Princess advances projects in Tanzania and China

With a drill program under way in Tanzania, Princess Resources (PRL-V) is awaiting government approval for several new projects in China.

The company recently signed two letters-of-intent in China’s Hunan province. The first, with the Shuikoushan Mining Bureau, involves the treatment of gold-bearing pyrite concentrate (produced as a byproduct from two lead-zinc mines), as well as the exploitation of oxidized gold deposits in the licence area.

The Chinese firm currently produces 50,000 tonnes of pyrite concentrate per year, with an average gold grade of 27 grams per tonne. Reserves are believed sufficient for a mine life of 13 years.

Princess believes the addition of a roaster and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant will boost annual gold production to 45,000 oz.

Based on Chinese estimates, the licence area contains a surface resource of 1.5 million tonnes of oxide mineralization grading 3.89 grams gold. Princess says the project area may have sufficient exploration potential to boost the resource to more than 1 million contained ounces.

The company estimates the treatment of the pyrite concentrate, plus mining of the oxide resource, will increase annual gold production to 90,000 oz.

The capital cost of adding a roaster, a crushing and grinding circuit, and the CIP plant is estimated at US$20 million. Once the letter-of-intent is approved, Princess intends to undertake a formal feasibility study for the expanded operation.

The company’s second letter-of-intent is with Xinxiang (a subsidiary of the Hunan Non-Ferrous Metal Exploration Bureau) and involves exploration of three laterite gold deposits in southern Hunan, near Ghenzou.

In southwestern Tanzania, Princess has started a 5,000-10,000-metre drill program at the 50-sq.-km Makongolosi B property in the Chunya region. The program is aimed at outlining large, low-grade gold deposits amenable to open-pit mining and heap-leach processing.

The licence areas cover a Proterozoic terrane, where gold is hosted in shear zones and dilational quartz veins. Work to date has involved mapping and sampling (rock, stream sediment and soil), followed by trenching and pitting.

Ground geophysical surveys have also been carried out on the licence area.

The main soil anomaly measures more than 4 km in length and 1.5 km in width.

More than 2,000 soil samples have been taken, a significant number of which returned gold values exceeding 1 gram. Grab samples range up to 12.25 grams gold.