Vancouver —
The expansion is based on 10,700 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling.
The measured and indicated resource now stands at 166 million tonnes averaging 1.13 grams gold, or 6.05 million contained ounces. The inferred resource is pegged at 69 million tonnes averaging 0.81 gram gold, or 1.8 million oz.
These calculations are based on a cutoff grade of 0.4 gram gold per tonne and include data from more than 29,900 metres of drilling and trenching. About 828,000 oz. gold occur in oxide material, with the balance being in primary ore.
Metallurgical tests by Kappes Cassiday & Associates in Reno, Nev., estimate gold recoveries of 86% for the oxide material and 73% for primary ore.
Annually, over the first four years of mining, Kisladag expects to crush 5 million tonnes of ore, from which 130,000 oz. gold will be produced. Annual production will then be ramped up to about 10 million tonnes, from which more than 250,000 oz. will be produced.
An environmental impact assessment will be submitted to the Turkish government in mid-December, with a feasibility study due in March 2003.
Brumal project
Meanwhile, at the Brumal gold project in Brazil, 5 km from Eldorado’s Sao Bento mine, drilling has failed to outline sufficient near-surface mineralization to support mining.
Eldorado sunk 10 holes totalling 3,069 metres. Although previous drilling over a 600-metre strike length returned encouraging gold intercepts, the recent drilling failed to establish mineral continuity between the holes. Highlights include the following:
r Hole 1 – 3.8 metres grading 32.2 grams gold per tonne at a down-hole depth of 129.1 metres.
r Hole 2 — 1.7 metres grading 3.92 grams gold at 349.7 metres down-hole.
r Hole 3 — 0.9 metre grading 3.2 grams gold at 198.2 metres down-hole.
r Hole 4 — 5.8 metres grading 3.6 grams gold at 116.5 metres down-hole.
r Hole 5 — 5.2 metres grading 22.82 grams gold at 151.7 metres down-hole.
r Hole 7 — 1.6 metres grading 3.15 grams gold at 331.9 metres down-hole.
r Hole 9 — 0.75 metre grading 21.34 grams gold at 119.5 metres down-hole.
Based on these results, Eldorado intends to test the deeper portion of the mineralization next year. (Holes 6, 8 and 10 failed to return any significant mineralization.)
Earlier drilling located the mineralized horizon within the banded iron formation, 500 metres below the surface. The deepest hole intersected 13.3 grams gold per tonne over a true width of 3.6 metres at a vertical depth of 475 metres. Three ore horizons similar to the nearby Sao Bento mineralization exist close to the upper and lower contacts of the main iron formation.
Situated in Minas Gerais state, the property was picked up by Eldorado under a deal with
CVRD retains a sliding-scale net smelter return royalty of 1-4% on any output greater than 500,000 oz.
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