21st Nov 2005 07:01
Avocet Mining PLC21 November 2005 Avocet Mining PLC 7th Floor 9 Berkeley Street London W1J 8DW Tel +44 (0) 20 7907 9000 Fax +44 (0) 20 7907 9019 E-mail [email protected] www.avocet.co.uk News Release For Immediate ReleaseDate 21 November 2005 UPDATE AND DRILL RESULTS FROM THE IDENBURG JOINT VENTURE, INDONESIA Avocet Mining PLC ("the Company") is pleased to announce an exploration updateincluding drilling results from an initial 10 hole diamond drilling campaign atthe Idenburg JV in Indonesia. The Company has the right to earn a 51% interestin an Indonesian company, PT Iriana Mutiara Idenburg ("PT IMI"), by expendingUS$2.5 million prior to December 2006. PT IMI holds a 6th generation Contract ofWork ("CoW") with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. The Company hasalready spent US$1.35 million on work that will count towards the earn-inexpenditure. The CoW includes exploration and mining rights over 108,600 hectares(approximately 420 square miles) in the Idenburg area of Papua Province(formally Irian Jaya) on the island of New Guinea. New Guinea hosts some of theworld's largest gold deposits, including multi-million ounce reserves at theGrasberg and Porgera mines. The Company's objective for 2006 is to drill a number of targets, in theSua-Afley district, with the potential of hosting ore zones similar to thatalready identified by the initial 10 hole scout drilling programme at Sua,discussed below. Infill drilling will then follow to outline a resource base. Exploration this year has been conducted within an E-W elongate 6 x 3km areafrom Afley prospect in the west to the Sua prospect in the east where theCompany had identified several zones of high-grade mineralisation within a 400mstrike length and 500m width. Since June 2005 the focus has been on completingconcurrent programs of first-pass drilling at Sua and systematic ridge and spursoil sampling over the Kuaplu Ridge dividing the Afley and Sua prospects. Thefirst-pass 10 hole diamond drilling program totalling 1,373m, with 100m spacing,was completed at the Sua prospect to target down dip extensions of gold-bearingquartz-pyrite veins mapped in surface trench and creek exposures. Half drillcoresamples were analysed geochemically by PT. Superintending Company of Indonesia(Sucofindo) in Timika, an internationally recognised laboratory that servicesinternational mining companies throughout Indonesia. Mineralised interceptsoccurred in all holes except KSD009. Best results from fresh vein material were7.5m at 16.0 g/t Au from 21m in hole KSD002, 3.0m at 35.0 g/t Au from 107m inhole KSD008 and 3m at 17.7 g/t Au from 55m in hole KSD010. Stringer veinmineralisation in near surface oxidised zones was best represented in holeKSD001 with 13m at 2.86 g/t Au from surface and in hole KSD010 with 16m at 2.20g/t Au also from surface. Full drill results are listed in Table 1. More recently a total of 620 ridge and spur soil samples were collectedprimarily testing the Kuaplu Ridge area between Afley and Sua prospects. Adistinct soil anomaly was identified on the western flank of the main KuapluRidge where 5 adjacent soil samples recorded gold values ranging from 1.43 g/tAu to 3.55 g/t Au over a 125m segment of the ridge. Trenching is underway toelucidate the significance of this soil anomaly. A recent field review of the Sikrima zone in the Afley prospect noted high-gradegold vein material confined to small boudins with dimensions less than 2 x 5m.Outcropping vein segments returned assays including 3m at 13.0 g/t Au, 2m at12.1 g/t Au, 1m at 81.7 g/t Au, 0.30m at 166 g/t Au, 0.30m at 102 g/t Au, andgrab samples assaying 210 g/t Au and 71.8 g/t Au. The surface distribution ofthe mineralised boudin exposures appear to be within a 100m segment of apotential 2-3km NE trending structural envelope that extends up to Silia Creek.Previous regional work in Silia Creek collected rock float assaying 260 g/t Auand 49.8 g/t Au. Recent prospecting of inferred extensions 1km to the NE ofSikrima located additional outcropping vein material at three locations on SiliaRidge to the NW of Silia Creek and outside the ridge and spur soil tested area.A total of 12 rock chips were collected with best rock chip results from eachseparate location of 2m at 11.3 g/t Au and 0.55% Cu, and outcrops of 8.47 g/t Auand 19.6 g/t Au. A program of tape and compass controlled mapping and samplingalong with collection of ridge and spur samples is currently underway over SiliaRidge. The Bermol and Mafi prospects continue to represent the next generation oftargets within the CoW. Both lie on an under-explored, fifteen-kilometre longstructure. Previous channel sampling at Bermol returned 8m at 5.81 g/t Au, 6m at8.42 g/t Au, 8m at 5.78 g/t Au and 4m at 19.4 g/t Au. Scout drilling at Mafiintersected up to 12.6m at 8.00 g/t Au. Avocet is a mining company listed on the AIM market of the London StockExchange. The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration inMalaysia (as 100% owner of the Penjom mine, the country's largest goldproducer), Tajikistan (as 75% owner and operator of the Zeravshan Gold Company,Tajikistan's principal gold mine), and Indonesia (as 80% owner of the NorthLanut gold mine in North Sulawesi). Table 1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole From To Length Grade ID (m) (m) (m) (g/t Au)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------KSD001 0 13 13 2.86and 23 26 3 2.87and 33 38 5 1.69and 41 45 4 5.96incl. 44 45 1 18.0and 65 69 4 1.93KSD002 21 27.2 6.2 18.5incl. 25.6 27.2 1.6 52.5and 28 28.5 0.5 10.5and 79 80 1 17.0KSD003 74 75 1 3.08KSD004 41 42 1 1.76and 44 46 2 1.51and 123 124 1 33.8KSD005 80 89 9 4.00incl. 88 89 1 25.8and 95 97 2 2.16and 112 113 1 1.21and 118 119 1 1.96KSD006 20 21 1 1.30KSD007 32 33 1 1.26and 56 57 1 1.25and 66 67 1 1.71and 71 72 1 5.25KSD008 70 71 1 3.18and 107 110 3 35.0and 111 112 1 3.77KSD010 0 16 16 2.20and 28 30 2 1.87and 44 48 4 4.41incl. 44 45 1 13.8and 55 58 3 17.7incl. 55 57 2 24.2and 64 67 3 2.19and 74 75 1 1.39-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________________________________________________ For further information please contact: Avocet Mining PLC John Catchpole (Chief Executive) Jonathan Henry (Finance Director) 020 7907 9000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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