7th Dec 2010 07:00
7 December 2010
Triple Plate Junction Plc
("TPJ" or the "Company")
Vietnam Exploration Licence Given Go-ahead
TPJ to resume exploration of high-grade gold veins immediately
TPJ, the AIM-listed gold exploration company focused on South East Asia, is pleased to announce that the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment has formally registered the re-issue of mineral exploration rights over TPJ's Pu Sam Cap gold-copper project, following payment by the Company of fees and deposit in respect of the licence issue terms.
Teams have been immediately mobilized to re-establish TPJ's field operations, and to conduct additional geological sampling in preparation for drilling on identified high-grade gold vein targets in late February or early March 2011.
TPJ has a 70% interest in the Pu Sam Cap project in Lai Chau Province of north-western Vietnam; the remaining 30% being held by Vietnamese central and provincial state companies which are carried to completion of a feasibility study.
Pu Sam Cap has long been recognized as a large gold-copper mineralized centre. It has been estimated that in the 1990s some 3,000 local artisanal miners were extracting gold from a series of veins over an area covering 10 km2 centred at Bai Bang. Work by TPJ since 2005 has confirmed that these veins vary up to 2 metres in thickness and can be traced through a vertical interval in excess of 500 metres and along strike lengths ranging up to 2,000 metres. Rock chip sampling of outcrop has returned widespread high-grade values up to 126 g/t gold and sampling across the veins in near-surface underground workings gave an average value of 13.4 g/t gold. Scout diamond drilling on one of the veins intercepted a 2 metre interval at 7.9 g/t gold, including 1 metre at 12.4 g/t gold.
The first phase diamond drilling programme which is scheduled for early 2011 is designed to establish continuity of gold grade in the veins. If successful, the next phase of drilling will seek to define a preliminary inferred resource by the end of 2011.
Tony Shearer, TPJ's Chairman said, "The Vietnam project is one that TPJ has operational control over. It is a project that could delineate and deliver to the Company a gold resource relatively quickly if initial drilling results are encouraging".
WJS (Bill) Howell, BSc (Hons), FAusIMM as the competent person under the JORC 2004 code has reviewed this statement and authorised its release.
For further information, please contact:
Triple Plate Junction Plc +44 (0) 20 7602 1570
Tony Shearer
Daniel Stewart & Company plc +44 (0) 20 7776 6550
Antony Legge / Oliver Rigby
Financial Dynamics +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Ben Brewerton / Oliver Winters
This announcement is also available on the Company's web site: www.tpjunction.com
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