillars on the Mararoa Reef. Significant intersections received to date include:
9.8 m @ 1.8 g/t gold from 248.0m including
1.0m @ 8.2 g/t gold from 250.0m in drill-hole BN609B
1.9m @ 15.3 g/t gold from 204.7m and
0.9m @ 11.2 g/t gold from 207.0m in drill-hole BN610
1.5 m @ 18.2 g/t gold from 36.5m and
0.9m @ 6.3 g/t gold from 44.3m in drill-hole BN618
There are assays pending on a number of completed holes at Bullen. The Company owned and operated underground diamond drill rigs are currently located at Harlequin Decline and OK Decline. The Board has approved the purchase of a third underground diamond drill rig and this unit is expected to be on site and operational at the Bullen Decline by late in the September quarter.
Regional Exploration & Third Mine Development
Exploration commenced with the drilling of targets within and around the OK Decline this quarter. The focus on improving the understanding of, and prioritising the next round of targets for resource drilling continued during the quarter particularly in the areas where drilling has commenced. Geological logging of drill holes has enabled the understanding of the structural controls of the targeted reef to be more fully understood and has allowed further targeting of potential high grade zones within the identified reef at OK West, Golden Goose and Royal Coachman.
North Royal
The dewatering equipment has been delivered to site and pipe-work has been installed. At the end of June the infrastructure component of the project was 90% complete with the final pump installation and adjoining pipe-work yet to be installed. A number of rainfall events during the quarter have delayed completion of this work.
The request for environmental approval to increase the dewatering rate at North Royal has progressed. A site inspection and meeting early in the September quarter between Company management and the WA Department of Environment and Conservation Officers had positive results and the Company is confident of approval for the extended licence in the quarter.
Dewatering of the open pit within the constraints of the current licence was commenced during the quarter and has resulted in the visible lowering of the water level in the pit. Unfortunately the delays in the progression of the dewatering of this project have caused the schedule to slip and it is unlikely that the resource drilling from the bottom of the northern end of the North Royal pit will take place prior to January 2010.
OK Mine
The refurbishment of the decline was completed during the quarter and diamond drilling into the OK West target commenced. The drilling to date has completed 7 of 24 drill holes with assay results for 3 holes received. All holes have encountered reef of varying thicknesses with no significant assays received to date. Drilling will continue during the September quarter.
Concurrent with the underground drilling programmes, surface drilling commenced on two targets in the vicinity of the OK Decline. These targets, if the drilling is successful would be easily accessible from the OK workings and consequently have a high priority with in the current exploration strategy.
The first target, Golden Goose, is located approximately 670m from the OK workings. At the quarter end 10 holes of a 20 hole programme have been drilled with assays received for 5 holes. No significant assays have been received but all holes that have intersected the target location (the drilling of 2 holes was terminated due to deviation away from the target zone) showed reef intersections within the core at the target zone. The focus of the drilling is now on identifying the continuity of the structure from the current location back to the OK workings and identifying high grade zones within the reef. Intersections were also received within the pre-collar drilling of these holes although these results have yet to be analysed.
The second target, Royal Coachman, was drilled with 7 holes of which assays have been returned for 4 of the holes with no significant assays received. All holes intersected reef and the results confirm that the reef conforms to the proposed model. A drilling programme is now being designed to drill this reef from an underground location of the OK Decline, a more cost effective method of exploring this reef. This will be targeting potential high grade sections of this reef.
The continued analysis of the data being generated from the drilling at OK has identified a number of other targets that can be potentially drilled from underground locations. Once drill proposals have been generated for these targets they will be ranked and executed depending on their ranking.
Crown Reef
The Crown Reef was not advanced during the quarter as the drilling programme at the Crown Reef will commence following the completion of the drilling at the OK Decline.
The Company is pleased with the success of the current drilling programmes in identifying the existence of the reef and drilling will now focus on identifying mineable high grade zones within the identified reef.
An interview with the Managing Director regarding this release can be found at Boardroom Radio on the following link http://www.brr.com.au/event/58700
Competent Persons - Consent for Release
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is based on data generated by employees of Central Norseman Gold Corporation Limited who have the relevant experience and qualifications to qualify as competent persons.
The parts of this report that relate to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves were compiled by Barry Cahill using that data. He is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". He has consented to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.
Forward-Looking Statements
This regulatory news release contains certain forward looking statements, which include assumptions with respect to future plans, results and capital expenditures. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information may prove to be incorrect. All such forward looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Please refer to the Company's Admission Document available from the Company's web site for a list of risk factors. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive there from. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release.
* * ENDS * *
For further information visit www.norsemangoldplc.com or contact:
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David Steinepreis
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Norseman Gold Plc
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Tel: 44 7913 402 727
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Barry Cahill
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Norseman Gold Plc
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Tel: +61 (0) 8 9473 2200
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Guy Wilkes
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Ocean Equities Ltd
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Tel: 020 7786 4370
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William Vandyk
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Astaire Securities Plc
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Tel: 020 7448 4400
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Hugo de Salis
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St Brides Media & Finance Ltd
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Tel: 020 7236 1177
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E-mail [email protected]
Note to editors:
Norseman Gold plc is an AIM listed Australian gold production company, which acquired the Norseman Gold Project in May 2007, Australia's longest continually running gold operation. The Norseman Gold Project is located in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia in the highly prospective Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt, 725km east of Perth and 186km from Kalgoorlie.
Gold was first found on the Norseman field in 1894 and over the last 65 years it has produced over 5.5 million oz of gold. The mine is currently producing from two high-grade narrow-vein underground mines - the Bullen and the Harlequin. Currently, it has a total resource inventory of 3.7 million oz of gold at an average grade of 5.5 g/t.
The tenements cover a 1,614 sq km area centred on the Norseman Township. The landholding comprises 179 contiguous tenements consisting of 13 Exploration Licences, 106 Mining Licences, 45 Prospecting Licences, 15 Miscellaneous Licences and 29 Mining Lease Applications.
The Company's strategy is focused on extending the mine life through the conversion of resources into reserves and identifying additional resources and obtaining additional ore for the operating mill through re-treatment of tailings or acquisitions of alternative sources of ore.
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Norseman Gold