International Annax spots large conductor at Lae Jehe

Vancouver — International Annax Ventures (IAX-V) has discovered a promising deep conductor near the Anjing Hitam lead-zinc deposit on its Dairi property in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

A down-hole electromagnetic geophysical program on the 3.5-km-long Sopokomil trend outlined four zones, the most significant being Lae Jehe. The conductor is below the sulphide intercepts in holes 52 (1.3 metres grading 12.9% zinc and 8.9% lead) and 54 (3 metres grading 5.5% zinc and 3.3% lead).

Meanwhile, at the Dang Takkas zone, Annax has outlined a southwest-dipping conductor. Crews intersected the near-surface portion in hole 20, which cut only anomalous zinc and lead in carbonaceous shales and siltstone. The conductor appears to dip beneath hole 37.

Follow-up mapping and soil sampling at the Pondok Gambir zone have confirmed the presence of a sedimentary-exhalative horizon in the shales. The horizon hosts high-grade oxide zinc and lead mineralization previously reported in the Loren prospects. Grid soil sampling has defined three sub-parallel zinc-lead soil anomalies that measure 450 metres long by 10-30 metres wide. Geochemical values exceed 2,000 parts per million zinc and 5,000 ppm lead. These are coincident with exposed mineralization that grades up to 37.9% zinc and 0.08% lead, plus 24 grams silver per tonne, over 5 metres.

Sampling at the Sinar Pagi prospect, in the northwest portion of the Dairi property, yielded 36.4% lead and 1,130 grams silver, as well as 23.5% lead and 270 grams silver.

The Dairi project comprises a seventh-generation contract-of-work (CoW) covering 220 sq. km and a Kuasa Pertambanggan (land permit) of 136 sq. km. For the past year, Annax has been exploring along the 3.5-km-long Sopokomil trend for more mineralization and advancing the Anjing Hitam deposit. The exploration phase of the CoW expires in February and the company has made an application for a one-year extension. Annax holds an 80% interest in the project, with the remainder held by PT Aneka Tambang, Indonesia’s state-owned mining company.

In December 2001, the Regent of Dairi and the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources reached an agreement to combine the CoW and the KP properties. “We decided to combine the Contract of Work with the KP to put it all into one larger concession and handle it all through one regulatory body,” says Wayne Roberts, vice-president of exploration at Annax.

The last round of drilling outlined an indicated resource of 7.5 million tonnes grading 16.7% zinc, 10.3% lead and 14 grams silver per tonne. The inferred resource is 2.5 million tonnes grading 11.3% zinc, 6.8% lead and 13 grams silver, and the zone remains open along strike and downdip to the east. Mineralization is hosted in a 30-to- 140-metre-thick sequence of carbonaceous shales and siltstones that strikes northwest and dips 35-60 to the northeast. The mineralized beds appear to flatten out at depth.

Delays in the issuance of forestry operating permits have hampered work progress at Dairi. The permits are expected to be granted pending an inquiry instituted by the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy into mining and exploration activities on forestry reserves throughout Indonesia.

In the event of a positive feasibility study, the main Anjing Hitam zinc-lead deposit would be an underground mine and so would not be subject to the current restrictions on open pit mining in forest reserves.

Recently, the company inked a deal with its controlling shareholder, Australian-based Herald Resources, to become Herald’s wholly owned subsidiary. According to the deal, Herald will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Annax in return for Herald shares. Each Annax share will be exhanged for one Herald share. International Annax is working on obtaining shareholder and regulatory approval for the business combination.

“We will not do any serious exploration or drilling on [Dairi] in the next month to month and a half,” says Roberts. “The merger will take precedence.”