Ethan Minerals updates C. Kalimantan gold project activities
Thursday, September 16 2010 - 03:36 AM WIB
Gunung Mas Gold Project, Central Kalimantan
The Company is pleased to advise that it has secured an exclusive arrangement for up to six months to undertake Due Diligence and negotiate a potential transaction with the vendor. Due Diligence has commenced to determine the veracity of the existing technical data, tenure, etc.
Geology and Mineralisation
The Gunung Mas Project lies in Central Kalimantan near the Company?s Gold Tiger Project. The geology comprises andesitic intrusive, with metamorphic lying to the south. A large tonalite intrusive had intruded the entire package. Several basalt dykes and plugs intrude the entire sequence.
Gold mineralisation is known along the contact between the tonalite and the metamorphics. This appears to be a stockwork style, with individual veins ranging from 5cm to im in width. Sulphides are not noted as a major constituent of the mineralisation located to date. Alluvial gold occurrences are also known to occur in active drainage to the south of the bedrock mineralisation.
Work Completed to Date
Work completed by the owners to date has consisted of geomorpholigical studies, surface geological mapping, surface sampling (soils, outcrops), aerial photography, landsat data interpretation, 40km of geological traverses, 227 stream sediment samples, 46 rock chip samples, 6 RC holes to a maximum depth of 100m each, numerous shallow auger holes and test pits. The latter were mainly to test for alluvial potential.
RC drilling has reportedly located values up to 115g/t over one metre intervals at 75 metres, with elevated values up and down hole. The precise details of this drilling will be determined during the Due Diligence Study which is currently underway. First pass appraisal of the available data suggests that this mineralisation has similarities to many other deposits widely known in the region and the company plans to complete the Due Diligence before undertaking any more detailed work.
Terms of transaction
Subject to satisfactory Due Diligence, the Company will negotiate terms to acquire the project. Whilst the Company is confident terms can be agreed, no assurance is given.
Gold Tiger Project, Central Kalimantan
The Company has completed its Technical Due Diligence, which included a site visit, extended field program, mapping, sampling and detailed evaluation/assessment of gold bearing alluvial areas.
Ethan?s Technical Due Diligence was designed to verify the results of a geological survey conducted by an independent Indonesian-based geological survey company in 2006, and in particular to provide an assessment of the project?s stated potential gold and minerals occurrences and more specifically the stated alluvial deposit gold reserve. The completion of the Technical Due Diligence was significantly delayed by both adverse weather and the data supporting the 2006 Independent Report not being released to Ethan by the Indonesian-based geological survey company.
The independent 2006 geological survey report indicated that the mining concession areas contained an estimated tonnage ranging between 100,000,000 and 200,000,000 of alluvial material at an estimated grade range between 5 g/t and 10 g/t gold. Over 500 samples were taken by the geological survey company during their field survey activities comprising of mapping, sampling for geochemistry and test pit program. The reserve was calculated from sampling and analysis taken from seventeen (17) test pits. The 17 pits are 17 of a total of 26 pits excavated in the overall project area. The only information provided relating to the test pit program is in summary and table form. No data on sampling methodology, sample volume and sample preparation has been made available. Analysis method is simply stated as ?amalgamation?, no analysis methodology or original results report sheets data has been provided.
The Ethan Technical Team conducted their own test pit program in an attempt to reproduce the results of the 2006 Report.
In summary, the Technical Due Diligence confirmed that indications that gold bearing alluvials exist and their deposition may have been derived from hard rock sources within the project area and further afield.
However, the Ethan Technical Team concluded that more detailed work is required to better understand the project?s potential, including bulk sampling of the alluvial deposits identified and regional exploration of the primary hard rock potential.
Consequently the Ethan Board has resolved to terminate the existing Memorandum of Understanding relating to the Gold Tiger Project and is currently in negotiations with the vendor for a revised agreement covering the future development of the Project and in carrying out the exploration program recommendations of the Ethan Technical Team arising from the due diligence. (end of edited release)