good project update after the bell
Sulliden issues updated NI-43-101 mineral resource at Shahuindo
Press Release: Sulliden Gold Corporation Ltd. –
TORONTO , Sept. 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Sulliden Gold Corporation Ltd. ("Sulliden", or the "Company") (SUE.TO) (SDDDF) (SUE.TO) announces the completion of an updated gold and silver Mineral Resource estimate completed by Mine Development Associates ("MDA") for its 100% owned Shahuindo Project in Peru (See Table 1).
Highlights from the new Mineral Resource:
- Measured and Indicated oxide gold mineral resources increase to 2,438,000 ounces
- Inferred gold mineral resources increase to 1,628,000 ounces
- Measured and Indicated silver mineral resources increase to 33,370,000 ounces
- Inferred silver mineral resources increase to 46,560,000 ounces
"We are pleased to have added 24% more material in the Measured and Indicated category since the last mineral resource estimation." said Stéphane Amireault, VP of Exploration for Sulliden. "The drilling we conducted in the Central Corridor also increased our knowledge of the geological nature of the area hosting the Mineral Resource, which will assist us in our future exploration efforts. In the last year, drilling activities at Shahuindo have mostly focused in the Central Corridor in preparation for the mine plan; however, we have located several other exploration targets, including the recently drilled North Corridor, which represent excellent short and medium term mineral growth opportunities for the Project."
The new Mineral Resource estimate will form the basis of the Feasibility Study, which is currently in the final stages of detailed engineering.
The Mineral Resources was calculated based on a block model that includes assay data from drill holes through to the end of December 2011 . Assay data from a total of 750 drill holes (for 132,000 metres drilled) were included in the updated Mineral Resource estimate. A summary of the results is provided in Table 1. The NI 43-101 Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.
Table 1 - Mineral Resource Summary
|
Gold
contained
(ounces) |
Gold
grade
(g/t) |
Silver
contained
(ounces) |
Silver
grade
(g/t) |
Tonnes (t) |
Gold
grade
Eq.g/t |
|
| Total Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources |
2,438,000 |
0.52 |
33,370,000 |
7.1 |
147,310,000 |
0.54 |
|
| Measured Mineral Resources |
| Oxide (Reported at 0.2 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
766,000 |
0.59 |
10,530,000 |
8.1 |
40,500,000 |
0.62 |
| Mixed*(Reported at 0.35 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
19,000 |
0.75 |
850,000 |
33.7 |
780,000 |
0.964 |
|
| Indicated Mineral Resources |
| Oxide (Reported at 0.2 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
1,624,000 |
0.48 |
21,080,000 |
6.3 |
104,840,000 |
0.51 |
| Mixed*(Reported at 0.35 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
29,000 |
0.77 |
910,000 |
23.8 |
1,190,000 |
0.92 |
|
| Total Inferred Mineral Resources |
1,628,000 |
0.71 |
46,560,000 |
20.4 |
71,000,000 |
1.20 |
|
| Inferred Mineral Resources |
| Oxide (Reported at 0.2 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
124,000 |
0.40 |
1,330,000 |
4.3 |
9,570,000 |
0.42 |
| Mixed* (Reported at 0.35 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
- - |
0.68 |
10,000 |
12.2 |
20,000 |
0.76 |
| Sulphide (Reported at 0.5 g/t AuEq cut-off) |
1,504,000 |
0.76 |
45,220,000 |
22.9 |
61,410,000 |
1.20 |
* The Mixed material is classified as a transition zone that contains both oxide and sulphide material. The cut-off grade was increased for the Mixed material to reflect the lower metallurgical recoveries that have been observed in the metallurgical test results of the transitional material. Mixed ore will be processed as oxides.
It should be noted that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please note that rounding of the numbers in the Mineral Resource table above may cause apparent inconsistencies.
Mineral Resource Calculation
The Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by MDA in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 using the following parameters.
- The stated Mineral Resource is fully diluted to 8m by 8m by 4m blocks and tabulated on gold-equivalent ("AuEq") grade cutoffs that are reasonable for deposits of this nature and for the expected mining conditions and methods.
- The oxidized and mixed material cutoffs (0.2g/t AuEq and 0.35 g/t AuEq) were chosen to capture mineralization that is potentially available to open-pit extraction and heap-leach processing. The higher cutoff applied to sulphide material (0.5g/t AuEq) reflects probable lower heap-leach recoveries and/or more costly sulphide processing.
- The AuEq grade is calculated using the individual gold and silver grades of each block, along with a gold price of $1,300 per ounce and a silver price of $25 per ounce.
- For the oxide and mixed resource estimates, a 5:1 difference in gold versus silver recovery for oxides (3:1 for mixed) was used in the proposed heap leach processing scenario.
- The estimate is constrained by a 3-dimensional geologic model which includes the overburden-bedrock contact, structurally-controlled intrusive-sediment boundaries, redox zones (oxide, sulphide, and an oxide/sulphide transition zone), silicification/siliceous areas, and gold and silver low- medium- and high-grade mineral domains.
- Length-weighted composites honouring all mineral domain contacts, and with a maximum length of 4 metres, were used in the estimate.
- The block model is oriented so the long dimensions are vertical and at a 305 degree azimuth.
- Grade estimation is by Inverse Distance Cubed (ID3) with Ordinary Kriging (OK) and Nearest Neighbour (NN) estimates run as checks.
- Three search passes were used and the estimation within each mineral domain used only those composites coded to that respective domain. Classification is based on the confidence in the underlying data along with the number of, and average distance to, the nearest samples.
- The Measured classification sample and distance criteria is a minimum of two samples lying a maximum average distance of 20 metres from the block to be estimated.
- The Indicated classification sample and distance criteria is a minimum of two samples lying a maximum average distance of 50 metres from the block to be estimated.
- All sulphide mineralization is considered Inferred due to the limited metallurgical characterization of this material type.