Vancouver — Fronteer Development Group (FRG-T, FRG-X) announced new drill results for its Agi Dagi gold project in northwestern Turkey that show significant gold mineralization in three new areas outside of a 2006 resource estimate boundary.
So far, 322 holes have been drilled, totalling 51,000 metres.
Expansion drilling in the previously explored Deli zone, on the northeast end of the site, yielded some strong results. Hole AD-272, 50 metres southwest of the 2006 Deli resource boundary, found one zone that averaged 3.95 grams gold per tonne over 11.5 metres and a second zone that averaged 3.25 grams gold over 12.6 metres, including a 5.3-metre section grading 6.49 grams gold. Other holes to the southeast and northeast of the previous boundaries also cut significant mineralization, with all mineralized zones lying at depths between 45 and 125 metres.
Wide step-out drilling in the Baba zone, in the southeast end of Agi Dagi, shows that this region also has expansion potential. A hole 140 metres north of the previous Baba resource boundary intersected 163.5 metres of 0.54 gram gold, starting at 3 metres down-hole depth, including 2.12 grams gold per tonne over 15 metres. Another hole, located on the southern edge of the Baba boundary, cut 7.5 metres of 4.35 grams gold.
Exploration also focused in on a new mineralized area called the Firetower zone, situated midway between the Deli and Baba zones. One of the Firetower holes intersected 0.6 gram gold per tonne over 25.5 metres (from 72 metres depth), including 0.93 gram gold over 10.5 metres.
“The results are in line with historical results that we’ve been getting over the past few years,” says Mark O’Dea, president and CEO of Fronteer. “It’s particularly encouraging that we’ve stepped out from last year’s resource boundaries to explore new areas, and we’re getting good intervals, thick intervals that are economic grade.”
The 2006 Agi Dagi resource estimate included 217,000 indicated oz. gold and 1.04 million inferred oz., as well as 425,000 indicated oz. silver and 4.7 million inferred oz. silver. O’Dea says the company expects to release an updated resource estimate, including the expanded and new areas, within a few weeks.
“That will put a pin in the project in a different place,” he says. “It will be pretty interesting to see.”
O’Dea says the Agi Dagi deposits lend themselves to open-pit mining.
Fronteer owns 100% of the Agi Dagi project, but Teck Cominco’s (TCK.B-T, TCK-N) Turkish subsidiary can earn a 60% interest by spending US$10 million on exploration before May 2008.
Another 21,500 metres of drilling are planned for 2007 with four drill rigs currently in operation.
Fronteer’s share price dropped 4.7% to US$12.95 on the announcement.
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