Oropa updates N. Sumatra gold project activity
Thursday, April 30 2009 - 03:13 AM WIB
REVIEW OF OPERATIONS
Pungkut Gold Project, North Sumatra (75%)
Oropa announced on 15th January 2009 that the Indonesian government had granted Oropa?s 75% owned subsidiary PT Sorikmas Mining?s advanced Pungkut gold project an extension of time available for the exploration stage of the Contract of Work (?COW?) until 6 October 2009. Further extensions of the exploration stage of the CoW are possible at the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources? discretion; otherwise the project will advance to the feasibility stage for the CoW.
Major field activity was suspended during the quarter while Oropa consolidated it?s financial position. Low level field activity concentrated on following up regional targets for which insufficient field work had been conducted previously and maintaining existing infrastructure and community relations.
Following the positive results of the Scoping Study completed by SRK Consultants (Australasia) Pty Ltd (?SRK?) as to the feasibility of mining the combined Sihayo 1 North and Sambung Inferred Resources, Oropa intends to concentrate it?s immediate drilling program on near-resource exploration, and is in the process of developing a strategy for infill drilling of Sihayo 1 North. Success in near resource exploration will increase the likelihood of mine viability, and infill drilling is required to increase the resource confidence from ?Inferred? to ?Indicated? or ?Measured? status as will be necessary for a bankable feasibility study. At quarter end the drill rig was mobilised for exploration drilling at the Old Camp Area, to test for likely extensions to the existing resource, based on previous work that suggests potential for an extension 600 metres NW through to the Sihayo 2 prospect.
Regional exploration work, comprising mapping and sampling of possible mineralised units previously identified through reconnaissance stream sediment sampling, has commenced in the South Block of the Pungkut CoW and this will be continued into the next quarter. Of particular interest are indications of high grade gold mineralisation in epithermal quartz veins in the South Block.
Prior to the planning of future drilling at Hutabargot Julu additional preliminary work, including surface mapping and sampling, along with petrological analysis, is planned to aid the targeting of possibly deeper sources to the gold mineralisation already identified. (end of edited excerpt)
Editor?s note:
The company has outlined a mineral inventory of in excess of 1 million ounces of gold at Pungkut. Oropa has 75 percent stake in Pungkut gold project, with IDX-listed state owned miner PT.Aneka Tambang holding the balance.