www.chaarat.com
Chaarat Gold is an exploration and development company operating in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Company’s main activity is the development of the Kiziltash and Tulkubash projects situated within the Middle Tien Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, which form part of the Tien Shan gold belt. The Company has delineated a JORC compliant mineral resource of 4.406Moz at a grade of 4.20g/t gold across both projects. Chaarat's key objective is to become a low cost gold producer; with initial production from the Tulkubash project, targeting annual production of over 200,000 ounces per annum as the Kiziltash project comes on stream.
Chaarat Gold ups JORC-resource to 4Moz gold
Based on the results of 2009’s exploration season, Chaarat Gold (AIM: CGH) has increased the JORC compliant estimate tor the Chaarat project, by 670,000 ounces to 4.009m oz. The 2009 drilling results consisted of 25 new core drill holes totalling 5,357m and four cross-cuts totalling 307m, the drilling covered 11 project areas along a 6km strike length. The results were incorporated into the project’s resource database and SKR Consulting carried out the JORC-resource estimate.
Shares rose more than 10 percent on the news in early trade.
"We are delighted with this latest resource estimate on the wide mineralised zones at the Chaarat deposit. This continues to demonstrate the significant potential of the deposit which will allow the company to pursue a low cost gold mining operation”, Chaarat chief executive Dekel Golan commented.
Recent infill-drilling, conducted in 2009, demonstrated the depth and width continuity of the geological boundaries of the Main and Contact Zones, consequently increasing the volume of the mineralisation compared with the previous resource estimates, Chaarat said.
At the wholly owned project in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Indicated and Inferred Resource has increased by 670,000oz from 3.339Moz (million ounces) in 2009 to 4.009Moz, based on a 2 grams per tonne (gpt) cut off. The majority of the 2009 drilling took place on the C5300 project area, where the resource increased by over 35% to 1.345Moz and the mineralization remains open in all directions. The C5300 project area is the northernmost of the three areas along the Contact Zone ore body.
According to Chaarat the proposed mine is likely to be a combined open pit and underground operation. “The significant investment in the underground development which includes an adit, drifts, drives and drilling chambers are serving as a platform to turn the C4600 and C5300 projects into one large mineralised body, which already includes over 1.7 million ounces, the majority of which are in the indicated category", Golan added.
In total the resource estimate is based on 191 holes, drilled on the three sub-parallel zones of mineralisation the Main, the Contact and the Tulkubash Zones. The zones are characterised by mineralisation up to 37m wide and dipping at 55-70 degrees to the northwest. The deepest drill intersections are on the C5300, C4600 and C4000 project areas, with 499m, 358m and 351m respectively. On the other eight project areas drilling is limited to depths of between 82-290m.
Chaarat said the mineralisation remains open down dip on all project areas, and among the majority remain open along strike also.
In future exploration the company said it will continue underground drilling on the C5300 project area, with the aim of increasing the resource further in the coming year. Chaarat also intends to convert the existing Inferred Resources to the Indicated category with future drilling.
