Ashburton updates Halmahera gold project
Monday, August 1 2011 - 03:22 AM WIB
Obi Gold Project
Diamond drilling at Obi commended on 3 June, with the initial drill pad situated on the eastern flank of Ambon Hill, at the southern part of the Ambon artisanal goldfield.
To date, a total of 1,120 m of core drilling has been completed. The rig is currently drilling the fifth hole, drill hole OAD 05.
Drilling is ongoing around the clock on a 2 x 12hr shift basis, with 10 m to 15 m production per shift. The programme is expected to take a further two months to complete.
Samples will be dispatched on a batch basis by airfreight to Perth for analysis through ALS Laboratories. The initial round of results is not expected for at least 4 - 6 weeks.
Drilling to date has identified a sub-horizontal host rock sequence of tuffaceous sediments, andesite, flow breccia and peperite - a volatile-rich vesicular andesitic tuff with entrained polymict crystal and lithic clasts. The host sequence contains variable zones of mineralisation marked by pervasive hematite, disseminated pyrite, occasional malachite, azurite and galena.
In the southern part of the prospect, gold mineralisation appears to be principally related to zones of intense fracturing and swarms of quartz-carbonate veinlets (sub 1 cm), which occasionally carry visible gold. Alteration is seen to extend for up to 80 m down hole, with varying intensity internal to the zone. The most intense intervals show pronounced alteration containing galena, pyrite, silica, carbonate and hematite of a style as directly observed within some underground artisanal workings.
Further to the north, drilling has intersected mineralisation associated with a clast-supported hydrothermal breccia displaying sulphide-pyrite-silica-hematite alteration of the matrix and with internal quartz-hematite veins up to 20 cm thick.
These very positive and exciting results to date confirm the widespread extent of mineralisation at Ambon. However, as there are no assay results available it is not possible to make any inference as to the tenor of gold mineralisation associated with these findings.
Consequent on the information gathered so far, a second drilling rig has been ordered to accelerate the drilling programme Specific timing of the arrival of the second rig is not yet known but is expected to be in 2-3 weeks? time.
During the Quarter, the Company made the third, and final, payment to the owner of the IUP (exploration licence) PT Eka Samudra Nusantara (?ESN?) of US$500,000 (A$442,000), as per the terms of the heads of agreement between ESN and the Company.
The Company?s remaining obligation is to expend US$1 million on exploration over the IUP by 10 December 2011 to earn the right to acquire a 51% equity interest in ESN by the payment of US$2 million and the issue of 30 million fully paid shares in the capital of the Company. (end of edited excerpt)