PERTH, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2024 / Centamin announces the results of its maiden drill programme on the Company's Eastern Desert Exploration ("EDX") landholding in Egypt and provides an update on the anticipated exploration programme for 2024. The Company's EDX blocks comprise 3,000km2 of greenfield exploration tenements within Egypt's Nubian Shield - a highly prospective geological belt which has not been explored using modern exploration methods.
MARTIN HORGAN, CEO,commented:"Through the application of oursystematic approachto assessing the geological potential of our Egyptian exploration portfolio,ourteam has delivered anencouragingset ofmaidendrill resultsacross several targets within the Nugrus block, which is adjacent to our operating mine, the Sukari Gold Mine.
Supported by a pending new mining regulatory and fiscal regime, these results underpin Egypt's emergence as an attractive exploration jurisdiction which Centamin is uniquely positioned to leverage given our experience and long standing position in-country.
We have an exciting work programme budgeted for 2024which includes delineating potential resources and further drill targets in Egypt as part of our growth strategy, which has already increased pre-depletion Group reserves by 3.5Moz over the last three years."
DRILLHIGHLIGHTS
Centamin completed a 16,216 metre ("m") reverse circulation ("RC") maiden drill programme across eight targets on the Nugrus block which is located adjacent to the Sukari Mining Concession. Significant drill intercepts include:
· Little Sukari prospect (28km west of the Sukari Gold Mine):
- 46m at 3.3 grams per tonne of gold ("g/t Au") from 91m downhole
- 77m at 1.84 g/t Au from 44m
- 69m at 2.01 g/t Au from 81m
- 46m at 2.14 g/t Au from 116m
- 29m at 2.71 g/t Au from 2m
· Umm Majal prospect (23km west of Sukari Gold Mine):
- 18m at 2.33 g/t Au from 21m
- 15m at 1.46 g/t Au from 4m 8m at 2.67 g/t Au from 2m
- § 5m at 16.20 g/t Au from 44m
2024 EXPLORATION PROGRAMME
· Detailed geological mapping and ground geophysical (IP and magnetics) surveys to be carried out over the Nugrus prospects, Little Sukari and Umm Majal, in H1 2024.
· Up to 15,000 metres of RC and diamond core drilling budgeted for follow up drill testing at Little Sukari and Umm Majal, alongside preliminary metallurgical testing, a conceptual resource estimate and optimisation study to steer ongoing drilling. This programme may be expanded to include first pass drill testing of potential new Nugrus targets generated through ongoing exploration fieldwork.
· Results-driven exploration programme on the Um Rus block to be determined after receipt of the soil geochemistry results, expected in H1 2024.
· Bulk leach extractable gold ("BLEG") drainage sampling programme commenced on the Najd block in late December 2023 and will be ongoing throughout H1 2024.
· Generative exploration will continue across all the exploration licences, including soil geochemistry, rock chip sampling over gold-in-soil anomalies, and detailed geological mapping with the objective to identify new drill targets.
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