23rd Jan 2008 07:01
Stratex International PLC23 January 2008 Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining 23 January 2008 Stratex International Plc (Stratex or the "Company") Altintepe Drill Results Intersects Oxide Mineralisation with 62.6 metres grading 3.08 g/t Au Stratex International Plc, the AIM-quoted international exploration anddevelopment company focusing on gold and base metal opportunities in Turkey, ispleased to announce results of recent diamond drilling at its Altintepe* project("the Project") in north-eastern Turkey. It is the Company's aim tosignificantly increase the current Altintepe resource of 311,543 ounces (oz) ofgold (Au) and assess the true economic potential of the project. Drilling Highlights • 62.6 m grading 3.08 g/t Au • 98.9 m grading 1.37 g/t Au • 65.3 m grading 1.26 g/t Au • 63.7 m grading 0.54 g/t Au The initial results of the five drill holes are highly encouraging and reinforcethe Company's belief that the current defined resource at Altintepe of 311,543oz of gold can be significantly increased. Historical results from a previousoperator include a NI 43-101 compliant indicated resource for the Camlik EastZone of 1.2 Mt grading 1.87 g/t Au and an inferred resource of 3.16 Mt grading1.52 g/t Au (for a total 225,979 oz) using a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off. The first three holes (ST-CKE-DD-1, 2 and 3) were drilled on a north-south fenceline (East 365494) that includes historical drill holes ATDH-1 and KD-33, whichpreviously returned 93.6 metres grading 2.79 g/t Au and 45.5 metres with 1.0 g/tAu. The Stratex holes returned grades as follows: ST-CKE-DD 1 returned 98.9m grading 1.37 g/t AuST-CKE-DD 2 returned 63.7m grading 0.54 g/t AuST-CKE-DD 3 returned 27.8m grading 1.39 g/t Au ST-CKE-DD 4 was drilled as the first of a new fence line of holes on a section53m east of holes 1, 2 and 3 and returned 65.3 m grading 1.26 g/t Au. ST-CKE-DD5 was drilled on the same fence line and returned 62.6m from surface grading3.08 g/t Au. Total drilling to date amounts to 906 m with assay results still awaited for thesubsequent eight drill holes. These latest intersections are all from oxidemineralisation that extends from surface. Previous bottle roll and column leachtests on oxide material from the Camlik East Zone, carried out at the KappesCassidy & Associates Research Lab in Reno, Nevada, U.S.A, obtained very highgold recoveries averaging 96% with low sodium cyanide, lime and cementconsumption even for low grade ore material. It is the Company's intention toundertake further metallurgical test work on new samples generated by thecurrent Camlik drilling and surface sampling programme. Stratex Executive Chairman David Hall said, "These are excellent results and agreat start to our 2008 programme. The near-surface oxide nature of the CamlikEast Zone and the surface high grade gold of the Kayatepe Zone, also part of theAltintepe prospect, will allow rapid development of this project once weestablish the full scale of the resources on the property. With continuingactivity at Altintepe and Inlice and the developing district-scale Konya play,the Company looks forward to a very busy 2008. We firmly believe that ourquality portfolio positions Stratex to take advantage of a dynamic marketplacedemonstrated by the recent record highs of the gold price." Further Information Under the terms of the option with Teck Cominco's Limited's Turkish subsidiary "TCAM", Stratex can acquire 100% of the project by undertaking 2,000m ofdrilling by July 2008 and a total of 5,000m by July 2009. Subsequent toacquiring 100% of the project, TCAM can earn-back 51% by completing 10,000m ofdrilling within a 42 month period. If TCAM elects not to earn-back the interestit will retain a 1.5% Net Smelter Return ('NSR') royalty from any futureproduction. A portion of the property is held by a third party that also holdsa NSR royalty of 2.5% that can be reduced to 1.25% by a payment of US$750,000. The objective of the strategic association with Teck Cominco Limited is torapidly identify the potential for 2 million ounce gold systems that couldenhance the value of Stratex and add quality resource ounces for Teck Cominco todevelop. Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC Stratex's sampling of drill core and outcropping rocks conforms to industry-widegood practice, with drill core being split using a diamond saw and with chain ofcustody being observed for all samples. Analysis is undertaken by ALS Chemex atits laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, and Romania, and the Company maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the use of certified reference materials, fieldduplicates and blank samples in addition to monitoring of internal laboratorycheck-analyses. CEO Dr. Bob Foster, FIMM, CEng, is a Competent Person as defined by variousinternational instruments and takes responsibility for the release of thisinformation. * Altintepe - in Turkish alphabet there are two forms of the letter I. Theun-dotted version is pronounced "U" i.e. Altuntepe. * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.stratexinternational.com or contact: David Hall Stratex International Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650Bob Foster Stratex International Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650Anita Ghanekar Hanson Westhouse Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7601 6100Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0)20 7242 4477 Notes to editors: Stratex International Plc is an AIM-quoted exploration and development (E&D)company currently focusing on gold and base metal opportunities in Turkey. TheCompany's strategy is to discover and develop new projects by focused low-costexploration, thus adding maximum value prior to optioning/joint venturing orselling on to a dedicated mining company. In the event of a major discovery,Stratex has a strategic partner in Teck Cominco Limited that will ultimatelyenable Stratex to realise cash flow without being exposed to the higherfinancial cost of taking projects to bankable feasibility studies. Stratex has discovered the Inlice high-sulphidation gold deposit and announcedan initial resource of 372,971 oz at a cost of less than US$2 per oz. Stratex isnow further evaluating this deposit through additional resource drilling andexploration. Directed by a highly experienced resource sector management team,Stratex's activities will continue to identify quality mineral resources,primarily gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, zinc and nickel in Turkey but theCompany will also consider opportunities in other favourable jurisdictions. The mineral potential of the Inlice and surrounding Konya projects has beensubstantiated by the comparison by Dr. Richard Sillitoe with the Maricungadistrict in Chile. Prior to 1980, the Maricunga had no known copper or goldmineralization but subsequent exploration identified reserves and resourcestotalling 40 million ounces of gold. Stratex recently announced the joint venturing of the Konya project, excludingInlice, to TCAM. This agreement commits TCAM to US$1 million of explorationexpenditures in Year 1 under Stratex management and provides the option toacquire 51% of the project by incurring further expenditures of US$2 million inthe subsequent two years. The agreement provides independent confirmation of theexploration potential of the Konya Volcanic Belt and, given that Stratex hasonly expended approximately US$100,000 on exploration in the Konya area, is anexcellent example of how value can be added by focused and professionallydirected exploration. Stratex has identified the new paradigm in the resource sector whereby dedicatedexploration and development (E&D) companies partner mining companies. Theincreased cost, time and permitting of major mining projects is the realm ofdedicated mining companies, whereas E&D companies focus on the value-addingsearch for new resources. Teck Cominco Limited: The Company has a 'Strategic Alliance' with Teck Cominco Limited, a diversifiedmining company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Teck Cominco holds 8.8% ofthe Company. The alliance enables the two parties to pool expertise, skills anddatabases to identify potential projects. Technical and financial risks toStratex are also being reduced through the alliance with a major metal producerthat can provide additional project funding, a wealth of technical expertise,and is a ready buyer for new resources, thus ensuring rapid returns fromdiscoveries. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Oriole Resources