Tournigan steps closer to pot of gold (August 02, 2004)

Vancouver — Tournigan Gold (TVC-V) has hired AMEC to perform a prefeasibility study of its Curraghinalt project in northern Ireland.

Two previous scoping studies indicate the mine is viable based on the historical resource of 468,000 tonnes grading 16.97 grams gold per tonne, or 255,000 oz. gold, based on a cutoff of 6 grams gold and a minimum mining width of 1.25 metres.

AMEC will assess the project’s potential for producing 50,000 oz. gold per year, based on results from 17,000 metres of drilling (173 holes).

Over the past year, Tournigan completed more than 3,000 metres (23 holes) of infill drilling in an effort to advance the resource to the measured and indicated category. In the process, the company found a new extension and traced one vein past a shear zone. High-grade drill results include 4.32 metres grading 34.5 grams gold in hole 22 at a down-hole depth of 30.5 metres. The intercept included a 2.82-metre section of 52.8 grams gold.

Earlier this year, the company and its partner, European Gold Resources, were embroiled in a legal dispute over another Irish gold property. The companies had signed a binding letter agreement in 2002 that set out how Tournigan could earn up to a 75% interest in the Omagh property in Tyrone Cty., followed by a joint venture. Tournigan had presented an option agreement to European Gold, now known as Galantas Gold (gal-v), but that company refused to sign it.

The parties resolved their differences in March, when Tournigan agreed to release any interest in the Omagh gold property in return for Galantas’ releasing its claim for damages against Tournigan.

Tournigan also owns the Kremnica gold property in the Slovak Republic.